July 16–22, 2008, Number 194
Ahoj! (hello in Czech)
My name is Laurilee Kroll and I will be your correspondent for the next 6 weeks while I am traveling abroad to the Czech Republic for a 6 week summer abroad in the capital city of Prague. I am a 4th year student at Tech and am majoring in Business Administration and concentrating in Marketing, Finance and International Business. I am originally from Midland, MI although I consider my self a Houghton transplant due to my love for it.
I wish I could enjoy the sights more but I seem to always be busy either with my school work and programs which include the APMP Program (Applied Portfolio Management program) which is a Finance program that works with the investment of approximately 1.5 million dollars of Alumni money. Or I find myself at one of my jobs. I currently work weekends at Joey's Seafood and Grill, the local Seafood Joint as a waitress. And spend my spare time during the week working with the Tech Initiative program, as the Director of Marketing and Finance bringing the CPRMattress to market.
I am set to arrive in Prague tomorrow, after having toured around Europe for the last two weeks. I left Saturday morning from Saginaw, Michigan which is close to 20 minutes away from my house. This turned out to be extremely convenient since I didn't have to wait in any lines and customs took no time at all. I met up with a friend of mine who just graduated from Tech this semester, Vanessa Ortis, in Boston and we flew together over to Amsterdam. Actual flight time took ~ 10 hours and it was 7 hours from Boston to Amsterdam. We flew Northwest and I must say I highly recommend it. Not that our dinners were very good at all, but I never expect them two be. But they have monitors in the backs of each headrest and you have the option to play Nintendo, watch an assortment of movies all of them major block buster hits or just listen to music. After watching the movie Jumper and playing around 20 games on the Nintendo I fell asleep for the remainder of the journey. Unfortunately Vanessa didn't and ended up sick for the entire journey.
Once in Amsterdam we hung out in the park right across from our hostel for most of the afternoon so that Vanessa could sleep off her sickness and regain composure and I could read my book and soak in the culture and the people. We stayed in the Flying Pig Hostel and despite its name it was a great hotel. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and they provided a free breakfast. They also provided clean sheets daily, although we used our own sleep sacks that we had made at home just in case. They also take the time to pair you in a room with others from the same area. We stayed with some kids from Canada and it made it really convenient since we understood each others traditions and overall cultures. Not to mention we were able to communicate. Around 4:00 we took the train number two into the town center and checked out the shopping and the touristy kinds of things. Amsterdam has some amazing architecture and is on a canal system and quaint row houses line the canals and streets. This was a surprise to me since all I had ever heard of Amsterdam was the red light district. And although I don't think I could ever get used to the fact that they legally smoke marijuana everywhere over there I definitely want to go back and see more of the city and the sights that they have to offer. What I saw was beautiful.
We left the next morning for London using Easyjet to fly in since it was the cheapest alternative. We arrived in London at 10:00 am there time. We quickly went to our hostel The Astor Victoria and checked in. Most hostels don't allow check in before 2:00pm so that they can clean the rooms but they did allow us to lock our backpacks in a secure room so that we could take off for the day and not have to worry about our stuff. The Hostel was conveniently located right next to a tube(Metro) entrance. For three pounds we were able to get day passes and use the extensive tube system to reach all areas of London. We saw the Tower of London which was our favorite and I highly recommend the small sand which cart off to the left by the river Thames if you stop by there. We also hit up parliament and Westminster Abbey, we saw the London Eye, Kensington Palace and the Globe Theater where Shake sphere directed all of his plays. We spent a lot of time in the National Gallery which is free admission and saw amazing works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Leonardo Di Vinci, Monet, and more. We also stopped by the National Museum which houses a lot of amazing collections from all over the world including the Rosetta Stone. One of the greatest parts of the trip came when we visited Vinopolis. A wine experience is the only way to describe it. They teach you how to taste wine and determine if it is a good wine, and you are able to taste a wide variation of wines.
Within the last week we also visited Dublin and made day trips to Malahide a small fishing village on the coast that is quaint and exactly what you think of when you think Ireland. We also spent four days in Valencia, Spain mainly on the beach which was just beautiful!! It took a bit to get used to European beaches since wearing a top is not required and wearing close to nothing is encouraged. And the outdoor markets were wonderful for souvenirs and lunch. I will warn you now that Spain is not like all of the other countries we have visited, it is almost essential for you to speak Spanish. In every other country we have visited they spoke perfect English.
We are now in Germany where we have had an excellent time making our way down the Rhine river from Dusseldorf to Wiesbaden to end in Rotenburg ob de Tauber. We became very good at one phrase in particular “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” which means do you speak English, and thankfully almost everyone speaks perfect English. This made our trip infinitely easier. And Germany has so far become one of our very high ranking favorite stops. Düsseldorf was just beautiful and a lot of fun. They have 500 bars and restaurants in their downtown area overlooking the river. The roads are closed to cars and they have outside dinning where most people choose to sit, and the streets are just filled with people and action. Wiesbaden had some amazing architecture and even better shopping in a town that was really nice and extremely safe. They were celebrating a national holiday and had an outdoor fair where we had the best Bratwurst there was to have in all of Deuchland. We have ended our excursions in Germany at Rothenburg ob de Tauber, a mid evil city that is still surrounded by walls on all sides.
This town is beautiful there is nothing but trees for miles to see looking over the wall with the exception of period style houses dotting the land speratically. It is quite a bit more expensive than the other cities that we visited due to its very touristy appeal but it is so quaint and there is so much to see in the city it makes it all worth it.
I am extremely excited to jump on the train tonight and head into Prague for the remainder of our trip. I will definitely write and let you know how it goes!
- Laurilee
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885