Easter in Belgium

Belgium.  The land of waffles, French fries, and chocolate.  We left Belgium about an hour ago and I already miss all three of these things.  It’s a little sad to admit but my favorite thing about Belgium is their food.  The waffles are always delicious, no matter the flavor.  I tried a plain waffle, a powdered-sugar waffle, and a waffle with chocolate syrup; all were equally delicious!  Belgium invented French fries so it is only expected that they would be delicious as well; golden, thick cut, and with just the right amount of crispiness.  And the chocolate… oh my!  It is the most pure, smooth, and unprecedented taste I have ever had, and I eat a lot of chocolate so that’s saying something.  I almost forgot about another one of their specialties, cherry beer.  I was not so sure about ordering it at first, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I thought it tasted more like juice than beer though, so it was more of a desert beer for me.

We arrived at our hotel in Brussels mid-afternoon and had a short tour of the city.  We had free time after and that’s when I had my first Belgian waffle and cherry beer.  The next day we had a day trip to Gent and Brugge, two beautiful medieval cities.  In Gent we visited several cathedrals and public squares; we did pretty much the same thing in Brugge.  My favorite part of the day was getting to visit the cathedral of His Holy Blood.  I do not know the whole story, but there is a vial of blood on display that is supposedly Jesus Christ’s.  Like I said, I do not know much about it, whether it is actually his or not, but I do know that it was an awesome experience.  We were released from our tour in Brugge and Dan, Devin, Jen, and I found chocolate, beer, and waffles in that respective order.  I bought myself some Easter chocolate to eat today at some point.  I just have to pretend that it came from an Easter basket sitting on my kitchen table at home; that is our Easter tradition in my family. 

I am a little bummed today because it is Easter and I cannot be home for it.  It is difficult, though, to think of an alternative that could be better than what I have gotten to do here.  I got to pray over Christ’s blood the day before Easter.  Not only that but I got to pray in at least 5 or 6 historic cathedrals in Europe on the weekend of Easter.  I cannot be more thankful for these experiences because lately I have found it almost impossible to find a time to just pray, or a time to talk to God when it is just me and Him free from distraction.  I have not been to church in three months, or even been able to have fellowship with another Christian.  I am sure that this has taken its toll on me, especially in the last month, but it has also been a test of faith.  I look at the journey I have been on and think of how far I have come personally.  It has been so hard, but I would not have it any other way!

As the days of the trip wind down, the deadline for my studio project nears.  I have never wanted time to move so quickly, yet so slowly in my life.  I realize I can hope all I want, but God is the one in control here.  All in His timing!

Amsterdam, Holland Part 2

Well I have found my favorite city in the world, so far at least!  Amsterdam is a typical historic European city, with an awesome modern style that is 100 percent my style.  I knew before I got here that it would be a fantastic place, but it exceeded my expectations. 

Early this morning we took a tram to the middle of the city with a plan to eventually work our way back to our hotel.  As a group we walked to the northeast side of the city where a residential development was recently built.  In ARCH 100 we studied the whole area with an emphasis on two specific places of interest; a residential building referred to as “the whale” and a canal lined with individual and unique townhomes.  Townhomes are my absolute favorite type of residential architecture.  When the area was developed, each townhome was designed by a different architect.  Not every unit is the best example of design, but all of them together paint a glorious picture.  After we walked through the development we returned to the city center and got released for the rest of the day.

Dan, Devin, and I split off as usual and did some shopping.  I had to find my sticker and Devin had to find his postcard; it’s the same routine in every city.  This time we switched it up and both bought a shirt in addition to our sticker and postcard.  The hoodie I got is the first article of clothing I have bought since I have been on the trip and wearing it makes me feel like a new woman!  It is so great!

Now seems like an appropriate time to mention that Amsterdam has legalized prostitution and marijuana.  They are most famous for their Red Light District, so we just had to walk through it.  It is ironic, I know, that this city would be my favorite when things like this exist, but believe me when I say the Red Light District is probably the only thing I hate about the city, yes hate.  It was so disturbing to me that a society can be so accepting of something like this.  I mean the gift shops alone were enough to educate me on things I could have gone my entire life without knowing.  So yeah, the Red Light District was interesting to say least. 

We ate lunch after and headed back towards the hotel for another night of work.  I did not really get much done at all unfortunately.  I have never been more scared for my studio project in my life.  The end is approaching too quickly as far as my design is concerned.  Prayers are gladly accepted!

Amsterdam, Holland Part 1

Well lately the days have been looking up.  The overnight train was better than expected even though I came away from it with a sore neck and caffeine headache.  The train was delayed overnight because of mechanical issue.  That put us 80 minutes behind schedule, and ruined all chances of me getting food or coffee in the morning.  We immediately began a bus tour of Amsterdam, which I did not mind at all because the city is pretty awesome, and I got to see a lot of it without doing any work.  The tour lasted about 2 hours, and by then I was officially starving!  We got to our hotel at about 2:00 in the afternoon, but we had to walk a good 20 minutes just to find a restaurant.  We ate at a local Italian pizzeria that was delicious!

With a full evening ahead, Dan, Jacob, and I found our way to the famous Heineken brewery.  Dan loves Heineken so he just wanted to go to buy a shirt at the gift shop.  Well we ended up doing that, but only after we toured the whole Heineken experience.  We had not planned on going inside, but I am glad we did.  I had such a great time because it was something different than I have done on the trip so far; plus it had nothing to do with architecture.  It was a great way to get away from everything on this trip and just enjoy myself.  I need a day like this once every week!

I am actually excited for our walking tour tomorrow.  Rod and Les will lead, which means we will be focused on the design of the city, and not just tourist traps.  I am aware of several semi-famous buildings in Amsterdam, mostly because the modern architecture here is exactly the style that I love!  I am hoping to draw some major inspiration from our tour tomorrow because I am in great need of some for my studio project!

Prague and Dancing Building

Prague has been a memorable city with some really cool art and style, but it has been so darn cold lately that it is impossible to enjoy it like I should.  Also the stress of having a studio project due in 3 weeks is making it difficult.  Sometimes I wish I could just call home and vent about everything… soon, very soon.  I will spare you from all my complaining that I wrote in my journal, and just skip on to the good stuff.

Yesterday morning we had a short walking tour with Rod and Les.  We walked down to Old Town and Saint Charles Bridge.  Prague is a beautiful city built around several canals that give it a unique sense of place.  My favorite part was perhaps when I got Starbucks during a break and walked around the Easter Market on the square.  We continued on the tour for a while longer and were released at Saint Charles Bridge, with the rest of the day for independent study.  At this point I only had one thing in mind, Frank Gehry’s Dancing Building.

A report on Gehry’s architecture sophomore year of high school led me to the love of Dancing Building.  The concept and design of the building planted a seed and inspired me to give architecture a try.  Before that report architecture never even entered my mind as a potential career.   Through his design, Frank Gehry taught me that buildings are a form of art and the design process is part of an architect’s daily life. Ok, back to Prague. 

Dancing Building is located in Prague, and I had been waiting 6 years to stand before it in person.  I promised myself I would make it there one day and today was that day!  I got my first glimpse as I rounded the corner of the sidewalk on the river, and it was such a great sight to see!  It did not take long to have a full view, and it left me speechless.  It is not that this is an important building in the big world of architecture; it is more of a sentimental thing for me.  In fact several people have outwardly expressed their dislike for the building, mostly because it is completely different than anything else in its context.  After taking millions of photos, we headed back to the hotel for a full evening of homework. 

We had a pretty easy day today because we were basically waiting around for our train to leave around 5p.m.  Dan, Devin, and I found a coffee shop and camped out in there for several hours working on homework.  Tonight is another overnight train from Prague to Amsterdam.  At least this train is a tad bit bigger than the last over-nighter, but it is still way too small if you ask me!  I am hoping for an all-around better mood/day tomorrow because the past few days have been a little rough.  II have no doubt that things will begin to improve because I am very excited to finally be in Amsterdam.

Prague, Czech Republic

Today’s lesson of the day, sometimes great things come in terrible packages.  This morning began with a rather early breakfast, followed by a four-block hike with our luggage to the train station.  At the station we were informed that our 8:00 a.m. train reservation was actually for a public coach bus (like a Greyhound).  Instant panic took over a few people in the group, clearly causing everyone a higher stress level.  On a public bus, storage space is scarce, which meant we would probably be holding our luggage on our laps for the five hour bus ride.  There was a small chance that we would not even be able to all fit the bus at all.  I was mad because I had planned to work on assignments that were due the next day, and that clearly was not going to happen now.

After waiting in the freezing cold for well over a half an hour, our bus pulled up.  It was the nicest double-decker we could have asked for.  A long story short, I ended up being able to store both of my bags, sit in a comfortable seat without a stranger by me, and even have a table to work on.  Icing on the cake, I ordered and drank a coffee while I worked on my assignments.  Oh how quickly my moods can change on this trip.  Somehow everything always seems to work out, probably because of this magical thing called faith.  Oh, I still get stressed and frustrated more than I should, but I cannot imagine traveling like this and trying to survive on my own strength.  It would simply be impossible; I would probably be locked up in a loony bin back in Vietnam.

Ok, back to today’s events.  Immediately upon our arrival in Prague we began a tour of the city.  On our lunch break we ate at a McDonald’s only because we had a few minutes before we had to meet back up.  The employees were so rude to us; it did not even make lunch worth it.  Poor Lin! All she wanted was to get salad dressing, and they gave her such a hard time about it.

We continued on our tour for the next two hours.  If I thought Munich was cold, well Prague winds are exponentially worse.  I felt as if my face might crack and fall off.  When we finally got to our hotel for the evening, I was so happy to see that it was an awesome hotel.  Our beds are comfy, the showers are warm, and we have Wi-Fi in the rooms.  It is sad, but those are the things that make or break my days anymore. 

Munich, Germany

Munich is a pretty cool place that has a lot to offer, unfortunately I will probably only remember it by how cold I was the entire day!  The weather was supposed to be a high of 35 or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but I think the wind chill lowered that by at least 15 degrees.  Our walking tour only lasted about 3 hours, visiting the heart of Munich in the old town and The Resident’s Palace.  We were released for lunch at the doors of the Hofbrauhas Brewery, one of the most famous breweries in Germany.

We walked in to eat but the place was packed so we decided to find a relaxing café.  We left after taking a few photos and visiting the gift shop where I bought a beer stein to give to my brother-in-law.  We found a café and as I was walking to sit down, the bag with the stein slipped out of my numb fingers (still cold from the walking tour) and fell straight to the ground.  I owned that stein for only 10 minutes before I found a way shatter it!  You would think I would quit buying breakables on this trip and learn my lesson, but I did just the opposite and went back and bought another one.  I even got an extra one to give to my brother.  I am not sure how I thought that would be a good idea, but if they both make it home in tact it will be worth the troubles I will go through in the next 3 weeks carrying them with me.  I was so mad at myself for dropping the first one I bought, but with the help of our glass-half-full campaign, I was convinced that it could have been worse.  I could have broken it a week from now and not been able to buy another. 

After that whole fiasco, Rod and Les took us out to the Olympic Park site.  The tensile structure of the pavilions is pretty amazing.  It was built in the late 60s with hardly any computer technology available.  This fact alone makes the park worth visiting, at least for architecture nerds like us.  Also near the park is BMW World, one of the coolest buildings I have seen on this trip so far.  BMW World is a show room/learning center/ museum to all things BMW.  The car displays were pretty cool and the building was awesome!

After visiting both of these places we took the metro back in the direction of our hotel.  We went to eat dinner at a famous pizza place our guide recommended, but being a Saturday night, the restaurant was packed.  We found a nice café, but of course, the menu was only in German.  I am getting tired of the fact that food on this trip always has to be an ordeal.  It takes so much time, energy, and money just to find a decent meal.  The café ended up working out ok though because our waiter could speak English.  He encouraged us to try a very special kind of Munich sausage.  It was actually really good, but it freaked me out at first because it came out white as snow.  Dan and Devin talked me through my first few bites and I ended up liking it!  After our dinner, we walked back to the hotel to tend to our massive amounts of homework, as usual.

Salzburg, Austria and some personal problems

Today began way too early as we had to be on a train to Salzburg by 7:50 this morning.  It was extremely hectic because someone thought it would be a good idea to have all 26 of us and our luggage transported to the train station by taxis.  I do not handle hectic stuff like that at 7:00a.m., or I am not very happy at least.  It is an area of definite self-improvement.  The important thing is everyone got to the train station safely and on time for our train.  I had wonderful intentions of working on the three-hour ride, but fate had another thing planned for me.  Because we left the hotel so early this morning we were not able to eat breakfast.  No breakfast means no coffee for me.  No coffee means I slept the entire train ride and there was nothing I could do to stop it!  Although, I was fortunate enough to wake up a few times to see the beautiful countryside.

Once we got to Salzburg we stored our luggage and our guide met us.  I was able to find some coffee and a pastry that instantly improved my day.  We walked around for several hours admiring the beautiful city, including the building that the Von Trapp family performed in towards the end of The Sound of Music.  We were released in time for a couple hours of independent study before our train left for Munich.  I ate lunch with a small group of people and shopped for the remainder of the time. 

Our train ride to Munich was about an hour and a half long, so we arrived at our hotel around 7:30p.m.  I have stayed in a few hotels that were worse, but this one is not exactly at the top of the list.  I had a small break-down earlier because sometimes all I want is a little bit of personal space.  Four of us packed in a room originally intended for only two is a great way to freak me out.  The hotel is in the middle of a Turkish district in a German city which I find a bit ironic.  You just never know what to expect on World Tour, a clear indication that the world will always be unpredictable.  I have found a great way to cope with this, but I am not all that great at it.  If I do not expect much from hotels, or anything else on this trip for that matter, then it is really hard to be disappointed.  In other words, by lowering my expectations, I am rarely unhappy with the situation.  It sounds great in theory but it is awfully hard to do, especially when we jump from hotel to hotel like we do.  I am thinking I will master this about the time the trip is over.  Oh well, I will not mind much at all come April 15^th! 

Quickly I want to apologize for writing a blog mostly filled with me whining.  I realize you are not reading this to hear me gripe about my surroundings, but hey, I have to vent somehow.  I cannot exactly talk to people on this trip about it either because I know we are all at the same point right now.  So thanks for being my listening ear!