I don’t think there could have been any other way to end our
study abroad excursions than by going to Slovenia like we did. I never really thought I would ever visit any
of the countries that we visited on the weekends, but I am sure glad that we
did. Nonetheless, Slovenia was
definitely the cherry on the top of the ice cream. It was beautiful, filled with amazingly nice
people, and scenery that I will never forget.
Let’s be honest, though.
When we first arrived in Slovenia I was extremely worried and thought we
had stepped into the most ghetto area of the world. Many of the trains were covered in graffiti
and very old. Also, at one point on our
way to Ljubljana the train stopped for a good 20-30 minutes because of some
sort of problems. I thought we were done
for.
The sketchy graffiti trains in Slovenia
I swear we were going to die
However, the trip ended up being one of the most memorable
trips we have had thus far. Slovenia had
me thinking about the beauty of both Switzerland and New Zealand. From the rivers, lakes, and mountains, I just
couldn’t take it all in fast enough.
Before our study abroad started, we were told to buy tickets
to Ljubljana at either 8am or 2pm. We of
course chose the 8am option because we thought it would give us more time in
the country. However, not long after we
bought our tickets, our professor told us that we needed to buy the 1pm tickets
because we were supposed to visit the United Nations that day. We however had already bought our tickets and
didn’t want to re-buy the tickets for another 45 euros, so we decided we would
just miss the UN. (Later one, we
discovered that they changed the UN date anyways because they didn’t want to be
stressed about time to get from the UN to the train station to get to
Ljubljana, so it all worked out) But
with that being said, there were only 3 of us that had bought the earlier
ticket, so we were basically on our own the whole way there. The nice thing about traveling in groups is I
can rely on other people to help find the way, but this time it was up to us
three to get to where we needed to be. Thankfully the trains were not difficult to
figure out and finding our way wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be
(especially because we did not have any phone service in Slovenia so I couldn’t
even use my phone to use GPS!)
After our crazy trip
on the trains, we arrived in Ljubljana and managed to find our way to the hotel
that we would be staying at. We
originally thought we would not be able to check in because the hotel was under
our professor’s name and she would not be there until later, but they were nice
and let us check in without her. Since
we were also the first ones there, Kelsee and I were allowed to take the
biggest room they had! We were a little
skeptical thinking that maybe the room was meant to go to our professor and her
husband, but it was for the students! So
we had a very nice large room for Kelsee and I and two other girls when they
arrived.
Our side of the room that Kelsee and I shared
After we checked into our room, Kelsee, Josh, and I went out
to explore the city and site see. We
originally weren’t going to do much because we wanted to wait for the rest of
the class to get there so we could do stuff with them, but the town was so
little there was only so much you could do, so we ended up doing most of the
stuff that we wanted to that day while the others were still traveling.
We went up to the Ljubljana castle and explored it. We got some nice views of the city, and even
went into the torture room. It was
interesting in the torture room because they had all of the torture devices out
so that we could see them, which was the same sort of idea that we saw at the
castle in Prague. However, with each
torture device was a description with extreme detail of how the device worked
and why it was used. Let’s just say that
my stomach was turning by the end of it, and food was the last thing I wanted
by then because it was all so gruesome and cruel.
The Ljubljana castle
Pano of part of the city
A church we randomly walked into.
View of the river
Ljubljana and the three bridges.
Another shot of the canal - walking towards the Dragon bridge
The dragon bridge
The lamp on the Dragon bridge
Either way, we had a good time at the castle and finally
made our way back down to the main city center to get some food. After dinner we decided to go on a boat canal
tour. It was a good way to get out of
the heat and see the city in a different way.
We even got to see a little glimpse of the sunset!
What I love most about Europe is how many parks they have
and how everyone will go to the park to hang out, have BBQs, drink, and just
socialize in general. It makes me wish
that people in the United States would do it more, but instead I feel like most
of our parks are used for sports events or for the homeless to hang out at…. On
our canal tour there was a little area by the river where lots of people were
hanging out and picnicking. It made me
so happy and jealous that all of these people were out at friends enjoying
their night by the river. It made me
wish I lived near a river like in Boise or Portland to just go and chill out
at.
Selfie on the boat
Random dolls on our canal tour
A bridge
Some boats on the water
The river
Sun setting
The sunset!
That night we finally met up with the rest of the students
that had arrived. We all decided to go
to a karaoke bar and hang out, have drinks if people wanted, and just have
fun. It was really fun to just hang out
with people, talk, sing, and goof off.
Even one of the professors who came to teach us the week before Slovenia
came to have some beers with us and watch as people sang karaoke. If only we could have gotten her up on that
stage!
Drinking with Mackenzie
That awkward moment when your professor shows up to the bar...
Ljubljana by night
The next day, we had a little more time to hang out before
leaving for Bled, Slovenia. Since we did
everything the day before, it was a day for us to hang out and do anything else
we wanted to see or do. We walked around
and got to go see the University of Ljubljana.
There was also a food festival going on so we walked around there and
got to see many delicious looking foods!
I really wanted to just try it all, but unfortunately couldn’t. We also had to go to H&M and find me a new
pair of sunglasses since the ones I brought with snapped in my bag somehow, so I was sunglassless and
needed a new cheapo pair. We once again
met up with some more students who actually decided they were done in Ljubljana
and wanted to leave and take an earlier bus to Bled, so we decided to tag along
and go with them.
The university
Walking around the streets. I just wanted a picture of the large soccer ball.
Europe has made me truly miss playing soccer. It makes me so happy and jealous when I see people playing on the streets or in the park.
The food festival!
So much food
And veggies and fruits
My new necklace and sunglasses Kelsee convinced me to buy
I was happy we left earlier because as beautiful as
Ljubljana was, Bled was 10x as pretty.
We made it to Bled, but unfortunately got off at a bus stop one before
the one we were supposed to, so we walked around like lost puppies for a little
bit until we found our apartments that we were staying at. We unpacked, cooled down, and then went to
walk around the town and see the lake.
Abi feeding the swans
Pano of Lake Bled
We got dinner at a little restaurant on the lake. Kelsee and I both got this massive meat plate
to try different meats from Slovenia. It
was delicious and a nice change to all of the carbs that we have been eating
the last few weeks we’ve been in Europe.
After dinner, we walked around and ran into some more of our class mates
who apparently discovered that there was supposed to be some fire show tonight,
but they couldn’t figure out where. The
weekend we were in Bled was the weekend that the castle was holding a Medieval
Festival! So we got to participate and see
a bit of that.
Massive meat plate...
Sunsetting
We kept walking around since the place we thought the fire show
was going to be at was obviously not there, but quickly after, I noticed a
bunch of people crowded around a little area on the street, and I immediately
got excited and got everyone’s attention to come over for the show. It was so fun to see the medieval costumes
but more importantly watch them fight each other with swords and fire-lit
swords and axes, etc.
All the medieval people
Doing a flag ceremony dance
Fighting with flamed swords
The next day we decided to spend the day in the water. That morning we walked around to a little
free-swimming area on the lake and hung out, laid out to tan, and swam. The water was so cold, but with all the heat
it felt so good once you got in! After swimming we went on a kayaking trip down
one of the rivers nearby. Just above
Lake Bled was another Lake with a river that connects the two. We went kayaking down part of the river. This part of the river was maybe class I
rapids, so nothing major, but it was fun to be on the river, hang out with
friends, and relax. It made me so
excited for our trip down the Salmon River in a few short weeks!
We got breakfast that morning, and we paid mostly in coins....
View on our way to the docks.
The church on the island in the distance...
My absolute favorite picture I took of Lake Bled
Another shot of the church
Tanning
Hanging out
<3
Selfies
Post-swimming
The first flip of the trip...
The river we kayaked
The group kayaking
More of the group
Kayaking
I jumped off the diving board....
It was so high I screamed!
Almost to the water
One out of three waterfalls we went over
The second
Paddle paddle paddle!
Finishing the river
Finally at the end
U of U students take on Bled kayaking!
After our day in the water, we quickly cleaned up at our
apartments and made our way up to the castle to watch another fire show. Most of the stuff was similar, but they had
even more things and a story plot. It
lasted a couple of hours so it was fun to see once again. It was also fun to see the castle and just be
a part of the show and festival.
Shot from the castle
Part of the castle
Medieval festival
The next day we woke up early to go on a hike to the Vintgar
Gorge. This is where Slovenia really
reminded me of New Zealand. The gorge
had pristine clear water with a green-blue hue to the water. It was absolutely beautiful! Also, since it was so hot, it was nice to be
near the water and in a more shaded area to keep out of the heat (although,
getting there, despite being so early, was brutal and so hot!)
Walking along the gorge
Beautiful
I loved the color of the water!
Another one of my favorite shots of the gorge
Once again, U of U students take on Vintgar Gorge!
Cheesing!
That day, we once again left Bled and made our way to
Klagenfurt, Austria. Here we did not
have much time to explore the city. That
night we had dinner at the restaurant we were staying at. It was expensive, but so worth it! (Shrimp
and steak, yum!) The next day we started
the day early and got to explore some crisis prevention homes and a group home
for teens.
The crisis home was interesting. They take kids in who are having trouble with
families or just need to get away. They
work with the kids and try to get the kids back on the right track so that they
can go back home and be better off there.
The kids normally would stay about 6 weeks they said, but sometimes they
will stay as short as one night and as long as a couple of months.
The group home was also interesting because it was kids who
basically couldn’t live at home or had some mental disorders or something and
just needed to learn to live on their own or they really couldn’t go back home
at all. The kids could come as early as
age 13 and stay as long as age 21. The
start out in shared rooms, like dorm rooms, and eventually can work their way
up to living in an apartment flat at the house and then move out into an
apartment in the city. The only way to
move into the flat or apartments is when they are sturdy enough to live on
their own. One of the kids that we met
there had already been there for two years, and apparently was a really good
chef and hopes to become a chef one day.
But he seemed to really like it there and I can see how these places can
be really good for kids who do have troubles or need that extra help or have
some awful family living situations. It
makes me interested to know if the States has anything that is similar. It also really related to nursing school
because they were about working with kids who may be underprivileged or a
minority. It made me even look into
doing my community health clinical rotation this semester in the juvenile
justice system.
Anyways, that afternoon we took a train back to Vienna,
where we would spend just a few more short days with our host family. We once again had another professor teach our
class because our professor stayed in Klagenfurt to teach some meeting about
Family Strengthening Programs. The nice
thing about the other professor stepping in was that it made our days in class
super short, we ended up not having class on Thursday AND WE DIDN’T HAVE A
FINAL! It’s every college students
favorite granted wish!
----------------------------------------------
I forgot to mention. Before Slovenia, we went to the zoo (supposedly a famous one in Europe!) and we also went to the United Nations as a class! It was interesting to listen to some of the projects and learn more about what the UN does.
There is a sloth crawling down the tree, I promise.
This panda was so cute swinging!
The girls after the zoo
One more for good measure
OH! We also went to dinner at the Aussie pub during the week. I felt like I was home here! I miss Australia so much.
Aussies have good attitudes!
We also visited Belvedere Palace
This is the upper Belvedere
And the lower Belvedere!
I finally put on my necklace I bought myself in Hungary. (I have bought myself more jewelery here than I have bought souvenirs for anyone. Sorry, not sorry!)
The line to get into the UN
Front of the UN
Officially official
Inside the UN
Some of the flags that represent the 193 countries!
Kelsee and I explored the city and tried to get everything
done that we wanted to before we left.
The Thursday we were supposed to have class, we went to a pool and hung
out with some classmates. It was also a
pool with a city view. It kind of made
the trip hit home and made me realize that the time was coming shortly to a
close. That night we had a dinner with
the whole class and our professor who had just made it back from
Klagenfurt. It was nearly heartbreaking
realizing the program was over. Granted,
we don’t have to say goodbye to anyone because thankfully everyone lives in
Utah, so we can all get back together, but we do have our one black sheep
Frenchman who we all had to say goodbye to.
Needless to say, there were lots of hugs given that night, a lot of “See
you Later in Utah!”s and a true feeling of an ending.
Oh, I also went to the ONE DIRECTION concert with Kelsee Wednesday night. It was the second time I have seen them in concert. Make fun all you want, but they will forever have a piece of my heart! (:
Tanning at the pool!
The pool with a view!
I bought some Slovenian Lemon Liquor, so I finally decided to indulge.
Lemon Liquor + Diet Coke = PRIME!
After dinner with our class. I couldn't imagine my study abroad without these girls!
The Final Shebam. I'm going to miss all of these lovely people <3
Friday we went to visit the little town of Hallstatt,
Austria. It is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, and apparently the Chinese loved the town so much there is a replica town
somewhere in China!
It was a beautiful town! Very small, but so worth the
trip. We adventured around the small
town, took some photos, went up the funicular to get an overview panoramic view
of the lake and town below, and then went on a boat ride on the lake. It was so nice to just hang out, drive around
the lake, listen to music, sing and dance, and goof off. It made me realize how close some of us have
become as a group in just these short four weeks of being together.
Panorama of the little city on the lake
Beautiful Hallstatt
Central Market Square
We took a little powered boat out on the lake and cruised around - selfie time!
Emily driving the boat
View from the lake
Another view from the lake
View from near the waterfall
A little waterfall above the city of Hallstatt
Way above the city of Hallstatt! Overview of the lake
That's Hallstatt down there (:
The ferry we had to take to the city
------------------------------------------
I have absolutely loved my experience in Vienna, Austria and
my program of Health Promotion and Education.
I have made some amazing friends here, found some great travel buddies,
but have truly learned a lot about this world and myself. I couldn’t have asked for a better summer
semester and a second chance at a study abroad.
It has been the experience of a lifetime!
Today it really hit me that it is over, seeing that Kelsee
had to leave at 3am this morning to catch her flight. I skyped my mom before I left to catch my
train this morning and she asked me how it was to have my hip back. Kelsee and I have become so close as friends
through this experience and I could haven’t asked for a better traveling
partner throughout the last 6 weeks.
She’s someone I can rely on, talk to, goof off with, and someone who is
willing to put up with my crap! This is
what college is all about, right? Finding
those friends that will stay close to you forever.
Don’t worry every one, we’re already planning our next few
trips! ;)
And now, I am off to Amsterdam, on my own. Without my other hip…. Wish me luck (:
-----------------------------------
Since I haven't had wifi, you get the rest of my blog from the past day!
*****
Well, Amsterdam has been quite the experience.
I traveled for a total or 15 hours on Saturday – 12 of those
actually on the train. Nonetheless, it
was a LONG day. I got quite a bit lost
in the Amsterdam Central Station, but managed to find my way to the lockers to
put away my large suitcase so I did not have to drag it all over the city with
me. However, it was a bit cold so I
decided to pull out my good fleece from my bag.
Thankfully I did because I’ve been sleeping in it because it’s been so
cold!
Anyways, I found my way to the apartment I am staying
at. The person who checked me in was the
not the person who I had been corresponding with who owns the place. Basically, she was quite late to meet me at
the apartment (and it was raining….) and then she spoke no English. I also had to overpay for the apartment
because I did not have exact change. It
sounded like she said she would come back the next day to bring me the change,
but she never did. I’ve asked the owner
about it but we will see what happens.
Either way, with all the traveling, tiredness, lostness, and her
non-english-speaking, I basically broke down that night. Thankfully sleep cured me.
My cute little apartment
Easily could have fit three people here!
The next morning I woke up fairly early, but of course never
wanted to get out of bed because I was still so tired, so I took my time
getting up. That may have been a bad
idea because I went straight to the Anne Frank house right as it opened up, but
the line for it was already 4 blocks long!
It took me over 2 hours to get in to see it, but it was worth it.
It was interesting to actually see the house and where all
of the people hid. It was also fun to
remember the story of Anne Frank and everything that occurred while they were
in hiding.
Unfortunately, I am a good girl and listen to rule. They said no taking photos, so I didn’t….
Even though many people were doing it anyways!
I am a bit upset I did not take photos, but at the same time it is
sometimes nice to just enjoy it for yourself and not have to worry about
getting the right picture to show everyone…
This is the only photo I snuck... and these are mild stairs compared to some of the steeper stairs we had to climb up!!!
After the house I walked around and mostly just enjoyed the
city! I did a LOT of walking around the
city. I walked to the Central Square,
and up to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum.
Then walked around Vondelpark just before going back to my apartment to
relax and charge my phone for an hour.
Then I went back out to grab a bite to eat, see the Beer Temple (didn’t
get a picture, but just a bar with a LOT of beers on tap! I don’t like beer so I didn’t get any, but I
at least stuck my head in to see it!).
Then I walked to Begijnhof, a little “town” of its own. Basically, it is a little community for
Catholic Single Ladies. Nuns, you
say. Yes, but no. I do not remember the correct terminology, so
I apologize, but they have not “sworn to their word” or whatever so they are
technically not official nuns. It was a
cute little town though. I also walked
around the Red Light District, during the day, but there was still a lot of
strippers in their rooms, either getting ready or doing their thing…. There
were a lot of boys around this area….
Pretty reflection early in the morning
The colorful buildings
Walking down a random street
There's more bikes in Amsterdam than there are people...
More colorful houses and houseboats
The holy grail of macaroons
More canals
The garden at the Rijksmuseum
Iamsterdam sign!
Iamsterdam in front of Rijksmuseum
Vondelpark
Graffiti
The Begijnhof community
More of the community
Then the interesting part came that basically kept me inside
for the rest of the night. I was walking
to get on a canal tour when a random guy started to follow me. (No, I
was not in the Red Light district at this point. I was back into the central area near the
Central Train Station.) Anyways, he
started to follow me and talk to me. He
was asking me about my day and what I liked about Amsterdam and where I was
from. Basically, he kept following me
and talking to me for a straight 15-20 minutes. I kept walking around, I found the canal tour
place and asked them when the next canal tour was. I even gave them a look of “HELP ME” but
nothing occurred. I then kept walking
and found a family and just stood by them trying to avoid the guy, but he kept
standing right next to me and tried to talk to me. The family moved away so I kept walking, and
the guy got confused because I was walking away from the canal tours. He told me to come sit next to him on a
bench, but I would have nothing to do with that, so I kept walking around. I was texting my mom at this moment,
literally freaking out. “HELP ME! HE WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!” And of course I don’t remember the number for
police in Europe if anything was to happen… and just like my mom told me, I
stayed in public so he couldn’t get away with doing too much if he tried.. I
also kept my hand on my bag the whole time so he couldn’t try to steal anything
if he wanted to. Nonetheless he creeped
me out and I seriously wanted to cry I was so freaked out and had no idea where
to go or what to do. Thankfully, though,
I think he got the hint and told me to have a nice day and walked off.
I managed to get on my canal tour without an issue, but I
went home afterwards because it was getting late, and it was raining again so
it was cold, and I just did not want to have another creeper experience!
I think this is the best photo I got from the canal tour..... oops.
So I took a nice long shower and skyped with my parents for
a while. I can’t complain too much. Yes, I didn’t get to see Amsterdam by night,
but I’d rather have my protection and safety than have too much of an adventure
and have something bad happen to me.
And that’s about it!
I’ll get to explore more of Amsterdam again tomorrow, but then I finally
get to head off to my LAST destination: Oslo, Norway. I will FINALLY be reunited with AMALIE after
FOUR YEARS! I am beyond excited to see
her!!!!!!!
Goodnight from Amsterdam!
