I finally have arrived in Florence and have time to sit by myself and begin to reply to all of you who have sent me e-mail. I will do a summary of my first ten days with Gonzaga-in-Florence on our excursion throughout Central Europe.
I flew into Berlin-Tegel International Airport on September 8th at 10:00am. My eight hour flight from JFK went smoothly and I was able to meet other students on the flight who were on the program. Many chose to drink on the plane and get “wasted;” thus beginning my first experience of what I was getting myself into.
Around 70 Gonzaga students were met by Gonzaga staff and we were motorcoached to the Park Inn Hotel in Alexander-Platz (formerly East Berlin). The hotel was the largest hotel in Berlin and proved to be perfect for 140 university students. I roomed with a student from Kennewick Washington and also met a few students from Butte, Missoula and Stephenville, MT. Apparently one of them knows Kelly my cousin fairly well.
The first night I roamed the streets of Berlin and ended up at a bar/club. I was fairly amazed at how ridiculously the university chose to immediately get wasted and fraternize with the locals. I ended my first night in Berlin early around midnight and waited for the first full day in Europe.
Sept. 9th to Sept. 10th.
The first morning in Berlin, we had an organized tour of Berlin by bus. We went through old and new Berlin, former East and West Berlin and saw glimpses of the Berlin Wall. The tour helped orientate where we were in the city and gave me some perspective of where to visit. We passed by a memorial to East Berliners who were killed trying to escape to West Berlin, we passed through the Brandenburg Gates and saw the large glass dome of the Parliamentary Reichstag building.
After the morning tour I met a few students who I have ended up becoming close to and have been hanging out with them since. The four of us had similarities and all did not want to see Europe through bars and partying. We went to the National History Museum in Berlin and spent 4 hours there and also toured various cathedrals and went to very touristy “Check-point Charlie” where the US controlled part of Berlin bordered East Berlin.
Another day we went to the Jewish Museum in the Jewish quarter of Berlin. This museum was very abstract, modern, vast and very powerful. I wish we had more time but due to our schedule we had to leave, as well as having to walk in a downpour rain back to our hotel. From the Jewish museum we went to the Topography of Terror which was the location of where the SS of the German Reich were stationed. It was eerie and fairly empty.
I really enjoyed Berlin a lot and have become very fond of German food especially a simple sandwich called a Döner. A simple pita bread with lamb or some type of meat with pickled cabbage and a variety of sauces. It was cheap and delicious.
I found the German people to be very friendly and very open. If I could I would have loved to stay longer in Germany than the three days that we had.
September 11-13 Krakow, Poland
From Berlin we traveled by bus to the city of Krakow. The grueling bus ride was 8 hours long and it took 2 hours to get through the border. Apparently Poland is a member of the EU, however, its national debt is still too high to convert to the euro. We had to exchange our money to Zloty. It was fairly more inexpensive in Poland than in Germany. In Krakow we stayed in two different hostels. The majority of us and I stayed in a hostel called Nathan’s Villa. It was very interesting and unfortunately very noisy and somewhat dirty. A bar was located underneath my room whom I shared with 6 others. It was not a good three nights in Krakow for me.
All of my roommates in the hostel always chose to come home each morning at 4 or 5 am, and always were very disrespectful and completely drunk. I am beginning to really appreciate that I go to Seattle University.
Krakow was an amazing city. It has a castle and was a headquarters for the German Nazi governor of Bohemia during WWII. I have taken hundreds of photos and I hope to post some if not all of them on the website or e-mail them to you.
In Krakow we visited a Collegiam Maius where the famous scientist and astronomer Copernicus and the recent Pope John Paul II went to school. In the original university we saw old astronomical instruments and the crown jewels of Poland. The Polish people are a little bit cranky and not as pleasant as the Germans but food here is definitely cheap. I was able to get around Poland with only $40 Euro. I definitely spent the most in Berlin.
Auschwitz.
Our first full day in Poland we traveled an hour north of Krakow to the Death Camp Auschwitz. It was a very heavy and emotional day. We arrived by bus and were led by a guided tour through Auschwitz I, II and Birkenaus. Everything pretty much had been restored and preserved. We toured the original holding blocks that held up to 700 to 800 Jews, POWS, outcasts or criminals. It was very eerie and horrid to have think that where we were standing over 1.3 million people were killed in gas chambers, shooting squads, starvation, suffocation, etc. Not only were there Jews in Auschwitz, but there also were Russian POWS. Of the 15,000 Russian POWS only 4 survived. Auschwitz unlike other camps was considered a Death Camp. Those who were sent to Auschwitz were 95% likely to be killed. The other 5% were used as science experiments by Nazi doctors. I will post a few photos of what I took at Auschwitz and it truly was a heavy and emotional day. That evening we all were provided food at a Polish restaurant with free beer. I am a little shocked at how much the university provides and even encourages us to drink, despite it saying clearly in the rules and regulations that it is prohibited to drink on Gonzaga in Florence sponsored events.
Our last full day in Krakow we went to a Salt Mine. I had no idea what to expect and I soon realized that we were entering of UNESCO’s wonders of the world. We walked down 130 meters underground and went through various hand carved caverns filled with elaborate statues of Polish heroes and heroines. I unfortunately was not able to capture any photos due to regulations, but was very amazed at the craftsmanship of the Polish miners. The tour ended with the most elaborate church underground and carved completely out of salt over 400 feet underground. It was breathtaking.
September 14th – 16th Praha (Prague) Czech Republic.
After a five hour bus ride we arrived in Praha. The border crossing went smoothly and the Czech border guards didn’t even check our passports. Once again the Czech Republic is a member of the EU; however, it still needs to lower its national debt before converting to the euro. Another exchange of having to deal with another currency was irritating, but once again the food was moderately priced and I ended up only having to spend about $40 dollars on food and a few souvenirs such as a Czech Republic Soccer Jersey.
We arrived at our hotel, which could possibly by one of the most elaborate and modern hotel I have stayed in. We are being spoiled since our stay in the hostels. The hotel located in Andel City, a neighborhood outside of Old/New Town, which was located across the river or a five minute subway ride.
In the early morning the first day we went on another guided walking tour to Prague Castle. An amazing structure that towered over Prague. It housed the country’s president and other important administrative offices. Through the castle we walked across the river over Charles Bridge which is known throughout the world as one of the oldest and famous bridges of Europe. Apparently the Czech people have high income tax that covers education, and preserving all of the country’s churches and other historical structures. So almost everything is free to tour through. Once a predominantly catholic country, during the communist era and German occupation the Catholics were oppressed as were the Jewish. Today there are hundreds of Catholic churches; however, it has a small percentage of the population that attends. In Poland the national religion is Catholicism and about 80 percent of the population attends Mass.
Prague has been one of my favorite cities in Europe or at least on the tour so far. Its beautiful and full of color and architecture.
Our last day in Prague we toured the Church of St. Cyril and visited a Jesuit Parish. That afternoon we went through the Jewish Quarter and went out to a traditional Czech restaurant for dinner. The Church of St. Cyril was very fascinating. During WWII Prague was the Headquarters of Hitler’s right hand man. The British and allied forces trained some Czech soldiers to assassinate him and were successful. However, after the assassination they were betrayed by one of their own and held up in the Church. For two hours eight Czech soldiers held out against several hundred Nazi Germans in the crypt of the Church. After all of them committed suicide the Nazi’s unleashed a horrible oppression against the Czech people killing thousands and destroying villages and cities in revenge.
In the old square of town there is a ½ mile long square that leads to the national history museum of Prague. The square is named after King Wenceslaus.
I have taken lots of photos and have many of them available online. I will post as many as I can.
September 18th Firenze (Florence, Italy)
Today was the first day of class. My 8:30 am class was fun and had about 15 students. My two other classes today were cancelled due to some unknown reason…possibly the professor was not here? I am not too certain.
The pensiones where everyone is staying in are fairly nice. I am living in 85 via Cavour. I am living with one other roommate and our room is fairly large with 20 foot ceilings and a nice view of the street out front. The food here is amazing and great. Pasta for a first course, a meat dish for a second course and fresh fruit for a dessert.
I have caught a cold while on the opening tour and have a very stuffy nose. It is difficult to breath here since the air pollution is great.
Our campus is located about five blocks from the Duomo and two from the Academy where the statue David is located. Late last night I walked to the square and was breathless at the sight of such a large and beautiful spectacle of the Duomo. It has been rainy here and I hope the weather improves. It is humid and sticky here which does not help with my cold.
I will continually post and update everyone on my thoughts and experiences here in Florence. The campus here is nice. Its three stories high, a student lounge in the basement, where I am currently typing, a computer lab on the second floor, and a gym which will open in October next to the student lounge. The rest of the building is full of classrooms and itsy bitsy desk chairs. No one has air conditioning….its quite stuffy and the MOSQUITOES are horrible here! The one benefit is that the tap water here is safe to drink. I am tired of having to pay for everything, especially if restaurant service is horrible. They always include a 19% gratuity on the bill!
Anyways off to explore Florence some more, try to heal myself and escape the mosquitoes!
Ciao!
I flew into Berlin-Tegel International Airport on September 8th at 10:00am. My eight hour flight from JFK went smoothly and I was able to meet other students on the flight who were on the program. Many chose to drink on the plane and get “wasted;” thus beginning my first experience of what I was getting myself into.
Around 70 Gonzaga students were met by Gonzaga staff and we were motorcoached to the Park Inn Hotel in Alexander-Platz (formerly East Berlin). The hotel was the largest hotel in Berlin and proved to be perfect for 140 university students. I roomed with a student from Kennewick Washington and also met a few students from Butte, Missoula and Stephenville, MT. Apparently one of them knows Kelly my cousin fairly well.
The first night I roamed the streets of Berlin and ended up at a bar/club. I was fairly amazed at how ridiculously the university chose to immediately get wasted and fraternize with the locals. I ended my first night in Berlin early around midnight and waited for the first full day in Europe.
Sept. 9th to Sept. 10th.
The first morning in Berlin, we had an organized tour of Berlin by bus. We went through old and new Berlin, former East and West Berlin and saw glimpses of the Berlin Wall. The tour helped orientate where we were in the city and gave me some perspective of where to visit. We passed by a memorial to East Berliners who were killed trying to escape to West Berlin, we passed through the Brandenburg Gates and saw the large glass dome of the Parliamentary Reichstag building.
After the morning tour I met a few students who I have ended up becoming close to and have been hanging out with them since. The four of us had similarities and all did not want to see Europe through bars and partying. We went to the National History Museum in Berlin and spent 4 hours there and also toured various cathedrals and went to very touristy “Check-point Charlie” where the US controlled part of Berlin bordered East Berlin.
Another day we went to the Jewish Museum in the Jewish quarter of Berlin. This museum was very abstract, modern, vast and very powerful. I wish we had more time but due to our schedule we had to leave, as well as having to walk in a downpour rain back to our hotel. From the Jewish museum we went to the Topography of Terror which was the location of where the SS of the German Reich were stationed. It was eerie and fairly empty.
I really enjoyed Berlin a lot and have become very fond of German food especially a simple sandwich called a Döner. A simple pita bread with lamb or some type of meat with pickled cabbage and a variety of sauces. It was cheap and delicious.
I found the German people to be very friendly and very open. If I could I would have loved to stay longer in Germany than the three days that we had.
September 11-13 Krakow, Poland
From Berlin we traveled by bus to the city of Krakow. The grueling bus ride was 8 hours long and it took 2 hours to get through the border. Apparently Poland is a member of the EU, however, its national debt is still too high to convert to the euro. We had to exchange our money to Zloty. It was fairly more inexpensive in Poland than in Germany. In Krakow we stayed in two different hostels. The majority of us and I stayed in a hostel called Nathan’s Villa. It was very interesting and unfortunately very noisy and somewhat dirty. A bar was located underneath my room whom I shared with 6 others. It was not a good three nights in Krakow for me.
All of my roommates in the hostel always chose to come home each morning at 4 or 5 am, and always were very disrespectful and completely drunk. I am beginning to really appreciate that I go to Seattle University.
Krakow was an amazing city. It has a castle and was a headquarters for the German Nazi governor of Bohemia during WWII. I have taken hundreds of photos and I hope to post some if not all of them on the website or e-mail them to you.
In Krakow we visited a Collegiam Maius where the famous scientist and astronomer Copernicus and the recent Pope John Paul II went to school. In the original university we saw old astronomical instruments and the crown jewels of Poland. The Polish people are a little bit cranky and not as pleasant as the Germans but food here is definitely cheap. I was able to get around Poland with only $40 Euro. I definitely spent the most in Berlin.
Auschwitz.
Our first full day in Poland we traveled an hour north of Krakow to the Death Camp Auschwitz. It was a very heavy and emotional day. We arrived by bus and were led by a guided tour through Auschwitz I, II and Birkenaus. Everything pretty much had been restored and preserved. We toured the original holding blocks that held up to 700 to 800 Jews, POWS, outcasts or criminals. It was very eerie and horrid to have think that where we were standing over 1.3 million people were killed in gas chambers, shooting squads, starvation, suffocation, etc. Not only were there Jews in Auschwitz, but there also were Russian POWS. Of the 15,000 Russian POWS only 4 survived. Auschwitz unlike other camps was considered a Death Camp. Those who were sent to Auschwitz were 95% likely to be killed. The other 5% were used as science experiments by Nazi doctors. I will post a few photos of what I took at Auschwitz and it truly was a heavy and emotional day. That evening we all were provided food at a Polish restaurant with free beer. I am a little shocked at how much the university provides and even encourages us to drink, despite it saying clearly in the rules and regulations that it is prohibited to drink on Gonzaga in Florence sponsored events.
Our last full day in Krakow we went to a Salt Mine. I had no idea what to expect and I soon realized that we were entering of UNESCO’s wonders of the world. We walked down 130 meters underground and went through various hand carved caverns filled with elaborate statues of Polish heroes and heroines. I unfortunately was not able to capture any photos due to regulations, but was very amazed at the craftsmanship of the Polish miners. The tour ended with the most elaborate church underground and carved completely out of salt over 400 feet underground. It was breathtaking.
September 14th – 16th Praha (Prague) Czech Republic.
After a five hour bus ride we arrived in Praha. The border crossing went smoothly and the Czech border guards didn’t even check our passports. Once again the Czech Republic is a member of the EU; however, it still needs to lower its national debt before converting to the euro. Another exchange of having to deal with another currency was irritating, but once again the food was moderately priced and I ended up only having to spend about $40 dollars on food and a few souvenirs such as a Czech Republic Soccer Jersey.
We arrived at our hotel, which could possibly by one of the most elaborate and modern hotel I have stayed in. We are being spoiled since our stay in the hostels. The hotel located in Andel City, a neighborhood outside of Old/New Town, which was located across the river or a five minute subway ride.
In the early morning the first day we went on another guided walking tour to Prague Castle. An amazing structure that towered over Prague. It housed the country’s president and other important administrative offices. Through the castle we walked across the river over Charles Bridge which is known throughout the world as one of the oldest and famous bridges of Europe. Apparently the Czech people have high income tax that covers education, and preserving all of the country’s churches and other historical structures. So almost everything is free to tour through. Once a predominantly catholic country, during the communist era and German occupation the Catholics were oppressed as were the Jewish. Today there are hundreds of Catholic churches; however, it has a small percentage of the population that attends. In Poland the national religion is Catholicism and about 80 percent of the population attends Mass.
Prague has been one of my favorite cities in Europe or at least on the tour so far. Its beautiful and full of color and architecture.
Our last day in Prague we toured the Church of St. Cyril and visited a Jesuit Parish. That afternoon we went through the Jewish Quarter and went out to a traditional Czech restaurant for dinner. The Church of St. Cyril was very fascinating. During WWII Prague was the Headquarters of Hitler’s right hand man. The British and allied forces trained some Czech soldiers to assassinate him and were successful. However, after the assassination they were betrayed by one of their own and held up in the Church. For two hours eight Czech soldiers held out against several hundred Nazi Germans in the crypt of the Church. After all of them committed suicide the Nazi’s unleashed a horrible oppression against the Czech people killing thousands and destroying villages and cities in revenge.
In the old square of town there is a ½ mile long square that leads to the national history museum of Prague. The square is named after King Wenceslaus.
I have taken lots of photos and have many of them available online. I will post as many as I can.
September 18th Firenze (Florence, Italy)
Today was the first day of class. My 8:30 am class was fun and had about 15 students. My two other classes today were cancelled due to some unknown reason…possibly the professor was not here? I am not too certain.
The pensiones where everyone is staying in are fairly nice. I am living in 85 via Cavour. I am living with one other roommate and our room is fairly large with 20 foot ceilings and a nice view of the street out front. The food here is amazing and great. Pasta for a first course, a meat dish for a second course and fresh fruit for a dessert.
I have caught a cold while on the opening tour and have a very stuffy nose. It is difficult to breath here since the air pollution is great.
Our campus is located about five blocks from the Duomo and two from the Academy where the statue David is located. Late last night I walked to the square and was breathless at the sight of such a large and beautiful spectacle of the Duomo. It has been rainy here and I hope the weather improves. It is humid and sticky here which does not help with my cold.
I will continually post and update everyone on my thoughts and experiences here in Florence. The campus here is nice. Its three stories high, a student lounge in the basement, where I am currently typing, a computer lab on the second floor, and a gym which will open in October next to the student lounge. The rest of the building is full of classrooms and itsy bitsy desk chairs. No one has air conditioning….its quite stuffy and the MOSQUITOES are horrible here! The one benefit is that the tap water here is safe to drink. I am tired of having to pay for everything, especially if restaurant service is horrible. They always include a 19% gratuity on the bill!
Anyways off to explore Florence some more, try to heal myself and escape the mosquitoes!
Ciao!
