Tomorrow we're at sea, then 3 days in Alexandria, Egypt. As cool as Egypt is going to be, there were so many things I was looking forward to in Turkey! Oh well. At least we're not going to Bulgaria (which was the circulating rumor).
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Turkey?
After the shooting outside the US consulate a few weeks ago and the terrorist bombing last night that killed 15 people and wounded 150 more - the dean just announced that we may not go to Istanbul. Where we would go instead is not yet known. The official announcement is they are monitoring the situation, but it seems like they're just trying to figure out where else we could go. (I'm voting Morocco!) I was super excited about Turkey, but I can understand not wanting to let 600 American students out to wander with that going on..... I'll let you know updates when I know more!
Italy
The first day that we docked in Naples I accidentally slept through my trip to Mount Vesuvius (which I was really really excited about and am so sad I didn't get to go!) because I had a sinus infection...
Second day, however, was much more exciting! We took a hydrofoil (hovercraft) to Capri, and while the ride there was nauseating (rough seas), Capri was worth it. I've never been anywhere so beautiful! (Although I can think of a few other islands to which I would like to travel that might challenge it!) We explored Anacapri, the town on top of the mountain, then went to Faro, which is a little "beach" area (no sand or even pebbles - just rock and then water) which had Caribbean-colored water. My camera, as it turns out, is waterproof but not wholly salt-proof. After taking some fun underwater pictures, the lens wouldn't open the next morning! Thankfully, running it under tap water seemed to fix it. We all agreed that it was a good investment! We took a wrong turn after trying to find the lighthouse, and ended up walking halfway around the island and finding an old medieval fort! After more swimming and tanning (I'm so freckly and tan right now!) we went to dinner. Italian food in Italy is nothing like Italian food in the US. I like it so much better! It isn't heavy at all and there's so much more nuance in the flavor.
The next day we went to an old villa that had pieces of Roman ruins in it. Of course it had wonderful overlooks of Capri and the artifacts were neat as well. I got to touch a 3200 year old sphinx statue! The shopping in Capri is just as good as the food and views! The euro is dangerous, though - everything costs in numbers what it reasonably should in dollars, so it never seems like you're spending as much money as you are! Later we went down to the beach by the harbor.
The last morning we went to the Blue Grotto, which was neat, but not as spectacular as it's purported to be. Back in Naples, I took the bus to Pompeii to see the ruins. I wanted to see Mount Vesuvius and the National Archeological Museum, but I didn't have time for either. Having taken Latin for 6 years, at least getting to see Pompeii was a highlight anyway! Not getting to see everything that I wanted to just means I'll have to come back for sure! Ischia and the Amalfi Coast look wonderful as well. I'd probably do Naples as a day trip, though because it is just as dirty as everyone says! Even though the trash strike was "over" there were still piles in the street and trash all over the ground. I hear there are nicer parts to the city, but I didn't see them!
I have lots of reading and two papers to do by tomorrow, and then on Tuesday we're in Turkey!
Second day, however, was much more exciting! We took a hydrofoil (hovercraft) to Capri, and while the ride there was nauseating (rough seas), Capri was worth it. I've never been anywhere so beautiful! (Although I can think of a few other islands to which I would like to travel that might challenge it!) We explored Anacapri, the town on top of the mountain, then went to Faro, which is a little "beach" area (no sand or even pebbles - just rock and then water) which had Caribbean-colored water. My camera, as it turns out, is waterproof but not wholly salt-proof. After taking some fun underwater pictures, the lens wouldn't open the next morning! Thankfully, running it under tap water seemed to fix it. We all agreed that it was a good investment! We took a wrong turn after trying to find the lighthouse, and ended up walking halfway around the island and finding an old medieval fort! After more swimming and tanning (I'm so freckly and tan right now!) we went to dinner. Italian food in Italy is nothing like Italian food in the US. I like it so much better! It isn't heavy at all and there's so much more nuance in the flavor.
The next day we went to an old villa that had pieces of Roman ruins in it. Of course it had wonderful overlooks of Capri and the artifacts were neat as well. I got to touch a 3200 year old sphinx statue! The shopping in Capri is just as good as the food and views! The euro is dangerous, though - everything costs in numbers what it reasonably should in dollars, so it never seems like you're spending as much money as you are! Later we went down to the beach by the harbor.
The last morning we went to the Blue Grotto, which was neat, but not as spectacular as it's purported to be. Back in Naples, I took the bus to Pompeii to see the ruins. I wanted to see Mount Vesuvius and the National Archeological Museum, but I didn't have time for either. Having taken Latin for 6 years, at least getting to see Pompeii was a highlight anyway! Not getting to see everything that I wanted to just means I'll have to come back for sure! Ischia and the Amalfi Coast look wonderful as well. I'd probably do Naples as a day trip, though because it is just as dirty as everyone says! Even though the trash strike was "over" there were still piles in the street and trash all over the ground. I hear there are nicer parts to the city, but I didn't see them!
I have lots of reading and two papers to do by tomorrow, and then on Tuesday we're in Turkey!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Belgium (and a Day in the Netherlands)
Fun Facts about Belgium:
1 in every 12 people works for an American company
The saxophone was invented by Mr. Sax
The duffle bag was invented in town called Duffle
A Belgian company just bought Budweiser the other morning (52 billion, I think), making it the largest beer company in the world
There are 3 US military cemeteries from WW1; the Belgians sometimes adopt graves to take care of
The government is perpetually close to collapsing because of the divide between the French-speaking south and Flemish-speaking north and economic/cultural issues related to that. Brussels, the capitol of the EU and NATO, is in the middle. The Prime Minister tried to resign a few days ago because he couldn't find a solution, but the king didn't allow it. If it were to divide, it would likely influence northern Italy, Catalonia (in Spain), and Scotland, all of which have similar problems.
I went to the Diamond Museum the first day. It had a few replicas (which I don't think were even real stones because they were supposedly the largest or only of its kind) but a lot of nice jewelry. I like looking at sparkly things. They didn't allow cameras, though.
Church of Our Lady that housed 4 (of the more famous) Reubens paintings. I noticed on the train and bus rides that even the small towns we passed by have very impressive churches!
I ate a wonderfully delicious Belgian waffle, complete with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate, and it definitely topped any waffles we make in America! (Sorry, Waffle House. I still love you.) I didn't get a chance to have an Belgian fries (Belgium is actually where french fries were invented.) but they come smothered in mayonnaise and according to my friends, nothing spectacular. The chocolate, on the other hand, lives up to its reputation! I didn't buy any for myself; they gave us a few free pieces before the bike ride in the Ardennes. The last day I bought a box for the family, and I already told Mom this but it's a testament to how much I love them that it will go uneaten!
The bike ride was nice. At least, the countryside that we rode through was nice. I won't be able to show any pictures because we hardly stopped for breaks and were going much too fast to take any proper photos! I'm not horribly out of shape, but I've been getting sick for the past week or so (flu-ish bug, going around the ship) and I'm just not used to not being able to go at my own pace. Summary: It was painful. Plus, the other guy in the back and I got lost because the group turned and went over a hill (Bad outdoorsmanship! One of the first rules of any kind of outdoor sport is always wait for the group at crossroads/forks!) so we got to bike a lot extra while the group waited for us to eventually find them. I also fell over about five minutes before the end and have a big (6x2ish") bruise on my calf and my other knee is scraped up. It's probably a good thing that my parents never let me bike to school! I'm not very good at it. After the bike ride, we got lunch at a fancy pants restaurant (in all our biking clothes!) which was, of course, amazing. I can't praise Belgian food enough! The town, Oudenaarde, was famous for tapestries a few centuries ago, and still has them on display in the church.
The next day I went to Amsterdam by myself, meaning to meet up with my friends, but I'm dyslexic sometimes and I read Jeana's phone number wrong (multiple times) so I never saw them. I wandered around on my own for awhile (In the daytime! No worries, it was perfectly safe.) and then found a SAS group and hung out with them and went to the Anne Frank house. It was really neat being able to go into her room and see the place where her family actually hid. Since I couldn't find my friends, I didn't end up spending the night, so there wasn't time for the Van Gogh museum or Dappermarkt, which is a really big open air market that National Geographic ranked highly. Even though I wanted to see those places, Amsterdam isn't high on my list of places to go back to. It wasn't very clean and was very geared toward the "nightlife" (which was going on at all hours, including 2 in the afternoon!). It did have wonderful pancakes though! (Crepe-like, but much much thicker, with perfectly sweet-but-not-artificially-so syrup!)
The last day I mostly walked around and looked into expensive shops. Antwerp is one of the famous fashion cities, so there were lots of things to look at!
We have 5 whole days on board before Italy. I'm going to be so bored so send me fun emails! (I'll actually have a lot of work to do, but emails are nice regardless!)
1 in every 12 people works for an American company
The saxophone was invented by Mr. Sax
The duffle bag was invented in town called Duffle
A Belgian company just bought Budweiser the other morning (52 billion, I think), making it the largest beer company in the world
There are 3 US military cemeteries from WW1; the Belgians sometimes adopt graves to take care of
The government is perpetually close to collapsing because of the divide between the French-speaking south and Flemish-speaking north and economic/cultural issues related to that. Brussels, the capitol of the EU and NATO, is in the middle. The Prime Minister tried to resign a few days ago because he couldn't find a solution, but the king didn't allow it. If it were to divide, it would likely influence northern Italy, Catalonia (in Spain), and Scotland, all of which have similar problems.
I went to the Diamond Museum the first day. It had a few replicas (which I don't think were even real stones because they were supposedly the largest or only of its kind) but a lot of nice jewelry. I like looking at sparkly things. They didn't allow cameras, though.
Church of Our Lady that housed 4 (of the more famous) Reubens paintings. I noticed on the train and bus rides that even the small towns we passed by have very impressive churches!
I ate a wonderfully delicious Belgian waffle, complete with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate, and it definitely topped any waffles we make in America! (Sorry, Waffle House. I still love you.) I didn't get a chance to have an Belgian fries (Belgium is actually where french fries were invented.) but they come smothered in mayonnaise and according to my friends, nothing spectacular. The chocolate, on the other hand, lives up to its reputation! I didn't buy any for myself; they gave us a few free pieces before the bike ride in the Ardennes. The last day I bought a box for the family, and I already told Mom this but it's a testament to how much I love them that it will go uneaten!
The bike ride was nice. At least, the countryside that we rode through was nice. I won't be able to show any pictures because we hardly stopped for breaks and were going much too fast to take any proper photos! I'm not horribly out of shape, but I've been getting sick for the past week or so (flu-ish bug, going around the ship) and I'm just not used to not being able to go at my own pace. Summary: It was painful. Plus, the other guy in the back and I got lost because the group turned and went over a hill (Bad outdoorsmanship! One of the first rules of any kind of outdoor sport is always wait for the group at crossroads/forks!) so we got to bike a lot extra while the group waited for us to eventually find them. I also fell over about five minutes before the end and have a big (6x2ish") bruise on my calf and my other knee is scraped up. It's probably a good thing that my parents never let me bike to school! I'm not very good at it. After the bike ride, we got lunch at a fancy pants restaurant (in all our biking clothes!) which was, of course, amazing. I can't praise Belgian food enough! The town, Oudenaarde, was famous for tapestries a few centuries ago, and still has them on display in the church.
The next day I went to Amsterdam by myself, meaning to meet up with my friends, but I'm dyslexic sometimes and I read Jeana's phone number wrong (multiple times) so I never saw them. I wandered around on my own for awhile (In the daytime! No worries, it was perfectly safe.) and then found a SAS group and hung out with them and went to the Anne Frank house. It was really neat being able to go into her room and see the place where her family actually hid. Since I couldn't find my friends, I didn't end up spending the night, so there wasn't time for the Van Gogh museum or Dappermarkt, which is a really big open air market that National Geographic ranked highly. Even though I wanted to see those places, Amsterdam isn't high on my list of places to go back to. It wasn't very clean and was very geared toward the "nightlife" (which was going on at all hours, including 2 in the afternoon!). It did have wonderful pancakes though! (Crepe-like, but much much thicker, with perfectly sweet-but-not-artificially-so syrup!)
The last day I mostly walked around and looked into expensive shops. Antwerp is one of the famous fashion cities, so there were lots of things to look at!
We have 5 whole days on board before Italy. I'm going to be so bored so send me fun emails! (I'll actually have a lot of work to do, but emails are nice regardless!)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
In addition to friends and family....
I miss:
driving, Diet Coke (they only have Coca Cola Light here!), small furry animals (mainly Bella and Ashes), going to the gym without having to sign up for a time the night before, Anthropologie, fast internet and sites with pictures, phone calls, Naked Juice, control over inside temperature
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Denmark (and Sweden)
The first day in Denmark we walked around the small town of Korsor a bit, then took a train to Copenhagen. We shared an awesome flat between 9 people (7 beds! 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and shower) and wandered around Copenhagen a bit that night. Also, I had the absolute best Chinese food I've ever tasted in Copenhagen!
The next day the group split up and some of us took a train to Sweden. More wandering. Being a small town (Malmo) there really wasn't anything to do at night, so we went to bed early and went shopping and then back to Copenhagen the next day.
Copenhagen is home to the second oldest amusement park in the world, Tivoli Gardens. (The oldest in also in Denmark, but farther away and not as cool.) Our night there was definitely the best in Denmark! The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Opryland and all the rides had themes, as opposed to just being giant metal structures like in 6 Flags parks. It's in the middle of the city, also, so it isn't very big, which means it's easy to walk around and the lines were really short.
We stayed almost until closing, and then went to the Icebar. It was neat, but overpriced and a bit of a disappointment. Everything except for the floor was made of ice (including the cups), but it was really small inside and we got there right after the rush. I felt a bit bad for the bartender; Thursdays aren't normally busy nights, but they had over 200 people in 2.5 hours! (Almost all Semester at Sea kids.) I have no idea how they fit so many people in there! Despite the boots and parkas that they provided, it was freezing (obviously) so we didn't stay long.
Our departure from Korsor was anticlimactic. Like our arrival, there were lots of people outside the ship waiting to see us leave, the the local marching band performed around the square for probably about an hour, and then our captain announced that, contrary to plan, we wouldn't actually be leaving until 4am. (Instead of going around Denmark, we got permission to go through the Kiel Canal in Germany, which saves about 1/2 a day. It's the busiest canal in the world - more so than Panama - and has over 42,000 ships pass through it a year! It was neat sailing through it because land is so close that from the windows on the upper decks you can't even see the water, and the water since the water is so smooth when you look out the window it's like being on a train.)
The next day the group split up and some of us took a train to Sweden. More wandering. Being a small town (Malmo) there really wasn't anything to do at night, so we went to bed early and went shopping and then back to Copenhagen the next day.
Copenhagen is home to the second oldest amusement park in the world, Tivoli Gardens. (The oldest in also in Denmark, but farther away and not as cool.) Our night there was definitely the best in Denmark! The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Opryland and all the rides had themes, as opposed to just being giant metal structures like in 6 Flags parks. It's in the middle of the city, also, so it isn't very big, which means it's easy to walk around and the lines were really short.
We stayed almost until closing, and then went to the Icebar. It was neat, but overpriced and a bit of a disappointment. Everything except for the floor was made of ice (including the cups), but it was really small inside and we got there right after the rush. I felt a bit bad for the bartender; Thursdays aren't normally busy nights, but they had over 200 people in 2.5 hours! (Almost all Semester at Sea kids.) I have no idea how they fit so many people in there! Despite the boots and parkas that they provided, it was freezing (obviously) so we didn't stay long.
Our departure from Korsor was anticlimactic. Like our arrival, there were lots of people outside the ship waiting to see us leave, the the local marching band performed around the square for probably about an hour, and then our captain announced that, contrary to plan, we wouldn't actually be leaving until 4am. (Instead of going around Denmark, we got permission to go through the Kiel Canal in Germany, which saves about 1/2 a day. It's the busiest canal in the world - more so than Panama - and has over 42,000 ships pass through it a year! It was neat sailing through it because land is so close that from the windows on the upper decks you can't even see the water, and the water since the water is so smooth when you look out the window it's like being on a train.)
Being in Denmark made me want to watch "The Prince and Me," but sadly I left it at home. Also, I'm jealous of a friend who got to visit Hamlet's castle. (I was surprised that most people didn't know Hamlet was set in Denmark!)
I have a midterm later today, and then tomorrow we're in Belgium!
I have a midterm later today, and then tomorrow we're in Belgium!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Happiest Place on Earth
Denmark, having usurped the name "The Happiest Place on Earth" from Disneyland, is already living up to its title - and we aren't even off the ship yet! We're porting in Korsor, which is a small fishing town about an hour away from Copenhagen. As we were sailing into port, there was a crowd of people (despite the rain) and a band playing "I'll Be There For You" (the theme song from Friends).
Best welcome ever!!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
"Niet Paruski" ("I don't speak Russian.")
That's a (very) rough and phonetic translation.
We've been in Russia for the past five days and had our "4th" of July party as we left port today. Finally, good food! After wandering around a country where I can't even understand the alphabet, it was the perfect "coming home." I don't think I've ever been so happy for barbecue, lemonade, and American flags! No fireworks, though. : (
Russia was definitely different than I expected - St. Petersberg is really pretty and not as gloomy as all the literature lead me to expect - and it's much much bigger than Bergen. I spent most days just walking around exploring with people, looking at buildings and monuments. We had "Russia Day" instead of classes the day before port, and they scared us all with horror stories about the metro, Russian vodka, pick-pocketing, xenophobia, and lost/stolen passports. Thankfully, no one I know of had a problem with any of those things, and most of the Russians I met were friendly.
The first night I got to go see Swan Lake at the Hermitage theater, and it was really pretty but I felt a bit uncultured because I expected it to be obvious that this was world-class ballet, but it looked normal-amazing, as opposed to amazing-amazing, to me. I could even see the main ballerina's arm shaking from our box! A few nights later we went to see another ballet at the famous Mariinsky theater, but it was modern (Glass Heart) and so strange. It seemed less like ballet and more like modern dance; they used more arm movements than leg movements, and there were a lot of (very confusing) props. Not knowing the story always makes it a bit more difficult, I suppose.
We went to the Hermitage (Catherine the Great's winter palace, which is now a museum) this morning and it was HUGE - we only made it through two (out of 7?) floors, but managed to see Rembrant, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Dyck, Cezanne, Picasso, Pissarro, Rodin (my favorite!!), Matisse, Kent, and a WHOLE lot more. Not to mention the palace itself is the most opulent building I have ever seen. Then we went souvenir shopping, which wasn't quite as cheap as I'd hoped, but everyone got very cool presents. Also, I got to hold a baby bear. (We were walking through the park near the Bronze Horseman, and saw a very strange looking dog, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a bear, and it was only 100 rubles ($4) for pictures with it, so I got to hold it and feed it from a bottle. It was only 10 months old and very cute, though a bit dirty.
There are so many places that I didn't get to visit - including Moscow - so I'll have to come back some day, though preferably with translator and car!
We only have two days of class before Denmark, and it's incredibly easy to get out of the habit of doing work while in port!
Send me emails! I like updates from home! (jesimpson@semesteratsea.net)
We've been in Russia for the past five days and had our "4th" of July party as we left port today. Finally, good food! After wandering around a country where I can't even understand the alphabet, it was the perfect "coming home." I don't think I've ever been so happy for barbecue, lemonade, and American flags! No fireworks, though. : (
Russia was definitely different than I expected - St. Petersberg is really pretty and not as gloomy as all the literature lead me to expect - and it's much much bigger than Bergen. I spent most days just walking around exploring with people, looking at buildings and monuments. We had "Russia Day" instead of classes the day before port, and they scared us all with horror stories about the metro, Russian vodka, pick-pocketing, xenophobia, and lost/stolen passports. Thankfully, no one I know of had a problem with any of those things, and most of the Russians I met were friendly.
The first night I got to go see Swan Lake at the Hermitage theater, and it was really pretty but I felt a bit uncultured because I expected it to be obvious that this was world-class ballet, but it looked normal-amazing, as opposed to amazing-amazing, to me. I could even see the main ballerina's arm shaking from our box! A few nights later we went to see another ballet at the famous Mariinsky theater, but it was modern (Glass Heart) and so strange. It seemed less like ballet and more like modern dance; they used more arm movements than leg movements, and there were a lot of (very confusing) props. Not knowing the story always makes it a bit more difficult, I suppose.
We went to the Hermitage (Catherine the Great's winter palace, which is now a museum) this morning and it was HUGE - we only made it through two (out of 7?) floors, but managed to see Rembrant, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Dyck, Cezanne, Picasso, Pissarro, Rodin (my favorite!!), Matisse, Kent, and a WHOLE lot more. Not to mention the palace itself is the most opulent building I have ever seen. Then we went souvenir shopping, which wasn't quite as cheap as I'd hoped, but everyone got very cool presents. Also, I got to hold a baby bear. (We were walking through the park near the Bronze Horseman, and saw a very strange looking dog, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a bear, and it was only 100 rubles ($4) for pictures with it, so I got to hold it and feed it from a bottle. It was only 10 months old and very cute, though a bit dirty.
There are so many places that I didn't get to visit - including Moscow - so I'll have to come back some day, though preferably with translator and car!
We only have two days of class before Denmark, and it's incredibly easy to get out of the habit of doing work while in port!
Send me emails! I like updates from home! (jesimpson@semesteratsea.net)
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