Wien

The last european city I got to visit was Vienna. It was super short notice and I left the day after finals were over but I am so very very glad I got to go. Mostly, I went to hear the Vienna Philharmonic because they had a free concert at the Schonbrunn Palace that included La Valse! [One of my favorite pieces.] Hmm...basically, I walked a LOT. They had all this construction going on for the Euro Cup [i think Spain won?] so I got confused and walked in circles for half the day. But hey! Walking circles in Vienna is not the worst thing.

This is the Schonbrunn Palace. I didn't go inside, just to the gardens which were nice. Not as grandiose as Versailles, but they did have cultural gardens. The only one I really remember was the Japanese garden with its bamboo and amazing flat trees.
the vienna philharmonic. it was a very festive occasion, with fireworks to end the night and eveyrthing. The conductor Georges Pretre was an incredibly animated person - it was fun watching him!

Just one of his many unusual movements. He was really into the music and even though I didn't understand any of his German, he seemed like a very enthusiastic/positive man.

Mozart's monument. Isn't that amazing??
The national library! It seriously looked like the one from Beauty and the Beast. There was also a kinda morbid exhibit on death in the library. Apparently the Austrians are really into death - they even have a suicide museum.
The opera house! It was great, I got a standing ticket to watch Verdi's "The Sicilian Vespers" for 3.50 euros. The standing area was directly in front of the stage with little screens that gave the english translation of the opera. I had been walking for so long though, so I could only stay for half the show - but it was definitely worth it! I actually found out about it from a man walking through the Schonbrunn gardens who randomly started talking to me. Thank you God!

Annnd that's it! I'm back in Cleveland now, trying to finish applications for graduate schools, and waiting for the new school year to start. I still can't believe I went to all these places, but looking at pictures makes me realize how real it was and how much I miss it. What an amazing time - but still! I'm looking forward to my last year at Case. =) Thanks for reading all along guys!

A dios.

Athina + Kriti

I am highly superbly discouraged from studying. So I'm going to take some small, dispersed breaks through blogging! Blogging always functions as my break. =)

After Florence was a couple weeks of school, and THEN Rachel and Hannah came to visit. It. was. incredible! I was so excited, and STILL can't exactly believe, that we were all in Europe together!!
First, we met in Athens, and for most part of our time there, we were all infected with this lazy attitude. Until of course we ate! But the best part about Athens was going to the rock where St. Paul preached and really having it sink in that he was there!! He writes so much of the new testament, and realizing that he was alive and spreading the gospel right there was an awesome thought.

From Athens we took a magnificent night-ferry [it was like a cruise ship!] to Crete, which was the highlight of EVERYTHING europe for me. We had planned on hiking the Samaria Gorge, but oil strikes and lack of transportation prevented us from ever gettting there. But maannnn our hotel was amazing. And it was only 15 euro /night!! Ok, we have so many good pictures from here that I have limited posting-issues.

a shot taken from our door the morning we got there =) =D

and then the same view in the evening. We almost missed this sunset because they happen so quickly!the pool and hannah! i LOOVE this kind of pool. [i think they're called infiniti pools?] And even though the water was preetty cold, I had a BLAST! Ohh...memories of spending whole summers at Willoughby's Pulic Pool.
our second day, we spent in Charaklion and ventured out into the sea urchin-filled waters at the old harbor. Our goal was that island in the background, and on our way back [we got 3/4 of the way there] i had this panic attack and couldn't get myself to jump from one fuzzy land mass to the next in fear of sharp shells that could pierce my feet, so rachel is coming back to my rescue!

like sound of music. =)

hannah walking on the edge of death. there were spikey rocks to the right-side of this bar.

above and below are classic rachel shots with food. =D

HAHAHAHHA

above and below are poses instructed by director Rachel.

this was our miserable attempt to direct rachel. we are lowly minions. hahaaha

b-e-a-uuutiful ladies.

hannah's self-timer at its best.

ahh..what a wonderful memory.

=)

Firenze

So we went from relaxing, to even more relaxing! Oh boy..the view from our hostel was sooo great. Getting there was not so much fun because we ended up missing our stop and had to ride the public bus all the way around again. And then we shared our tent with a snorer. Which was remedied when the camping site gave us a different tent the next night - then of course there were unexplainable problems trying to get the key to work, but in the end, we were comfortably sleeping. Here's the view from Michelangelo's Square that was adjacent to our campsite:

Florence is famous for the Uffizi that has Michelangelo's David on display- but the line is intense and we skipped out on the museum in exchange for the replica.

In this same plaza, there was an AMAZING guitarist. Many thanks to Hannah's 2gb memory card that caught a snapshot of how awesome he was. [Sorry it's side-ways.]

We also had 2 exciting eating experiences: 1. We shared a florentine steak, and shrimp tagolini - both were greeaat. 2. we had a wine and cheese party! Which was actually supposed to be grape-juice and cheese cuz I just really do not like the taste of wine, but apparantly, wine comes in cardboard containers! I didn't read the label and just figured the 85 cent carton had to be juice, and then it was too late.

this is our food

this is us

this is our view of Florence!!

study time yet again. T-20 days.

Venezia

What a true vacation! There was really not much to do in this city, maybe heightened cuz hannah and i love being cheap. Most of our time was spent browsing the tourist shops that sold upmton varieties of venetian glass, and sleeping/reading on random benches! It was very fun. By fun I mean relaxing. Oh yeaa, we also made a song for our friend Rachel during one of our gelato-highs that is supposed to be sung to the Superman theme.

Things we could've done would be: climb to the top of the church in St. Mark's Square, and ride a gondola - but both of these cost some, and when everything's in euros, it seems much more expensive!! [p.s. i love being in the states using the dollar. I feel like everything is very cheap.]

I made most of my gift purchases here - earrings, hair clips, necklaces, etc... They've got all the accessories you could ever think of!

Hannah's guide book describes St. Mark's Square as famous for its many tourists and pigeons. hahaha Hannah is also deathly afraid of being pooped on! It was a tricky square...

mushroom pizza that's bigger than hannah! I wonder if that's what ny style pizza's like.

lasagna. we had a GREAT meal!!!!!

the strangest gnocchi i've ever seen, but delicious nonetheless!

many canals.

ok! study time. =]

Roma

I'm back in the states! It's very very weird. Most of me feels like my entire overseas experience was one big dream...so I'm happy to continue posting about the cities I went to, just to remind myself that I really was there.

Roma...
The night I got to Rome was spent on the airport floor. With little sleep I wasn't too enthused to venture into the city, but it was completely worth it. My favorite part was probably walking through The Forum, where the ancient Romans used to live, gather, chat, etc... I was trying to imagine what it might've been like to be Roman in Byzantium, which is what movies like Gladiator are good for! hahaha. But really, maybe it's like being American now. I wouldn't have realized it before, but it is truly a blessing to 1. have a US passport 2. speak english 3. live in america. We can do just about anything with those three things. The Spanish Steps were also beaauutiful.

Spanish steps!
a building in The Forum

Having fun in Augustus's house

the colosseum!

We also saw many many squares [i can't remember all their names], ate goood gelato, saw the pope through his window!, went to the sistine chapel and St. Peter's Bassilica, had an amazing cannoli from a great shop [i don't think any cannoli i have for the rest of my life will compare], stood inside the amazing pantheon, and squeezed between the crowds to see the trevi fountain.

i'd say..go during the LOW SEASON. the many many tourists were not a huge plus, but still, it was great! ANNND we had amazing weather.

Paris

pah-rrreee!!!! It was great great great. I love it when I go to see a very touristy thing that has been very touristically hyped and right when I see it I think "ohhh...so THAT'S why people make such a big deal about it."

This happened TWICE in France. 1st - Eiffel Tower. 2nd - Garden of Versailles.
List of things done would include...

Notre Dame: An organist was playing so it was GREAT to hear music literally reverberating in that space, but it seemed like he/she was a child just banging at the keys so that was kinda weird...outside

organ pipes inside

Louvre: just the outside. And also the underside.

Jardin des Tuileries: our first exposure to vast amounts of roads lined with trees. Paris makes me want a driveway lined with trees. It is truly beautiful.
Avenue de Champs- Élysées: Hannah made a purchase at Louis Vuitton for her relatives. I thought that made our Paris experience pretty complete. This is the kiosk right outside the store. For some reason that I can't remember, I thought it was more interesting.
Arc de'Triumphe: we stopped in the middle of the street to take a picture with it. People were so mesmerized with us two asians that ALL THE TRAFFIC stopped just so we could take a picture!!!! [completely joking. =) there was a divider separating traffic that was perfect for tourists]
Obelisk: I don't really know....obviously something Egyptian! [no picture..]

Eiffel Tower: day AND night.

Versailles: I didn't go into the palace, the gardens were enough para mi! If you have a bike, you can make it through the entire garden in a day. I was on foot and had no hope of seeing all of it in half a day, but it was GREAT!!! The area next to the palace was extremely masculine and grand, but Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon was much more subdued. I've fallen in love with gardens.

The Orangerie

The road leading to Le Petit Trianon. [which was not petit at all.]

and. again. we had amazing weather!!! Looking at all these pictures, Paris was definitely one of my favorites.

i have 2 finals and a paper due today! this was my break. tiiime to work!
only 1 week left. CRAZY.

Stockholm

An incredibly clean and friendly city. The perks of having high taxes were completely visible.

the view from our hostel BOAT! We were only there for one night, but it was really comfortable.

Sweden.

seagull! and beautiful sky.

cherry blossoms + hannah cha

look at this mcdonald's!!

Outside the Modern Art Museum where we saw an Andy Warhol exhibiton. I enjoyed The Museum of Architecture that was right next door a lot more though. The swedish have amazing architecture: like IKEA all across the country!

other than the 2 museums, we also went on a boat-tour [we couldn't get all the way out to the archipelago] and then just to see the 'old city' we rode a public bus from its starting point, back to its starting point.

in this book Affluenza, it talks about Danes being the happiest people because of the small (relatively) gap between the rich and the poor, and I feel like this is true for the Swedish too. It felt more like a community of people than competitors trying to get to the top of the success ladder.
We were also there on the NICEST/warmest day! That was a huuuge plus.