Laax, Switzerland

Friday December 5, 2014

Laax, Switzerland

I never thought this day would come...the last weekend of traveling Europe. Sadly it was here. Earlier in the semester everyone talked about going skiing/snowboarding so a group of 28 of us all chipped in to get a bus to Laax, because our rail passes didn't work anymore, and going skiing for the weekend. Originally when I showed up at the hotel I thought it was going to be a bust. The hotel was very cool and we rented out and entire floor but their was absolutely no snow on the ground...boy was I wrong. Once we had all gotten there and settled in we went from room to room hanging out and talking but taking it slow and relaxing because we wanted to be at the lifts by 8:30 in the morning.


Saturday December 6, 2014

We woke up at 7am to grab breakfast and then walk to the lifts. Once we got there to rent all of our equipment I was stuck for about 2 hours trying to decide between renting skis or snowboarding...given I've never skied and haven't snowboarded in 12 years, I went with skiing..thanks god.  Getting up the lifts took about an hour and when I finally got off I was speechless. We were about 10,000 feet literally skiing about and into the clouds. It was probably the single greatest view I have ever seen, their is really nothing like it.

I picked up skiing immediately, the hard part wasn't skiing but it was getting on and off lifts and actually trying to move around when not riding down a hill. Needless to say it was one of the highlights of my entire trip abroad and I couldn't have asked for a better way to end it.  Everyone had become so close and being able to ski then hangout with everyone one last time was fantastic. Writing this blog I wish I was back their right now. Can't believe it's over. Like they say all good things come to and end. This trip has forever changed my life and still cannot believe it's over. Greatest semester of my life.   

Dublin, Ireland

November 21, 2014

Dublin, Ireland

Time for the last 10 day! The plan for this 10 day was Dublin, Paris, and then finally ending in London. I was meeting my dad and uncle in Dublin to see the Ireland vs Australia Rugby game. I left everyone else early flying in Friday night with them coming in Saturday night so I could have an extra day with my family. I landed in Dublin Friday night, saw everyone then turned in for the night.

Saturday November 22, 2014

The three of us; my uncle, my dad, and myself, thought we had gotten up early but really woke up at 1:45 in the afternoon and we were meeting all of my uncles friends at 2. We got ourselves together and made our way to the bar to prepare for the 5:00 game which was 2 ranked Australian team vs the 3rd ranked Irish...in the world. I say without a doubt that it was the coolest sporting experience of my life. Not only was the stadium absolutely amazing, the atmosphere was incredible as well as the game.

Once the game ended, which Ireland won, everyone goes from the seats straight to the bar. We met up with a couple friends who live in Dublin and I do not understand how they do it. From drinking two hours before the game, during the game, then for another 5-6 hours after. My dad and I made our rounds, had a couple drinks then turned in. I could not keep up with these guys and they were all around 60. 

Sunday November 23, 2014

My uncle left early Sunday morning so it was me and my dad until we were leaving Tuesday. After my uncle left I laid around for a little bit while my dad did some work then we left to go explore Dublin during Christmas time. They had a very cool little Christmas Market right off of Grafton street so the Holiday Spirit was there. We talked around a little until we went to Trinity University, the famous university in Dublin, to look at the Book of Kells. My favorite part about seeing the Book of Kells was not the book itself...but the amazing library. 

Once we finished with the Library and Book of Kells we went out to a bar for some drinks and dinner then back to the hotel to turn in. 

Monday November 24, 2014 

I woke up relatively late again and originally had no plans for the day. My dad had to go to a meeting so I met up with Jack and walked around the Christmas Market and Grafton street for a few hours, admiring what it all looked like in the fading daylight. Jack and I walked around for a few hours exploring everything we possible could until it came time to eat. Everyone was meeting us at my hotel and my dad took us out to dinner as a one final hooyah to the trip. Once dinner was over the 4 of us hopped in a taxi to meet up with Jacks friend from high school who goes to school in Dublin. We met him at this recording studio and played around in it for a couple hours till we all had to leave. I went home and back to bed after that because I had an early flight in the morning. Paris next!

Krakow, Poland

November 14, 2014 

Krakow Poland

The plan for this weekend was Krakow. A group of 22 of us were going to Poland to celebrate a birthday there as well as going to see Auschwitz. After the exam we all went to the airport to catch our plane that left at 3:30. We landed in Poland around 6 and it was a lot different then I had expected. I suppose I didn't know what to expect with Poland but Russian influence was very visible. We walked around the city center for a little while...our hostel was in a great location. Once we all ate we decided to stay in and hang out for the night because a couple of us were going to Auschwitz the following morning and needed to get up at 7. 

Saturday November 15

A group of 10 or so of us got up at 7 to get dressed and walk to the bus station. It was about a 2 hour ride to Auschwitz and we wanted to make sure we didn't miss the bus. Once we got there the tour we had scheduled fell through so we just hopped in on a different one. Walking through the concentration camp was one of the most chilling experiences of my life. The sheer magnitude of what the Germans were doing is sicking. We went from Auschwitz 1 to Auschwitz 2...which is just acres and acres of open fields with wooden buildings, gas chambers, torture chambers, and a whole number of other nameless things.

After the concentration a camp we all headed back for the birthday celebration. We had all chipped in on a giant party bus that took us all around Poland, from a Casino to a bar then to a club. It was quite a wild night.

The following morning we packed up and went home to finish up the last couple weeks of classes. 

Zermatt, Switzerland

This next trip came with a new set of classes and new set of responsibilities, Management was over now it was on to BIT. With the first week of BIT classes over Jack, Casey, Brendan and myself decided to make a trip to Zermatt, Switzerland one of the most famous skiing locations in the world. Too get there you have to take a private Swiss train so our rail passes didn't work and absolutely no cars are allowed...everything was electric. As soon as I stepped off the train I fell in love with Zermatt it honestly felt like the North Pole...that's how cool it was. We arrived there pretty late because of so many trains and busses but it was worth it. We settled into our Hostel and got ready for the night because the whole point of this trip was the 13 mile hike we planned for the next day. 

We woke up around 9 the next morning and hit the trail. We all packed sandwiches for the whole weekend because as beautiful and cool as Zermatt is..with that beauty comes cost and it was the most expensive place I had been since coming abroad. We were on our way towards the hike around 9:30 straight up the mountain. Being out of shape made the hike much more difficult but up until that point I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. The mountains, the snow, the clouds..it looked like something you see in a magazine or a computer desktop. 

  We walked hiked for hours sometimes going off course to do a little exploring. As we reached the top we came across a frozen lake a what looked like a relatively abandoned town which was really cool. We did however run into problems. Eventually losing the trail we wander off course and had to slide/fall down the mountain following the phone poles before it got dark and we got stuck...but no big deal it all worked out. After doing this hike I really don't think anything else will ever satisfy me hikingwise ever again.

It was an extremely painful day..especially having to slide down the mountain but it worked out perfectly because after the hike we went to Zurich we had a spa day scheduled for the 4 of us and on Sunday we spent from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon getting pampered. 

Barcelona, Spain

Wednesday October 29, 2014

Barcelona, Spain

We arrived in Barcelona around 10 in the morning and I went my separate ways from everyone since my parents had come to visit!! I took a taxi to the hotel I was meeting my parents in and as soon as I got there I fell asleep. After my dad finished his work we went out to Lunch and the 3 of us walked around the city planning out our next two days as my parents adjusted. The first day with them was full of a lot of food and a lot of walking around. We visited a very old cathedral and my parents bought some fancy olive oil.

Thursday October 30, 2014

My parents turned in early so I did as well but we hit the this day hard. We woke up early, grabbed breakfast and went straight to the sights. The first place we visited was the Sagrada Familia which is easily the most beautiful and interesting church/religious building I have ever been in or seen in my entire life. We spent a solid 2 hours walking around and admiring it, it is unlike anything I have ever seen before and the fact that it is still under construction after 120 years is amazing.

We spent a lot of time in the Sagrada Familia and from there went into the FC Barcelona futbol store to do a little shopping. We rounded out this day by going to the Pablo Picasso Museum...which in my opinion and my fathers is really not all that special. Sure some of his work is amazing but the rest of it, I just don't get it. It does not look very impressive and i simply lost interest after being in there for all of 15 minutes.

From the Picasso Museum we went back and got changed because my parents were taking everyone out to dinner. We went to a really cool...really late dinner. I don't understand how the Spanish do it. They eat at 9:30-10 and go out at 12:30-1 in the morning. So we all ate and drank then all the guys went out at 1 in the morning, needless to say it was a one time thing for me. All of us went our separate ways and turned in around 6am.


Friday October 31, 2014

The next morning was exhausting but it was my last in Spain. My mother made me get out of bed at 11:30 and go straight to touring. There were a few places that my parents really wanted to see so Friday was devoted to seeing and doing what they wanted to do. We ate a really good small restaurant that my dad had heard about and saw a couple stores my mom was really interested in seeing. From there we walked along the beach, my one regret, I never set foot on the beach once in Barcelona. I was next to it, feet away but I never set foot on it or went swimming. I did however, witness some really cool sand art.

We walked and ate the rest of the night, I turned in with my parents when everyone else went out and left for Riva the next morning.

Lisbon, Portugal

Sunday October 26, 2014

Arrived in Lisbon around 9:30 in the morning and went to our hostel. The hostel we were staying at was ranked 6th best hostel in the world, Lisbon Destination Hostel. We checked in, got comfortable, and set out for the day. Since we were there so early we really just walked around. We stumbled upon an Art Museum which was a really pleasant surprise and from there we went to a really cool bar over looking the water.

After the bar and museum we walked around a little more going though all sorts of different alleys and markets. The churches and quaint little Portuguese streets were something I was not expecting but it was quite refreshing after previously being in Venice and Rome.  We continued walking... slowly making our way back to the hostel. Once we got a little closer we grabbed some food, did a little shopping then went back to try and decide what to do for the night. 

We went back got changed then walked around the town, this one particular street right outside our hostel had a ton of restaurants and street performers which was a real treat. After dinner we turned in because we were getting up early to go surfing.


Monday October 27, 2014

I woke up at 8:30 to prepare to go surfing. We booked surfing lessons through the hostel so I had the ability to say I surfed in Portugal. The guy we had teach us our lesson was very cool, he had just graduated college so he was hanging out and messing around with us. He taught us and helped us for about 3 hours and it was an experience I will never forget.

After we finished surfing we explored the town we were now in because we had driven about 35 minutes outside of the city to surf. The exploring lead us back to laying on the beach for about 6 hours which was amazing...I even witnessed Russian Rugby players fight each other with dead jellyfish, it was quite a sight. From the beach we went back to the city center, sadly ate Subway then hungout for the rest of the night. 

Tuesday October 28, 2014 

Our Final day in Portugal, we rolled out of bed around 11 and made our way up to a castle that we had been able to see since the day we arrived in Lisbon. I do not recall the name but it was in a very historic area with plenty of street performers and tourists. The view from the top was very beautiful I was able to rest my eyes upon all of Lisbon.

We did one last walk around Portugal...who knows when I'll be back, grabbed some dinner then went to the train station to catch our overnight train to Barcelona!