10 Day Trip!!

Prague

Friday morning we left at 5:45am for Prague. I stayed out pretty late, came back and took a 1 hour nap and then got on the bus. We were all so tired that everyone slept for atleast a couple hours. For lunch we stopped at a nice gas station and then right back on the bus. Even though this was a 14 hours bus ride, I thought it went by really fast! I slept most of the time and Alex also had some movies we could watch. We arrived in Prague at night and stayed at the Mozaic hotel. It was so nice, probably the best one that we stayed at! We got breakfast included every morning as well, which was very convienent. We decided to eat at the hotel restaurant that night. It was American styled food, but still delicious! Later we decided to go out to the best night club in Prague. It was a five-story club right near the Charles River. At first, there were not that many people but around 1-2am it started getting packed. Unfortunately, we could not stay out too late because we had a tou in the morning. The next day we got up around 8am, had breakfast, and met our tour guide for a walking tour of Prague. It was so beautiful! In each city, we had a lunch paid for. Usually they would be traditional meals from that country. In Prague, we had goulash and dumplings. After lunch, we got to wander around by ourselves. We went back over the bridge and to the famous town square to see the clocktower go off on the hour. After dinner that night, one of the guys had reserved a table for us at an "ice bar", on the roof top of the Hilton. It was called Cloud Nine, and it was the coolest thing ever! Everyone was so sophisticated and classy. I think we were the youngest ones there. Outside on the roof, everything was covered in ice, and you bought your drinks there. We all felt so posh and never wanted to leave. Afterwards, we went to another little bar near the hotel. The next day, the owner of the hotel gave us lecture on how he succeed in the business world and hotel industry. At night we went to a beer factory where we could be are own bartender pretty much.
 
                          Towncenter                                                                                            Clock tower                                                                            
Budapest
The next morning we left for Budapest. The only annoying thing in Eastern Europe was their different currencies. We kept having to exchange money, and it was hard to convert the amount into Euros. We got to Budapest around 5pm and did a night bus tour with a guide.
It was so pretty! We walked all around the castle. For dinner, we went to this quick italian place that had pasta, pizza, salad. It was so delicious! Afterwards, we went to a close bar, that was more low key, but still had a good time. The next day we did a walking tour around Budapest. We met up for lunch for a traditional Hungary meal. It was the best food I had ever eaten. It was a complete Hungarian buffet (plus all you can drink wine and beer)! That night we went to the hot springs. It felt so relaxing. There were different pools and saunas that you could try. Afterwards, I stayed in because I was exhausted, but a lot of people went back to the bar from the night before. In the morning, we had a lecture on the Hungarian Stock Exchange, then we left for Vienna.

                                                          Night view of bridge and Parliament

Leaders Memorial in Budapest

                                                                    Me, Zack, Lila

                                                                             All of us on the bridge!
Vienna
After dropping off our things at the hotel in Vienna, we went on another night bus tour. We saw the palace and opera house, and then I think we all fell asleep on accident. It was so dark and comfortable in the bus! We stayed at the Wombat hotel that was a lot more cozy and less sketchy then the previous hotel. However, our shower over flooded the first night, but we got free drinks because of it! We went to a sushi place for dinner, that was really good except that we accidently ordered seaweed salad instead of regular salad. At night we went to the bar downstairs at the hotel, and then to a bar called Kactus. The next day we had a tour of the city and visited two cathedrals. For lunch we had typical Schnitzel with potatoes. Afterwards, we tried to go to the museum of the royal jewels, but it was closed. We ended up just staying around town and going to the little boutiques. There was also a really cool market right outside of our hotel. For dinner we bought some hummus and falafels. We then got tickets to go to see an Opera. They told us that was something we should experience in Vienna. It was really impressive. There were musicians, singers, and ballet dancers. One of the girls had a friend who lived in Vienna, so that night we met up with him. He took us to a local bar that was fun, but very smokey inside since they can smoke cigarettes in bars there.

                                                                   Cathedral

                                                               The opera!

                                                               Painted apartments 

                                                             Market in Vienna!
Munich
Our last city was Munich. The first night we didn't have any tours so we could all just relax. It was also a Wombat hotel. I ended up staying in both nights because I was sick and still am (like most of us in the group). But there was also a bar downstairs that was fun. There was a festival going on this weekend in Munich, where everyone dressed up in customes to go out. The people that went out on Friday said at their club they passed out masks, like a masquerade ball. In the morning we went to Dachau, a concentration camp right next to Munich. It was very shocking and a lot of people got really emotional. We saw the bunkers, torture rooms, and the gas chambers. The tour guide was good at explaining everything and showing us all the different perspectives. I'm glad that we got to visit one, but I don't think I could handle visiting another one. They gave us the afternoon off, where a few of us went to the BMW museum and the Olympic Park (where the Olympics took place in Munich). We had our dinner paid for so we all met up at a famous beer factory/ restaurant. It was so much fun! There was music and dancing, and we all had 1 liter beers (the smallest size). From the inside it looked like we were inside of a beer barrel. The food was also delicious: half a chicken, potatoes, and apple struddle!

                                                              First night, dinner with the girls!

                                                                Our yummy food!

                                                   Dachau gates- "Work will set you free"

                                                             BMW museum

                                                              Last dinner in Munich!

                                                          Liter beers!
This morning we left at 9am and drove all the way back to Antwerp! It feels weird being back here, and I can't imagine going back to classes. We do have our Finance midterm on Friday though, ugh. Overall, it was a great trip, and we all had the best time! Can't wait for the next trip!

Amsterdam!!

Wow, I can't even begin to explain Amsterdam. Such a great weekend!

On Friday we had two classes, the last one ending at 4:30. Right after, all 19 of us left for the train station. The train left at 6:00pm. It was really crowded so we were not able to all sit together until the end when there was more room. We got there around 8:30pm and took a tram to the main square called Leidseplein. Our hostel was right around the corner. Of course we had to split up because there were so many of us so I was in the 10 person room which was located downstairs and all the other rooms were upstairs. I guess they knew since we were American, we would be the loudest so they put us in a room away from everybody else. When we walked into our room, we could not stop laughing. Such an interesting experience. It was definitely a 1 star hostel. It was some what clean and had clean sheets though, but the heater was broken and we would all freeze at night. Plus us five girls were not used to sharing a room with the five messy and loud guys. But it was still so much fun. We also found this creepy secret door on the floor in our room and when we opened it there was a dark hole with a staircase. We called it the "Schmeegel hole", where our friend Schmeegel lived. The guys even went so down there. So hilarious but so creepy!

                                                                Arriving at the Hostel. Our room!

                                                         The Schmeegel hole
The first night we just went to the bars in the main square. They were a lot of fun and we stayed out until atleast 3am. We met these two guys and two girls from Barcelona that were really nice so we met up with them the next night as well. There were a lot more tourists in Amsterdam then in Antwerp, so it was great to people so many different kinds of people.

                                                               Walking through Amsterdam!
Saturday we woke up around 10:30pm and the 12 of us went to get lunch at this really delicious bagel place. Me and the four other girls went to H&M to go shopping for a little and then met up with the guys later. We went to the "coffee shop" and then explored Amsterdam! We went to the Van Gogh museum for a few hours. We were not able to see everything, but what we did see was amazing. Then the girls and guys split up, and we ended up going to the NEMO museum of science because Anne Frank was too far (but we might go back one day and see it!). It was also fun and a great walk through Amsterdam next to the (frozen) canal. Then we decided to have a fancy, girls only, relaxing italian dinner at a restaurant next to the hostel. It was so nice and the food was wonderful. Afterwards we went back to the hostel to get ready and go out to the bars again. People here mostly went to bars and not clubs. Also, the clubs had a $30 cover charge. We stayed out really late again and the guys met up with us at the bars later that night.

                                                               Coffee Shop

                                                                     Amsterdam!

                                                           So beautiful with the snow!
Today, we had to leave at 11:00, so the girls and I went to a restaurant in the square called the Pancake Corner where we had bacon, eggs, toasts, etc. So yummy! Our train left at 1pm and we got here around 3pm. We all really need sleep and do our homework for tomorrow. Three classes tomorrow ugh! Some people are watching the Super Bowl tonight but I don't think I will. Such an amazing weekend though. Cannot wait to go back or travel again to other places in Europe!
Update soon!

Back to school!

After being on vacation for 7 weeks, going back to class was a little difficult for us. Monday we had our first class at 9am called "The history of Art Markets". This was part of our COB 301 section, but we only had it twice just as an introduction to Belgian art and history. At 2pm we had another COB 301 class which is focused on the European Union and its economy. Our last class at 5:30pm was Operations. All of our classes our three hours long, which I'm definitely not used to! Thankfully our professors give us breaks during the class. Operations seems to be a difficult class and we've already been assigned homework and projects due on Thursday. The professor is young and really nice, but sometimes I have trouble understanding him and reading his hand writing on the board. For lunch, we found this really great sandwich place right across the street called Jean Pierre. Their sandwichs are delicious and only 2 euros. You can also eat at the cafe inside the university.

                                                                Entrance to the University

                                                                 Us in class!

                                                          Courtyard in the University
Wednesday we had a tour of Antwerp in the morning and then Operations class at 2pm. The tour was interesting but freezing cold (23 degrees and windy). I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life. We convinced the tour guide to stop at Mcdonalds to defrost. We also got some heat when we visited the museum/ house of Rubens, one the most famous Belgian artists.

                                                         City hall of Antwerp
This morning we had a meeting to join the international "fraternity" called ESN (Erasmus). It is only 7 euros to join, and they have a lot of parties and trips. When they go to bars or clubs you can get free entrances and free drinks. Tonight they are having a free keg for us at De Prof bar, so I think we are going to go. Today we also had our first finance class that seems pretty intense. The professor isn't as friendly as the other ones. We also did our group project for operations, which went really well.

                                                  Us before going out to the bars!
This weekend a few of us are going to Amsterdam! We found a hostel in the center of the city for only 20 euros a night. The train is only 18 euros (one way). So leaving around 6pm and arriving around 8pm. We got a 10-bedroom suite, so most of us will be in the same room. Other people that are going are in different rooms or different hostels but still close. Can't wait to experience the city and nightlife. Apparently we are also very close the Anne Frank museum/house, so hopefully we will be able to visit that too.

Update when I get back!