#jessabroad ~ first week in Osnabrück
June 15, 2016
Monday morning, we said our goodbyes to Leiden and headed to Amsterdam to catch our train to Osnabrück. The train ride was filled with games of Catan, cards, reading, and naps, as we made our way to Germany to start our program. Once we arrived in Osnabrück, we met with our student tutors, dropped off our bags at our dorm, and headed out to explore our home for the next three weeks!
First task: food. We gathered those of us from the class who'd already arrived and headed off toward the city center to look for a place to eat. We settled with UniDöner, grabbing a quick meal and catching up on our travel stories from the weekend. We headed back to our dorm, lovingly nicknamed "the jungle" by Osnabrück students, and chilled out until our orientation that night.
After a brief introduction to that weeks schedule, introductions from all of our hosts from the University of Osnabrück, and a short tour of our dorm, we all headed off to our rooms, ready to get some rest before our breakfast the next morning.
The next morning, we were FINALLY able to meet our International FaceTime Partners (IFTs) after communicating via Facebook, WhatsApp, and Snapchat all semester long. Over breakfast, we chatted about our travels so far, discussed our favorite Disney films, and about the excursions we'd be going on later that week.
After breakfast, we headed out to the Schlossgarten for some icebreakers and photos, before saying goodbye for the day and heading off to our official orientation session. After orientation, we had our first tour of Osnabrück, visiting the churches, shops, and different parts of the city, as well as doing a bit of shopping in Neumarkt for the Welcome Dinner that night!
The next morning was our first day of class. Up bright and early, we caught our bus and headed into the city center for our first German lesson. We picked up some breakfast from Coors, ready for the day of introductions and excited at the chance to finally put to use the skills we'd been practicing all semester.
Wednesday morning was our second class, as well as our first trip to ALDI to stock up on groceries for the week. In the afternoon, we met up with our IFTs on the Schlossgarten to relax in the sunshine and play games. We played a few rounds of Viking Chess, a game that involves throwing sticks at the other team's blocks to knock them over, eventually working your way up to knocking over the king. That night, we had a barbecue in the gardens, playing more games and talking with the IFTs.
First task: food. We gathered those of us from the class who'd already arrived and headed off toward the city center to look for a place to eat. We settled with UniDöner, grabbing a quick meal and catching up on our travel stories from the weekend. We headed back to our dorm, lovingly nicknamed "the jungle" by Osnabrück students, and chilled out until our orientation that night.
After a brief introduction to that weeks schedule, introductions from all of our hosts from the University of Osnabrück, and a short tour of our dorm, we all headed off to our rooms, ready to get some rest before our breakfast the next morning.
The next morning, we were FINALLY able to meet our International FaceTime Partners (IFTs) after communicating via Facebook, WhatsApp, and Snapchat all semester long. Over breakfast, we chatted about our travels so far, discussed our favorite Disney films, and about the excursions we'd be going on later that week.
After breakfast, we headed out to the Schlossgarten for some icebreakers and photos, before saying goodbye for the day and heading off to our official orientation session. After orientation, we had our first tour of Osnabrück, visiting the churches, shops, and different parts of the city, as well as doing a bit of shopping in Neumarkt for the Welcome Dinner that night!
The next morning was our first day of class. Up bright and early, we caught our bus and headed into the city center for our first German lesson. We picked up some breakfast from Coors, ready for the day of introductions and excited at the chance to finally put to use the skills we'd been practicing all semester.
Wednesday morning was our second class, as well as our first trip to ALDI to stock up on groceries for the week. In the afternoon, we met up with our IFTs on the Schlossgarten to relax in the sunshine and play games. We played a few rounds of Viking Chess, a game that involves throwing sticks at the other team's blocks to knock them over, eventually working your way up to knocking over the king. That night, we had a barbecue in the gardens, playing more games and talking with the IFTs.
Thursday morning, after another day of class, we decided to explore a little bit more of Osnabrück before our activities that afternoon. We made our way to the old city gate, or Hagar Tor, and spent some time taking pictures and enjoying the view of the shops and skyline. Eventually, most of our class ended up at the gate taking pictures, laughing at each other's poses and ideas for pictures.
Next, we began our tour of the Felix Nussbaum Haus. This is an art museum in Osnabrück, dedicated to the works of Felix Nussbaum, who was a Jewish painter who was killed during the Holocaust. The museum is designed to feel like there is no escape, with many rooms divided by doors, staircases, and narrow hallways to simulate the feelings of being trapped, as those who were prisoners in concentration camps would've felt.
After the museum, we had a short break before our next event: the Nightwatchman Tour! This was probably my favorite night in Osnabrück, as we got to learn about the medieval history of the city, from exploring the town hall, where peace talks for the Peace of Westphalia were held, to climbing towers built hundreds of years ago. My favorite part of the tour was climbing the church tower in the city center. We made our way up the 191 steps, and though we were dizzy from the spiral by the time we reached the top, the view was absolutely stunning. To see all of Osnabrück at dusk was amazing; all of the buildings looked like a model town. After the tour, we explored the night life of Osnabrück, visiting different local bars and sharing laughs and jokes as the night drew to a close.
Finally, Friday morning was our last day of class for the week. After class, Jess and I explored Neumarkt, doing a bit of shopping before settling down in a coffee shop to catch up on our journaling and enjoy the afternoon weather. After coffee, we headed back to the dorms for spaghetti night with some of the other girls from our class. That night, we checked out a local bar called Countdown, decorated with baby doll heads, old phones, and lots of other eclectic furniture.
Overall, the first week in Osnabrück was amazing. From learning more German in our lectures to exploring the history of the city to getting to know our IFTs, all of our activities made Osnabrück feel like home almost immediately upon arriving and throwing our bags into our rooms, leaving us ready to explore the city and the rest of Germany over the course of our program.
#jessabroad ~ Keukenhof and Amsterdam
June 13, 2016
Sunday morning, we woke up, grabbed some toast for breakfast, and made our way to the train station in Leiden to catch the bus to the Keukenhof. This is one of the world's largest flower gardens, and it's open every spring in the Netherlands. We planned to meet up with some of the other members of our German class and, conveniently, we all arrived at exactly the same time!
Together, the seven of us explored the gardens. Now, I've grown up with EPCOT and the Flower and Garden festival for pretty much my entire life, but honestly nothing can compare to the flowers at the Keukenhof.
Throughout the day, we wandered through the rows and rows of flowers, listened to concerts, and explored all the different areas of the garden. We also grabbed some ice cream, and sat around and enjoyed the atmosphere.
After we finished at the gardens, we headed into Amsterdam to explore the city before dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Bulls and Dogs, featuring specialty hot dogs and, best of all, sweet potato fries! Amsterdam was amazing, from the canals to the atmosphere of the city, and I'd love to spend more time there on another trip some day in the future.
We finished our dinner and headed to the Ice Bar. Our tickets included a drink in the regular bar and two drinks in cups of solid ice inside the actual cold bar. The best part--the whole bar was pirate themed, and as anyone who knows me knows, pirates are one of my favorite things ever. After, we parted ways until the next morning and headed back for our last night in Leiden
As an end to our first weekend in Europe and our weekend in the Netherlands, visiting Amsterdam was a great stop. From the quaintness of Leiden, to the beauty of the beach, to the diversity of Amsterdam, everything in the Netherlands was absolutely amazing.
#jessabroad ~ the departure + Leiden!
June 12, 2016
About a month ago, I was in the middle of studying for finals. Stressed, buried in piles and piles of notecards, and murdering more highlighters than I care to admit, I had another challenge: pack everything I need for a month of travel into one 55L backpack. After a semester of planning, late night runs to Taco Bell while debating which museums to visit, and lots and lots of Pinterest tabs, the time was finally here. A day after my last final, I packed up my car, checked out of my dorm, and headed to the airport!
I traveled with a friend and our flight took us through Dublin to Amsterdam. Our first weekend would be spent in Leiden, a college town outside of Amsterdam. We hopped off the plane, caught a train to Leiden, and dropped our bags off at our apartment, ready to explore Leiden. But of course, first things first, food! We biked to the grocery store (side note: biking is absolutely amazing and terrifying at the same time) and prepared to make dinner. After dinner, we headed into downtown Leiden to meet our friends at a local bar. After a few drinks, some nice conversation, and another bike ride, it was the end to our first night in Europe!
The next morning, after some Hagelslag (traditional Dutch breakfast, basically sprinkles on bread) for breakfast, we headed into Leiden to explore the market. The market consisted of tons of little booths lined up along the canals, selling everything from bike locks to strawberries to fresh flowers. This made me feel like I was truly part of the town, because we got to wander the streets, try different foods, and become completely lost in the culture.
Our main goal for the market was to pick up some snacks to take with us to the beach, so after some browsing, we decided on fresh Dutch strawberries, a tomato spread, some bread, and some incredibly salty taffy. We also picked up some gummy sharks from the candy stall, because they're my absolute favorite and I couldn't resist!
My favorite part of the market had to be the fresh Stroopwafel we tried. These are super thin waffles with a layer of caramel syrup in between, and they are an absolute addiction. They also come in pre-packaged bags, and the two bags I brought home as souvenirs barely made it a week past me being home.
Finished with our shopping, we met up with some friends of our host and began the five mile bike ride to the beach. The ride was beautiful, cycling through the Dutch countryside past farms and fields of flowers. Having the opportunity to bike was amazing, because it's such an integral part of Dutch life that it helped us feel like we were part of the lifestyle. For the rest of the day, we played frisbee, walked along the shore, and relaxed in the sun, munching on our snacks from the market and chatting about our expectations for the trip. Since the sun sets so late in the Netherlands, we ended up staying at Katwijk until around 9 pm, and got to watch the sun set over the North Sea. The view was incredible, and it was a great end to a great day!
After our five-mile ride back to Leiden, we grabbed a quick shower before getting ready to visit The Hague for a drink. We took the train, and walked around the Hague before finding a table to relax at after our long day. After a bit, we headed back to Leiden to get some much needed rest. Leiden was one of my favorite cities we visited throughout my month abroad. I loved the pace of the city, from the lifestyle to the food and everything in between, it was the perfect place to start our trip!
#jessabroad ~ an introduction
June 6, 2016
My summer has, so far, been an amazing whirlwind of adventures. This semester, I took part in a study abroad program with the Honors College at USF. The program was comprised of two parts; the first, a regular class during the spring semester, aimed at teaching us about the history of Germany and about current events in German society. The second, a three-week excursion to Germany, visiting Osnabrück, Weimar, Munster, Bremen, Dresden, and Berlin. Additionally, as part of the program, we were encouraged to travel beyond the length of our program, and our plans included backpacking through Munich, London, Amsterdam, and Paris.
So, as I have just returned stateside and to the world of the internet, stay tuned for the #jessabroad series of posts that will share my recent adventures and explorations in Europe!
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