Reflections

Ciao Tutti,

I am currently crossing another thing off of my very long bucket list of things to do while studying abroad in Europe – ride the train through the Chunnel between Paris and London.  I parted ways with my fellow study abroad students about an hour ago and headed to Paris Nord train station.  I got there really early, as I always try to do, but was waiting in the wrong place.  I completely forgot that the United Kingdom is not 100% part of the European Union, thus I needed to report to the international travel booth for passport check.  Eurostar was great, though.  They popped me in a wheelchair and flew me through France Border Control, UK Border Control, Security, down the elevator, past a few train cars, up the ramp, and to my seat in less than 20 minutes.  I am seated in my own car – seats for people with disabilities are in first class and I suppose people do not want to pay for a first class seat for a two hour train ride.  I’m not complaining!

Now that I’m on the train, though, I have some time to reflect on the past week of traveling around Europe in an intense fashion.  It should be no surprise to you when I say that this was the best spring break of my life.  Please let me put it into numbers for you (excluding London):

• Four different cities (Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris)
• Four of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been (Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris)
• Seven different countries (Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, and England)
• 40 hours on a bus (maybe that is not something to brag about)
• 2852 kilometers on a bus
• Four different hostels (Czech Inn, St. Christopher’s Berlin, St. Christopher’s Amsterdam, St. Christopher’s Paris)
• 24 new friends
• Six languages spoken (English, Italian, Czech, German, Dutch, and French)
• A countless number of stories to tell over the course of my life

I don’t think anyone could say that was a bad spring break.  I can now say that I witnessed the sun rise over the plains of Eastern Europe, saw the astronomical clock show in Prague, visited the wall that divided and then reunited the world in Berlin, sailed in the canals of Amsterdam, had a baguette and wine while watching the Eiffel Tower light up in Paris, rode the Chunnel from Paris to London, and it’s not over!

The tour company I traveled with exceeded my expectations immensely.  Bus2Alps put together a great travel itinerary to maximize our time in each city which enabled us to see all the important sights.  In each city they arranged for a walking tour which covered the most important sights of the city.  Our tour leader, Stephanie Savage, was phenomenal.  She was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond to help us out or point us in the right direction.  She knew each city very and was able to answer any question we had.  I have already booked my next trip with Bus2Alps (to Croatia) and would not hesitate to recommend Bus2Alps to anybody!

It was quite interesting going from Amsterdam to Paris.  In Amsterdam, everyone happily spoke English to us and random people came up to us to ask us if we needed help in finding something whenever we looked like we were lost.  Random people would wave to you and say hello as you passed them on the street.  I knew the Parisians would be different and went into Paris with this in mind.  I had the pre-conceived notion that French people were rude and hated Americans.  For the first 24 hours or so that notion was starting to break, but once we left our tour to do our own thing I started to see the “true Parisian.”  Whenever I asked anyone for directions in English, I got the evil eye.  I was shoved and my crutches were kicked out from under me on numerous occasions.  I somehow managed not to fall, though!  I know that New Yorkers do not have a stellar reputation either, but I personally think Parisians are worse.  

I believe that I grew on this trip as a person - I had my first major “I’m not in America anymore” moment.  I am actually surprised it took this long and that it did not happen in Italy.  In America, and I guess even Italy, I have never been told what I can’t do.  I have never had limits placed on me.  I have always been allowed to do anything that able bodied people are allowed to do if I am up to it.  This is why I was surprised when I was denied access to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower.  As I mentioned in my previous post, the staff of the Eiffel Tower told me that I could not do stairs if the elevator broke that goes between the top and middle part of the tower.  For the average person with a disability this is completely reasonable, but it is normally approached by the customer service agent asking the person with a disability if they are able to descend stairs in the event of an emergency.  If the person says no, then it should be explained to them that the policy is that everyone who goes to the top of the Eiffel Tower must be able to navigate stairs.  If the person says yes, they should be allowed to climb the Eiffel Tower.  After being denied access, I told the staff member that I could navigate the 1,000 stairs down the Eiffel Tower if needed.  She then said that all people with mobility disabilities are not allowed up to the top.  When I asked her if I could sign a waiver, she claimed she didn’t understand.  Then, I asked her to speak with a manager and, again, she claimed she did not understand.  At that point, I realized it was not worth arguing over and walked away.  As soon as I walked away, the staff member closed her window shade as if she was trying to deter me from coming back to argue.   It was very frustrating.  

I also will never get upset in America when someone starts speaking a language other than English.  I used to get annoyed when people would not speak English, but now that the tables have been turned and I know how it feels I will definitely try to be more tolerant.  I will not let the above experiences deter from my time in Paris, but instead I will take away the good things.  Other than the absolute beauty of Paris, I will take away a greater appreciation for the freedom I have in America and a greater toleration for people who do not speak English.  After all, I think one of the most important things one can do in life is taking the bad and turning it into the good.  

This trip also confirmed my decision to return to Europe next summer to do a traditional “backpacking across Europe” trip.  A city like Prague was not even on the list of places I wanted to visit and I loved it.  How many places like that are jewels waiting for me to discover.  I feel like a more knowledgeable and cultured person already – imagine what a full summer can do.  I can’t wait to find out!

By the way, this was posted from London!

Ciao,

Michael

Praga (Prague): Day 2

Dobry Den!

Prague was amazing.  It was a great surprise as I was not expecting to have such a great time in the city because I knew so little about it.  I am starting to lean more and more towards coming back to Europe next summer to backpack.  There is so much in this world to see and I feel so much more enlightened having spent only two days in Prague!

As promised, here are some pictures of our hostel:

Yesterday, after our hostel’s amazing American style breakfast buffet, our tour guide took us to the Lennon Wall.  While Czechoslovakia was under a communist government, this wall was one of the ways that the Czechs were able to express their displeasure towards the government.  They mainly wrote phrases or drew pictures on the wall to express their hopes for peace.  Many of these were related to songs by The Beatles, hence the wall’s name.  Initially, the police kept painting over the wall saying it was unacceptable, but the owners of the wall told the police that it was fine and asked them to stop painting over it.  It became a symbol of rebellion against the government.  What was written on the wall when I was there was not what was written on there during the communist regime, people are always writing over what people wrote the week before.  My tour guide said she noticed a lot of things that were new from when she was here last week.  It was a very cool concept.

After the Lennon Wall, half our group went to eat at a traditional Czech restaurant.  It was very, very similar to German food and a German restaurant.  I suppose that makes sense given that the Czech Republic is bordered on the north by Germany.  I had beef goulash and potato pancakes.  The food was good, but the atmosphere was even better.  The restaurant was huge and had an older man playing an accordion. 

After lunch, we took a tour of the Prague Castle – the largest castle in the world!  It was not exactly what I expected as it was not just one big building that was the living quarters for the king of Prague, but a whole complex that was open to the people of Prague for things like church services, welfare, or jousting matches.  I was most excited to see the Rose Window in the church.  I had heard so many things about it and it was beautiful!  We also learned about monks that brewed their own beer and about how one of the towers of the castle was built after the others, so it was completely different.  Two are gothic and one was baroque – it looks really weird!  I don’t know what they were thinking.  The castle also had some beautiful, panoramic views of the city!

After the Prague Castle Tour, a few girls who are studying abroad in Siena and I went down to the Saint Charles Bridge to go souvenir shopping.  I found the two souvenirs I am collecting – a Prague shot glass and a book of postcards.   We also took a few pictures of the bridge.

Now that we are on the bus to Germany, I had a bit to reflect on my time in Prague.  A few things really intrigued me:

1. It's beauty.  I was not expecting a former communist state to be so beautiful.  From what I have heard, however, most of Prague was remodeled after communism fell with financial aid from the West.
2. How Westernized Prague was.  I think Prague was more Westernized than a city like Rome.  From the consumer goods industry, I saw far more stores and chain restaurants here than I would expect to find in Italy.  I found a TGI Fridays, Starbucks, McDonalds, Adidas, Target, IKEA, Subway, and many other stores.  I also was able to get Arizona Iced Tea, one of my favorite drinks from home, in my hostel.  I also had a Starbucks Iced Coffee.  My theory behind the amount of Western establishments in Prague is that after the wall fell, all these companies tried to gain entrance into this new market that always had desire for luxury goods, but for the past 40 years they were unable to do so.  It was as close to guaranteed money as you could get!                                                                                                                                                                              
3. Communism.  It is so refreshing to hear first hand from people who lived under it that communism did not, does not, and will not work.  All of the people who were giving the tours were passionate about their hatred for communism and socialism.  This, combined with what is going on right now in Northern Africa, makes me even more proud to be an American.  We helped and are still helping improve the quality of life for people all over the world!

After we crossed into Germany I saw snow for the first time since I left home which was great!  I felt like a kid again!  The views on this drive were gorgeous.  Other than getting pulled over by German police for a passport check and the fact that our DVD player is still not working, the drive was fine.

We are finally Berlin – the city that divided the world and then re-united it!  I can’t wait for the history lesson of a lifetime I am going to get over the next two days.

Ciao,

Mike

Praga (Prague): Day 1

Dobry Den!

That's hello in Czech.  Yes, after a 17 hour bus ride I am finally in Prague!  We have a very, very small group.  Our tour guide, Savage, and the three of us from Rome (all from IES) left at 5:30 PM.  At around 9:30 PM, we got to Florence.  The traffic was horrible!  In Florence, we picked up 22 girls and headed for Prague.  We stopped at around midnight for a half hour bathroom break and got into Prague at 10:30 AM.  The bus ride honestly wasn't that bad. We watched a few movies (Kill Bill Volume 1, Out Cold, and Forrest Gump) before our DVD player broke.  I pulled my iPad out and watched half of Eurotrip (how appropriate) and about an hour of the BYU v. Florida game before trying to sleep.  Since there was only 25 of us, we each got our own seat to lay across.  I would say I got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep, so I can't complain.  I normally don't sleep that well on a buses or airplanes, but think I'll be a pro by the end of this trip!

When we arrived into Prague, I knew it was going to be one of my favorite cities.  Each building is unique in its own way and has a lot of character.  I think the best way to describe Prague is that it has a great deal of history, but was built more recently than a city like Rome. 

We are staying at the Czech Inn - the nicest hostel I have stayed at yet.  I will talk about it and try to get pictures up tomorrow.  After we arrived, we ran upstairs to wash up and came right back downstairs.  The hostel has a full breakfast buffet - American style.  Toast, butter, jam, cheese, ham, tomatoes, oranges, yogurt, granola, eggs, orange juice, and American coffee.  It was phenomenal.  The only thing I am concerned about now is that the coffee was not very strong.  I am hoping it was just the coffee and not the fact that my taste buds have changed and are now used to the Italian espresso shot.  I will see when I return back to the USA.

After wolfing down breakfast, we had a walking tour of Prague.  Our guide met us at the hostel and we took the tram for about 10 minutes to downtown Prague to start our tour.  Our guide was phenomenal - energetic, enthusiastic, and entertaining.  One of the funniest parts of the tour happened within the first 20 seconds he started speaking.  A "Czech Crazy" (his words, not mine) stood behind him and started mimicking him as he talked.  Then, he interrupted and told our guide something about where he should take us.  It was in Czech, so all I could understand was the fact that he was pointing around the corner.  After about 30 seconds everyone exchanging awkward looks the "Czech Crazy" left.

Our tour guide crammed about 1500 years of history into the first five minutes of the tour (it's a good thing I'm not getting tested on it).  The one thing I was intrigued by was that Prague used to be the center of the Holy Roman Empire.  I love cities with lots of history! 

After our guide's spiel, he took us to Wenceslas Square - home to many protests against the communism imposed on the Czech people by the USSR after World War II.  It was where Jan Palach set himself on fire to show his discontent with the government and where communism fell in Czechoslovakia in 1989, just one week after the fall of the Berlin Wall, as part of the Velvet Revolution. 

Wenceslas Square

Standing in the same square where communism fell 21 years ago was enough to give me goosebumps.  I have always been fascinated by history and, while I've been studying in Europe, have specifically become more intrigued about the Cold War and the revolutions across Europe that overthrew communism.  I feel that they are even more relevent now with everything that is going on in Northern Africa.   

After this, our tour guide took us to Old Town Square which is home to the world famous Astronomical Clock.  It was absolutely beautiful and packed with people.  We had just missed the hourly show that the clock performs from the hours of 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, so I had to go back later. 

Astronomical Clock

After this, we went to the Jewish Area of Prague and to see a famous classical music performance hall.  Both were gorgeous - I went back to the Jewish Area later to go to a museum, so I won't get into too much detail now.  Our final stop was to see Saint Charles Bridge and Prague Castle from the distance.

Bell Tower in the Jewish Area - the clock in Hebrew goes counter-clockwise

Music Hall

Prague Castle

Saint Charles Bridge

After the tour was over, myself and a girl from IES Rome, Daniela, went to a Jewish Holocaust Museum.  It had three things that I found particularly moving.  It had a room with the names, dates of birth, and dates of death of all 77,297 people who died during the holocaust.  One of the names I saw was only three years old.  The room quantified the unquantifiable.  The second room I found particularly moving was a room with drawings of children who were in a concentration camp.  An under the table project, the kids drew anything they wanted.  They were not dreary, but hopeful of what the future held for them and their families.  All of these kids were sent to Auschwitz - they were deprived of their hopes and their future.  As hard as it was to walk around the room, it is even harder to write about it.  The third thing I saw was the Jewish Cemetery.  There are over 12,000 gravestones in it, but due to the lack of room coffins were placed on top of each other (up to 13 of them). 

Gravestones

After the museum, we walked around a bit admiring the great scenery that Prague has to offer while still reflecting on what we just saw.

Then, we split up and I saw the show at the Astronomical Clock.  It was a bit cheesy, but something that you need to do when you visit Prague.  After this, I went to the Museum of Communism.

I guarantee Karl Marx is rolling over in his grave right now.  The museum was situated above a McDonald's and next to a Casino - two symbols of good old Capitalism.  The museum itself was great.  It told the story of the nation of Czechoslovakia under Communism. 

A picture of a 40 meter high statue of Lenin that used to be on a hill overlooking Prague

A political cartoon against the USA and Capitalism

 

Well, that was my day in Prague.  Tomorrow morning, we are going to the John Lennon Wall and I am going to take a tour of Prague Castle.  I can't wait!

Thanks for reading!  I'll update soon! 

Mike