Europe 2010

Sorrento

2010-07-12T06:55:00.002-04:00

So Since my last post I've been in Vienna, Bad Gastein and Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia). We took a 2:30 am train from Ljubljana and arrived in Sorrento 5 days ago. We were planning on going to Rome but we've been here for 5 nights now and heading to Rome tomorrow. Going snorkeling this afternoon... I'll fill in the blanks later. Oh yeah and the photo album to the right has been updated so feel free to click through it.

- J. Ryan Sowell

Prague

2010-07-05T15:17:00.005-04:00

Modern Prague is a combination of fair tales and Communism. It holds the world record for the largest medieval castle, it was under communist oppression until 1989 and the modern Czech Republic wasn't established until 1993.

Now when we decided to go to Prague it was simply a decision based on proximity and rumors. I had heard whispers about Prague for years, but I hadn't really talked to anyone about it extensively. Anyways long story short I had no idea what to expect.

We awoke in Munich bright and early Wednesday morning and boarded the train. We had our own cabin for much of the trek and were able to sprawl out and sleep a good bit on the way over. No air conditioning, which seems to be the norm in the Czech. Anyways we made it to our hostel (The Czech Inn) with out any issues. It was a good thing we bought a metro ticket though because they were actually checking them that day.

The hostel was one of the nicest and cleanest I have been in yet, it had a very modern design with metal bunks and concrete showers with wonderful waterfall style shower heads.

The first afternoon we simply made our way to the Old Town and got our bearings.

The next morning we joined the "Free Prague Tour" it was a good deal we got to see a lot of the inner old city and learn some history and fun facts about Prague. For example: 95% of "Euro Trip", the sniper scene of Triple X and part of Mission Impossible I were all filmed in Prague. Prague also had a strong protestant following well before Martin Luther and of course there is always the the defenestration of Prague (google it if that wasn't covered in your western civ class). One of the most morbid facts though is that the Jewish district was not destroyed by the Nazis because Hitler wanted it to be a future museum showing how the Jews lived. Consequently the synagogue and much of the jewish district is still in tact and was the home of Franz Kafka.

After the tour we made our way to Prague's own Eiffle Tower... The Tower actually over looks the city from a nearby ridge (read: straight up hill hike) it was built by the tourist club in the early 1900s and was inspired directly by the famous Paris icon (it is much smaller though). So we hiked up to the tower and enjoyed the sights, afterward we made our way to the world's largest medieval castle in the world. We watched the changing of the guards and saw the window where the defenestration of Prague acutaally took place. After a long day of sightseeing we retired for the afternoon and prepared for an evening out on the town.

Nick and I along with a few other people we met at the hostel partook in the Backpacker's Underground Pub Crawl. We had a great time, met people from UVA among other places and it ended near our dorm so we were able to walk home.

The next morning we headed out for Vienna

Munich update

2010-07-02T20:27:00.000-04:00

Pictures from munich coming soon

Munich

2010-06-30T17:53:00.004-04:00

Munich:

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

Friday afternoon was our last night in Freiburg. Bright and early Saturday morning the Pike guys and I set out for Munich. We had a brief change over, but all in all it was a smooth ride. Fully packed down with all of my belongings in my backpack this was the first time that I wish I had packed a little lighter, the luxury of having a home base was now gone, I was essentially on my own once again in Europe. We arrived in the late afternoon and spent the evening exploring the city center. Munich is a beautiful, clean city with a rich history and elegant pedestrian shopping districts. The town hall has one of the most entertaining clocks I’ve witnessed in all of Europe. Three times a day (9, 11 and 5 o’clock) various figurines dance to the chiming of bells for more than 5 minutes. The display consists of a Bavarian and French knight jousting on horseback, after two or three go-arounds, much to the crowd’s pleasure, the Bavarian knight knocks the French knight off of his horse. The defeat is then celebrated on a level below with a cooper’s dance to keep away the plague. We just happen to come across this spectacle as we passed through the Marien Platz square. After a bite to eat we retired to our hostel, Wombats, for a few drinks at the bar and some World Cup Soccer.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

Sunday morning we got up at a reasonable hour and made the trek out to the Dachau Concentration Camp in the Munich suburbs. It was honestly one of the most powerful experiences I have had in Europe as of yet. We wandered through the museum which was the former maintenance building originally built by prisoner labor. Dachau was the first of countless concentration and extermination camps across central and eastern Europe. Upon arrival you walk through an iron gate with “Work will set you free” (in German) written in the bars. Officially, these camps were meant to instill work-ethic and values in its dissident residents. Dachau was not a death camp (Auschwitz was the camp for that) it provided a forum for inferior ethnicities and political prisoners to serve as the labor force behind the Nazi government and later the war effort. To outsiders (based off of propagandist news paper clippings displayed in the museum) the camp was there to protect good Germans from bad influences and few knew how horrible the conditions truly were until it was liberated by the allied forces. Occasionally the camp officers would open the camp to corporate executives (using the labor) and party leaders to show how the work and good living conditions were indeed helping Germany retrain her lost infidels. This of course is where the happy little news articles came from. The camp layout consisted of a large central building overlooking two columns of barracks about 10 deep. The barracks were 10 meters wide and 100 meters long with bunk rooms and large enough to maybe fit 50 people in each room stacked 4 shelves high. Two of the barracks have been recreated, all that remains of the other bunk houses in their raised gravel foundations. The planned capacity was around 6,000 people but by the end of the war there were easily double that in the compound. Surround the facility was a 15 foot high electric fence with barbwire along its interior, about every 200 yards or so there was a guard tower which housed a trigger happy SS guard ready to snipe anyone that got too close. On the other side of the fence was a mote like canal and the crematorium. The ovens used to burn the remains of the dead (often from starvation and disease) are still fully intact, for years they ran continuously but at the end of the war due to the shortage of coal bodies were pretty much just piled up or thrown into makeshift graves. The crematorium was a stark reminder that the holocaust truly did occur and its scars still run deep in modern Europe.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

After our exploration of the Camp we made our way back into town. Germany played England that evening and much to our delight, England lost. People were celebrating into the night, but not on the scale of madness we witnessed in Freiburg. That evening we made our way to the Houfbrau Haus for a beer in one of Germany’s most famous brew houses. It was here that Hitler actually made some of his first campaign speeches, and where the Nazi movement really began to take hold. Complete with beer maids, a band decked out in lederhosen and 1 liter steins of pilsner this establishment truly is a tourist Mecca. After Houfbrau we went back to the hostel and spent the evening playing pool and enjoying the late night happy hour. The next morning the Pike guys left bright and early for home via Frankfurt I was left on my own for the day, Nick was to arrive the following morning.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

On my day alone in Munich I made my way over to the Olympic park and BMW complex. Since it was Monday, the museum was closed so I hiked around the park and went up in the Olympic Tower (think Seattle Space Needle). It was a pretty slow day honestly, the view from the top of the tower was spectacular and I was able to see where the Munich Massacre took place, but all the museums are closed on Mondays so there was not a whole lot to do. I ended up just walking through the English Gardens (really big Central Park) and wandering down the ritzy part of town. Made it back to the hostel worn out from hours of walking and retired for the evening.

Tuesday morning Nick Averwater arrived in Munich, his plane landed around 8:00 am and I was expecting a phone call from him to wake me up, but my service was horrible in the room and I eventually woke up to a later text message. I met up with nick in the lobby ate breakfast and showered then set out for the day. I pretty much took him where I had been the day before. We tried to get a tour of the BMW plant, but they were sold out of English tours and I just don’t think a tour in German would be worth it. So we explored BMW world and the museum. The World is a delivery showroom, event and expo center. In the World they had all the new models on display along with exhibits on new
technologies such as hydrogen vehicles. Across the street is the BWM Museum.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

It traced the history of BMW from a WWI aviation company to its current position as a automobile manufacture. They had motorcycles and cars dating back to the 1920s and everywhere between. One of my favorites was the Z8 used in the James Bond Film: The World is not Enough. You may remember it as being cut in half by a giant saw halfway through the movie. I inquired about this slicing and the guide assured me that a model was used in the film production. So now seeing as I have toured the plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina and visited the headquarters in Munich, I can safely assert that I have consumed more BMW propaganda than the average person. After BMW we hopped back on the metro and walked through the English Gardens. There we had a beer and some food at The Chinese Tower Beer Garden (One of the largest Beer Gardens in the World). We finished the afternoon following the river through the garden down to the end where the people surf. Yes, there is a fast and constant wave over some rocks coming out of an inner city canal that produces a large wave. I had never heard of city surfing before but now I had.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

We made it back to the hostel just in time for a few Happy Hour beers and a few games of pool. Seeing as Nick was jet lagged and we had a 9:01 train in the morning going out wasn’t on the agenda. Well for better or worse we were coaxed into going on a pub crawl. The crawl itself was nothing to excited but we ended up hanging out with some people from just about every English speaking country. We met some girls from Australia, Canada and England the company was great. The “crawl” consisted of going to this sketchy hole in the wall bar half way across town. We stayed at the hole in the while for quite some time and then “headed out.” Our first stop was the Haufbrau House which was fine, but it was one of the only places I had been before. We then went to an Irish Pub and then back to the Hostel. In all it was a pretty lame crawl, but we met some fun people. A hot train ride to Prague awaited us the next day.
Posting soon… Prague
- J. Ryan Sowell

Last Week

2010-06-28T17:45:00.006-04:00

I am currently in Munich, but last week concluded my time in Freiburg with UT. All in all it was a pretty calm week. We arrived back in Freiburg Monday morning safe and sound. That afternoon Georg led us on a hike to meet his parents and explore the vineyards around his home town of Kaiserstuh. Thanks to our 7:00 am arrival back in Freiburg I missed the 10:15 train. Consequently I had to take the next train (30 minutes later), but it worked out ok, I was able to skip the hike up to the vineyard and rode with Georg's parents to the top of the hill. Also conveniently upon my arrival a snack consisting of Bretzels and Sausages was being served. Topped of with a glass of white wine, it truly was a great afternoon.

Tuesday was our hike in the Black Forest. We took the regional train just outside of Freiburg to a small ski village. From there we hiked though the woods and to a small restaurant. I had a goulash and some authentic Black Forest cake. All in all it wasn't too strenuous of a hike and I really enjoyed the cake!

Wednesday through Friday was pretty slow as we began to wind down the trip. On Friday we had a going away cookout and Saturday it was off to Munich!

- J. Ryan Sowell

Berlin

2010-06-26T12:50:00.002-04:00

Berlin was honestly one of the most interesting weekends I have had as of yet during my time here in Europe. We woke up early to catch the 6:57 train to Berlin. We rendezvoused at the tram stop next to the Vauban housing complex. Everyone made the 6:08 tram and we were on our way. Then about two stops down the line Eric realized that he had forgotten his Passport. He darts off the tram and as he steps out the door Chris tosses him his phone (Eric’s phone had fallen victim to a taxi the night before). The rest of the group made it to the train station, we had a nice McDonalds breakfast and casually made our way to platform number 1. All the while Eric was in a mad rush to make it back to the train station. Seeing as it was so early the tram only runs every 15 minutes or so, and it takes about 18 minutes on the tram to get from Vauban to the train station.

We waited on the platform… 6:35: the 3 tram goes by and no Eric, 6:45… no Eric. The train arrives and seeing as it is a high speed ICE train it only stops for about 3 minutes. We look up and see the last possible tram Eric could have taken arrive. We wait a moment and then like a bullet, we see Eric swim move, duck and dodge his was though the crowd to make the train with only one minute to spare. He had made it!

The train ride was not unlike any other ride. 5 of us sat in a 6 person cabin the entire way alone and the other 2 sat in another cabin. It was more than a 6 hour ride, but direct. Most of us slept, I discovered I could buy a wireless internet subscription, so I passed the time wandering though the world wide web. The train ended up getting delayed by an hour or so outside Berlin so I think we ended up in Berlin around 3:30. Germany had just lost to Serbia when we set foot in the divided capital. The festive World Cup mood had been abruptly deflated. This probably worked in our favor though, it would have been very stressful trying to navigate around the city to our hostel with thousands of people celebrating in the streets (and the subway).

Anyways we made it to our hostel, Wombat’s, with enough time to unpack and make our way to the restaurant and watch the USA game. We ended up tying, again. Exhausted from our all day trek, we decided to hang out at the Wombar (the hostel’s Bar) for the evening and watch the England game. The idea was that if we stayed in then we would be more likely to get up early and explore Berlin (this of course did not turn out to be the case.)

On Saturday we rolled out of bed bright and early around 11:00, ready to take on what the German capital had to offer us. We wandered around for about an hour looking for a restaurant listed in Lonely Planet. We finally gave up our search and sufficed for sushi and hot dogs.

From the random part of town we had found ourselves in we made our way towards the Brandenburg Gate. On the way we passed by a preserved portion of the Berlin Wall which had been turned into one of Europe’s largest murals.

After the wall we took the U1 line to the Brandenburg for an interesting afternoon of sightseeing, or so we thought…

Upon our arrival at the gate we noticed there was some kind of festival, going on. There was a huge stage set up in front of the gate and some people were dressed up in, well let’s call it a “festive” manner. We had just walked in the middle of one of Europe’s largest St. Christopher Street festivals. It was Gay Pride day in Berlin. Now ordinarily a Gay pride parade is not something any of us would have sought out to partake in, but since we were there we had to explore. So we made our way past the stage, food stands and makeshift souvenir shops towards the staging area for the parade (on the way we also went by a very profound Soviet War Memorial). And by golly a parade it was. They didn’t have floats, they had rolling clubs. All the groups had semi trucks fitted with double-decker platforms. Each truck had its own DJ and about 100 people hanging off every which side of it, dancing and the like. We watched the parade go by for a while, and it truly was an interesting sight. I don’t think I will be attending another parade of this nature in the near future, but it was certainly and experience I will not soon forget.

After the parade we made it back to Wombat’s to get ready for the night. Berlin is supposed to have some of the best techno clubs in the world, so of course we didn’t want to miss out. We hung out in the Wombar for a while, watched some World Cup soccer, and eventually made our way towards a club that we had heard was fun and that we could probably get into (they’re tough on dress-code and the like). We took the U2 line for about 8 stops to the middle part of town, and began to make the 5 block walk to the club.

About 2 blocks away from our destination things turned a sour to say the least. I was walking in the back of the group and had missed a cross walk right of way. Most of the group was already across the street. I watched as a random Berliner with his girlfriend (about our age) lunged at Chris and muscled his shoulder in Chris’s chest. Chris pushed him off only to receive a heavy dose of pepper spray to the face. Confused and concerned by the altercation, Patrick walked up to try and pull the Berliner away from Chris. As he stepped around Chris to get a better angle on the guy, Patrick as well got a shot of pepper spray. Completely flabbergasted, Patrick shouted out, “Ahh… I’m blind! (insert any explicit word you’d like here)” With two men down crying and disoriented, Eric decided it was his turn to try and subdue the assailant. After pulling the guy away, he too was blinded with pepper spray (not without getting about 3 good hits on him though). We now had three blind mice. I jumped in the altercation briefly to pull the guys off each other, but in all honesty I stayed out of it as much as I could. The ordeal finally calmed down, the pepper spray had worn off and Katie had broken a pin in her watch.

Relieved, and flustered we walked the remaining 2 blocks to the club. About 100 yards from the entrance I heard sirens, a moment latter I could see the flashing blue lights reflecting of the rearview mirror of the car parked ahead of me. Three full sized Polize vans pulled up beside us. About 10 officers decked out in riot gear jumped out of the vans and had everyone move up against the wall. Somehow I slipped through the roundup so I sat on a barrier about 20 feet away. The police searched and questioned my friends. The girls told the story and identified our attacker.

It took about an hour in all for the witness statements and report to be written up. After being released from the police we made our way back to the hostel. We got a good night’s rest and set out to see Berlin Sunday.

On Sunday we visited the East Germany Museum, the German History Museum and we went back to the Brandenburg Gate, this time without the Gay Pride festivities. Our train left at 10:22 that evening from Berlin and we arrived back in Freiburg

Update Comming

2010-06-25T11:22:00.002-04:00

Berlin was truly an interesting experience. Wrapping up class and what not here in Freiburg... I'll have a couple new posts up in a day or two.

- J. Ryan Sowell

Germany v. Australia

2010-06-16T17:28:00.007-04:00

Well after Saturday evening, I did not think that I could have a more entertaining evening in Freiburg. I was wrong. Sunday evening was the most exciting evening I have had thus far in Germany.

As you may already know, Germany played Australia on Sunday for their opening World Cup Match.

Inspired by the chance to cheer on the national team with our fellow Freiburgers, a group of us made our way to one of the larger parks in town to watch the game on a giant big screen (seen above).

I would say there was close to 10,000 people in the park (think: the largest Sundown you've ever been to). Everyone was decked out in their German garb including fake Black, Red and Yellow mohawks.

As we entered the park we received a customary security pat down and took in the spectacle before us. To our right was probably a 20 by 25 foot screen, in front of us was 10,000 fans and along the back a ring of food and drink vendors ready to supply any of our traditional German festival cuisine. Initially overwhelmed by the whole experience we sat back and planned our course of action to make it back to the right corner where the rest of our party was situated. With no real path in site, with a beer in one hand and a bratwurst in the other we waded through the cheering masses. (note to self: learn how to say excuse me in German). After a few bumps stepped on feet we finally made it to the back corner where the crowed began to thin out and rendezvoused with the rest of the group.

The game was the biggest blowout in the World Cup thus far resulting in a final score of 4-0 in Germany's favor. With each goal the crowd bellowed a tumultuous chant not comprehensible to this American's ears. Complementing the chant was the South African horn and some foghorns that I had seen on sale at the department store blaring the well known chant "Ole Ole Ole Ole..." At the game's conclusion the energy did not simply die down, it swelled in tidal wave form and crashed at the town's center. We boarded the tram and rode it just outside of downtown, then the tram stopped. A VAG (the transit authority) official came on and in broken English said to me, "Making big party in city, no tram, you must get off." Two stops away from city center we got off and walked our way into town.
This was the scene we witnessed:
The crowd of people seen to your right are congregating at the crossroads of all the major tram lines and hence why we had to get off of VAG line #3.

The fervor from the win lasted well into the evening. The locals spent the evening dancing on the tables at the bars and singing their dear national soccer chants and anthems.

It truly was a site to behold and I am glad I was able to witness it.

This week consisted of our normal classes on trade and negotiations.

This weekend (well beginning at 6:52 am) we make our way to Berlin! We arrive at 1:30 and the USA game begins at 4:00 pm. Should make for an enjoyable weekend for sure.

- J. Ryan Sowell

FIFA Round One

2010-06-16T16:53:00.003-04:00

Well as many of you already know this past weekend marked the beginning of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship in South Africa. While Soccer is quickly becoming a popular sport in America it has long been a staple of national pride in Europe and the rest of the world. The Cup lasts for about a month and I will be here for the entirety of the tournament. The two teams I have been following have been USA and Germany. This past Saturday the USA played and on Sunday Germany played.

In preparation for the games we scoured the streets in search of some USA paraphernalia (as if our appearance wasn't enough). We finally found an American flag in a small "Football Fan Shop" on one of the back streets of Freiburg. Eric quickly snatched up the flag and can be seen below wearing as a cape.

For the USA v. England game we spotted a restaurant with tents a screens set up for the game down by the river. We figured all the venues would be filling up early for the big game (this was not the case), so we found ourselves in control of the outdoor venue for about an hour. Soon however the game came on and to our surprise we found ourselves in the middle of one of the few Pro-England bars in Freiburg. We soon found out that the owner's wife was from Manchester, but all the well it was an enjoyable game. England came into the match as the favorite, but USA was able to scrap away with a draw. A draw gives each team 1 point in group play and a win gives the winner 3. So going into the second round we are now tied for second with England. The other two teams in our group are escaping me at the moment, but they shouldn't be nearly as strong as England.

At the end of the game some of the guys ended up talking to a group of locals at the venue. They informed us that there was a huge Techno DJ Block Party down the street hosted by one of the local radio stations and we were invited. So we followed Leona down the river as she rode her bike ahead. After about a 10 minute walk we could soon hear the bass reverberating off the buildings around us... we had made it.

(Side note: Patrick Dingess got hungry at the end of the game and meet a nice family from Boston that took him to a restaurant... I have been told that he had salmon and soup.)

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After about an hour of European beats and ready to head back, we found a Taxi and headed home to Vauban.
However, when we arrived to the dorm complex, it became apparent that our neighbors were indeed making a party in the storage room under one of the buildings (The storage room is typically used for bikes and such, but some girl had cleaned it out). Anyways, were forced to partake in the festivities.

It was a long, fun and adventurous night but nothing compared to what we would witness Sunday evening.

Paris

2010-06-14T18:13:00.003-04:00

Last week was pretty much over before it ever even began.
Monday and Tuesday we had our normal class sessions at the IES building in Freiburg with George and Dr. Neilson. Then Wednesday morning we had to all make it for a train departure at 6:45 in the morning, which meant that we were to be up by about 5:30 and at the tram station by the 6:08 departure.

Miraculously enough everyone made it to the train on time. We boared and we were soon on our way to Paris.

We arrived in the L'est Gare and made the short trek to our hotel around 2:00 that afternoon.

My afternoon was spent exploring the Louvre.... for Free!

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

The Louvre has a deal that if you are an European Student under the age of 25 you can get in for free. Well we have ID cards for the Frieburg University, mainly to serve as access cards to the cafeteria, but the student ID was enough. So with 9 Euro saved we explored close to one third of the museum.
Upon our return to the Hotel it was about time for us to head down to the Seine River to take a scenic boat ride through the city. I think this is the third time I've been on one of these boat tours, but it was still fun.

After a long day of travel and exploration we came back to the Hotel. Once back Jen Alcala and Rebbecca Howard joined us at the Hotel (conveniently both of my friends in Paris just happen to be in the same program) and the whole crew hung out and caught up on life.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

Thursday morning we woke up early and traveled out to the Palace of Versailles. I've been to Paris a couple of times but I hadn't made it out there before and it truly was an awe inspiring experience. To think that someone actually lived there is beyond my comprehension.

I got back from Versailles around 2:00 O'clock and swiftly took a power nap. After waking up, we found some dinner at a nearby cafe and planned our evening out in Paris.

Jen, Rebbecca and a couple of there other friends from the UT French Language Program joined us out at the Bastille section of town. We explored a few venues, began at a Cuban place and ended up hanging out at an Irish pub.

After some confusion with the Taxi driver and his unwillingness to take me where I needed to go I was initially stranded on the wrong side of town. Luckily we found another Taxi stand and thanks to Jen's French skills I finally made it back to the hotel. The night guard let me in and that was thankfully the end to an eventful evening lost in Paris.

From Euro 2010: Germany and Beyond

We still made it down to the Eiffel Tower and tried to go up on top of the Arc de Triumph, but they were having a ceremony for the unknown WWII soldiers entombed underneath the Arc. After some confused dialogue with a Parisian police office we figured out that the ceremony wouldn't be over for another couple of hours so we made our way through the Latin Quarter for some great gelato, and the guys were able to find some cheap German soccer jerseys (hard to find in France for obvious reasons) in preparation for Sunday's big game.

We made it back on the train and made the long journey back to Freiburg. Arriving at 11:00 pm we called it a night.

Next Post: Pictures, USA and Germany FIFA World Cup Games... quite possibly the best sporting experience I've ever witnessed with out actually being at the game.

- J. Ryan Sowell

Interlaken

2010-06-08T15:11:00.004-04:00

Friday afternoon we grabbed lunch and promptly hopped on a train headed to Interlaken. Luckily, after going through a couple different booking sights I was able to find seven beds at Balmers Hostel for Friday and Saturday night. It was great to be able to go back to such a fun place and share the experience with a new group of people. Friday we took full advantage of their two happy hours and reasonably priced food. We tried to book a canyoning trip for Saturday, but they were booked so we signed up for a Sunday morning excursion... needless to say it was the most extreme Baptism I've ever witnessed.

Saturday, seeing as our original plans to go canyoning had been spoiled, we made our way into Grindelwald. To explain Grindelwald, think Gatlinburg with out the air-brush tees and Alps instead of Smokies. Anyways from the train station we made our way up to a restaurant overlooking the Eiger Glacier and the town. It was one of the steepest hikes I've ever been on. At the restaurant I ordered a traditional Swiss Alpine dish consisting of hashbrowns with bacon and a fried egg on top... it almost felt like waffle house at 1775 meters. Over all we hiked up about 1200 meters (3900 feet) in elevation over maybe a 4 mile hike. After lunch we made our way back down and hurried to try an catch a gondola running from the middle of the mountain down into town. We of course missed it by about 30 minutes so that meant an additional trek down the rest of the mountain. Exhausted we made it back to the train station and back to Balmers. The rest of the crew decided to go to Hooters, but I needed to change my shoes so I got off at the stop just outside of town hoping to catch a bus to the hostel. Seeing as it was already 8:00 in the evening the bus wouldn't of come for another hour. So I followed the bus route we had taken in the morning and made the mile and a half or so hike back. Exhausted, I took a shower, ordered some food and prepared mentally for the adventure to come the next day.

Rudely awakened by my phone alarm and confused as to where I was, I jumped out of my bunk and prepped for the day ahead. We were provided a hearty meal of bread, butter and cheese (these continental breakfasts are starting to get old). We met up with our crazy South African guides and we were soon on our way to the Chili Schliere canyon. One of the most intense canyoning locales in the world. The trek consisted of 35-40 foot jumps, rappelling down waterfalls and slides through bed rock carved out by the tremendous force of the rushing water. Here is a you tube video below showing what we did.

As far as team building goes this put a ropes course to shame.

After the adventure, we boarded our train to Basel and slowly made the journey back to Freiburg

Geneva

2010-06-08T05:33:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was quite possibly one of the most intense 4 day periods of my life. On Thursday we made our way from Freiburg via double decker bus to Geneva Switzerland. I think it was about a 4 hour drive, but I slept the entire way so I don't really know.

Anyways, we made it to the United Nations at Geneva shortly before our meeting with Heiner Flassbeck. Who is one of the chief economists for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He typically deals with developing economies, but recently he has dealt with the Greece/Europe Bailout. His main argument is that ultimately it is Germany's fault for the huge trade imbalances. Germany (interestingly at the request of the labor unions) has essentially left wages flat for the past 10 years. Coupled with inflation and increases in efficiencies, this has left Germany operating with an undervalued currency and essentially an absolute advantage over the other European economies. It is an interesting theory and I think per unit wage differences between the European economies will be an important component of the European economic restructuring currently taking place. After our meeting we went to the U.N. Cafeteria where I was accosted by the French speaking cashier for trying to pay with Euro coins (I soon learned they only used Euro Bills). So with none of my peers in eyesight and the line growing ever longer behind me, I rushed up stairs to an ATM I had seen earlier. Pulled out some cash and with a slight look of disgust, the cashier lady let me pay for my lunch. After lunch we took a tour of the UN facilities and learned about the history of the building and location.

Thursday evening was spent exploring Geneva and a trip to the bell tower of the Geneva Cathedral.

Friday, we spent the morning at the World Trade Organization (WTO). There someone from their external communications department walked us through the WTO history and how agreements and meetings were conducted. He started us off with a slide which simply said, "It's more complicated than that." and it most certainly was. But, pretty much the WTO is a meeting place for all the members to negotiate trade agreements. Overall it seemed a little superficial to me, but I guess that is diplomacy for you.

Pictures

2010-06-07T18:23:00.002-04:00

Just added a bunch of pictures... story to follow. See the slide show to the right and click on it for more.

Freiburg 2

2010-06-02T17:21:00.003-04:00

Well today was our second full day in Freiburg. I am starting to get my bearings a little and I was able to get a SIM card for my phone (Thank you Chris Lafaro).
This morning started off with an enthralling safety briefing by the IES staff.
Lunch was a Bratwurst at the daily farmers' market in the square around the Muenster (Cathedral). Then Patrick Dingess and I hiked to the top of the Muenster bell tower to take in a wonderful panoramic view of the entire town (pictures will follow soon).

Then we had our Economics and Agreements classes and we researched Heiner Flassbeck who is one of the chief European Trade Policy Advisers in Geneva. We get to meet him tomorrow and since he has been one of the main architects of the recent Greece Bail out the conversation with him should be interesting to say the least.

During our "research time" in the computer lab we did a little research of our own on activities for the weekend. It was decided by a group of us that a weekend in Interlaken would be good for the soul (one of my favorite places ever... see prior post). Balmer's looks to be full but we are finding other means of accommodation. Extreme Canyoning... here I come!

Later in the afternoon a few of us stuck around for our second German class. Today was numbers. I'm still oblivious, but I think I can count to ten (don't test me on that though). After German class a few of us made it back into town where we indulged in one of my European favorites... the Doner Kebab.

We hit up the grocery store on our way back (the first test of my number skills). Upon checkout I gave the clerk a 20 but he thought I gave him a 10. Of course I blanked on my recently acquired number skills when I needed them most. Lucky the lady behind me was able to help me. Rather than giving me a ten spot after the next transaction the clerk had to close the line and go to the back and count his register. He then returned, apologized for the confusion (I think) and gave me a small bottle of Merlot.

Tomorrow is Geneva, which is exciting because its truly is a great city (see prior post) and this time I won't be in the soviet style hostel we were in last time. The bus leaves at 6:45 so that will be a challenge, but I know how to work my alarm now so I should be good to go.

Anyways goodnight and I'll be editing my pictures on the bus tomorrow so I'll load them up soon.

- J. Ryan Sowell

First Day...

2010-06-01T20:28:00.003-04:00

Well... I arrived in my Flat (if you will) yesterday.
It is set up where I have my own room but I share a Kitchen, Bathroom, etc. with 4 others.
I learned some of the rules today and I found my fridge and freezer space.
The morning started off with a light German breakfast complete with coffee, pretzels, and fruit.
Then we had an into lecture by the program dean on policies and things to know.
We also had our first Econ and Business Admin lectures.
We discussed Economic Models and the economic trends of Europe (Greece is killing everyone) and compared them to the USA.
For lunch we went to the University Mensa (I like to think of Mess hall) it was a good deal but I'm craving a Doner Kebab (Turkish Gyro type sandwich).
Then we had our first of a few German lessons. Informative, but I'd really just like to learn how to pronounce half of this stuff.
After wards myself and a few others went to a nice place known for their schnitzel. Had a wonderful meal with a couple beers.
Then we made our way back to the dorms (in the Hippie side of town) to find that there was a classic American girl's birthday party complete with a tiara worn by the birthday girl (Carolyn I believe).
From there we made it back into town via the tram to hit a couple of bars.
Nothing crazy but we finished the night at a techno type club called kamikaze.
Had a great time there and Patrick Dingess enjoyed teaching a few people his dance moves.
Coming back, with the trams done, a cab made the most sense. 5 of us piled in and the rest stayed. 2 Euro apiece latter we made it back to hippie town.
All in all a good day...

- J. Ryan Sowell

Made it to Freiburg... the one in Germany, not Switzerland

2010-05-31T16:22:00.002-04:00

Today really began two days ago and it hasn't really ever stopped.

Saturday evening seeing as it was my last night in Knoxville for a good while, I thought it would be more than fitting for me to at least go out for a bit.
Next thing I knew it was already 2:00 am and I hadn't finished packing. With a flight leaving at 8:00 that meant I had 3 hours to both pack half my bag and sleep.
I was able to squeeze in about an hour of shut eye and the the gauntlet to Freiburg began.

Lured in by cheap rates and the lack of a lay-over in Washington Dulles (last summer resulted in my living there for two days) my flight schedule took me from Knoxville to Miami to New York JFK to Zurich... and then a train to Freiburg but I'll touch on that later.

Miami was nice enough, flat, hot and a lot of Spanish being spoken. That's about all I have to say about that.

On my flight between Miami and JFK I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had some how managed to book a seat in Business Class! Thanks to the 120 degree reclining seat I got the best sleep (three hours) I've had since Friday. I tried to do the same trick on my flight to Zurich (rebook my seat as close to the front as possible), but I ended up two rows into coach.

The flight to Zurich was delayed for nearly 2 1/2 hours which meant we sat at the gate for about an hour and a half and taxied for the remainder (ad to think American Airlinesalmost had me sold on them after the Business Class... oh well). In the meantime I struck up a conversation with the fellow sitting next to me. Come to find out he is in a band (the name escapes me) that had just opened for Bon Jovi at the New Meadowlands Football Stadium a couple nights before and now they are touring around Europe for a couple weeks (months maybe?). Anyways I thought that was interesting and my seat mate played the Viola... in case you were wondering.

So in air they showed the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" starring George Clooney and a cast of other notable names. Based on the Roald Dahl book it was very enjoyable and if you're looking for a humorous flick I would recommend it.

So two hours late I arrive in Zurich, I was supposed to meet Will Jolly at the Airport Train Station, but I was almost certain he would have already left without me. A little down because I figured I was going to have to make the trek to Freiburg alone, as I was retrieving my bag two guys (Chris and Trent) walked up and said, "Ryan, right?" "Ya?" I responded(Strangely I have meet people in random countries before that knew me... see 2009 post from Interlaken), they continued, "Hey so we're headed to Freiburg with the UT program... you're with us right?" This was wonderful news, we grabbed our bags and headed to the train station.

Upon arrival, I showed them how to get their Eurail passed validated, I went to the self-service kiosk and we were on our way! (Jolly was no where to be found, but he met a few people from our trip as well and made it safely to Freiburg)

From the Airport we made our way to the Zurich Central station. I looked at my ticket and found the train for our next stop... Bern (or so I thought). After some thought I remembered that there was no way Bern could be on our route. Bern is in the middle of the country! I had bought a ticket to the wrong Freiburg... the Swiss one. We were literally standing on the platform and the train was arriving when I had the revelation.

After explaining my ineptness to the train ticket officer, she allowed me to change my ticket for 10 Francs ($8.50 or so). With a major mistake diverted we got on a direct train to Freiburg. Easy sailing from here.

And that was the case until we arrived at Freiburg Central Station. I got off the train, Trent got off the train, but then the door closed on Chris. There was nothing he could do. He was headed Offenburg.

So slightly panicking (I had pretty much met this guy this morning and I did not know if he even knew where we were supposed to go) Trent and I decided to wait on Chris. We took note of the train schedules and calculated which train he should arrive (back) on. First train (4 minute layover time) no show, Second Train (35 minute layover) most probable scenario... no Chirs. Well this went on for about 2 1/2 hours. We finally gave up and hailed a taxi. Upon finding out where he was to take us... the cab driver suggested we walk.

So Trent and I arrived at the IES central office at 5:15 (just in time for dinner) to find Chris sitting behind a computer in the computer lab.

So in conclusion, I should have landed at 7:30 this morning been on the 8:45 train to Zurich and on to Freiburg with an estimated arrival at about noon. Instead, I found myself delayed and lost half the time. It has been a long 2, 3, however long. I'm glad to have a room to call my own... already made my first mistake though, used the girls bathroom.

Goodnight... can't really focus on the computer screen anymore.

-J. Ryan Sowell

Shipping Out

2010-05-29T15:56:00.001-04:00

Early Sunday Morning I will be flying to Zurich via Miami and New York. Intentionally avoiding Dulles this year. Let's hope there's no delays this year, and I figure out how to get on the train to Freiburg!

Europe 2010

2010-05-18T18:25:00.002-04:00

Well it's that time of year again and this year I will be traveling to Europe again. This time I will be primarily based in Freiburg, Germany. We will have trips to Paris, Geneva and Strasbourg to study international trade institutions such as the WTO and the European Union Parliament. In the coming weeks I will be updating my blog and I thank you for following my adventures.

- Ryan

Washington

2009-06-11T19:24:00.000-04:00

We are currently on standby for a flight from Dulles to Knoxville that is now leaving at 11:30. I will update the Brussels and Amsterdam adventures soon.

- Ryan

The End of Swiss

2009-06-04T17:44:00.004-04:00

Wow… Interlaken was one of the greatest places I’ve ever been too. The hostel we stayed at was great, I ran into some guys I went to middle school with, and canyoning was a lot of fun but not quite as extreme as I had expected (Growing up with property on Lake Keowee in northern South Carolina trained me well for rock slides and cliff jumping). Everyone in Interlaken was friendly and most of the people we were staying with were students in the States or Canada anyways.

On Tuesday morning we boarded the train to Geneva… the city of International Diplomacy. With a short stopover in Basel we were soon at our hostel. This was our first Hostelling International experience and quite frankly I can’t say I have been impressed. The place is essentially built in post-soviet style architecture with concrete walls, simple rooms and a huge empty cafeteria which serves as the dinning and social facilities (some people are currently playing cards and yelling in German next to me). Also last night Kevin had some money stolen out of his wallet. So the hostel is kinda miserable… but Geneva is actually a pretty cool town.

The first afternoon we were here we explored the town and climbed to the bell tower of the Calvinistic “Cathedral?” (not sure what to call it). From there we had great views all across the town. Today we visited the Geneva UN offices. The UN here is the largest office outside of New York, it is here that many of the humanitarian efforts are coordinated along with some demilitarization efforts. Nearly every UN member state has some sort of embassy here and an heir of importance can be felt when strolling down the lake side next to the Four Star Hotels lining the shore (The valet lots at these places can be downright ridiculous… I’ve lost count how many Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris I’ve seen).

But I digress… The UN’s main building is housed in the former League of Nations Building built after World War I however the true UN campus extends far beyond the formal Palace of Nations and into the surrounding high rise office buildings. The buildings house everything from the World Health Organization to World Trade Organization offices. Standing in the middle of it all and taking in all the alphabet soup spelled out across the buildings is an experience in itself.

This evening we ran by the grocery store to grab some sandwich making supplies and had a nice dinner in a park overlooking the city. We walked along the shore and went out the end of both break walls. At the end of the east wall is the Geneva Water Fountain which shoots water some 400 feet in the air. It is supposed to be running all the time right now but it’s not. While we were about 20 feet away the water jet came to life and sprayed for about a minute. I tried to get my camera out but didn’t have enough time to focus before the water had receded.

Tomorrow we head to Brussels, and I am looking forward to sharing a waffle dinner with our classmate Ben Southard who is meeting up with us from London. We had everything planned out on which train we needed and just had one stopover in Lyon until we got to the ticket counter. At the international ticket office here in Geneva the attendant informed us that our high-speed train to Brussels from Lyon was booked and the only way we could take the TGV (high-speed) was to buy a regular fare ticket for 179 Swiss Francs (about 160 USD). Obviously that wasn’t going to work. Thankfully he was able to find us a route through Basel. The only catch was that now we are faced with nearly an 11 hour train ride and the only reading material I have is an Economist… needless to say I’m going to know this week’s world news.

So yeah… if you have been keeping up with my travels thank you and I will be home in a week.

Interlaken

2009-06-01T16:18:00.004-04:00

Interlaken Switzerland should be on everyone's to do list. The hostel we are staying at is ridiculous; people from all over the states and around the world come here to have a great time. Interlaken is situated between two lakes just north of the alps (hence the name) and is the extreme sport capital of Europe. From our hostel we can book skydiving, hang gliding, paragliding, whitewater rafting and much more. The hostel (Balmer's) is like an all inclusive backpacker's dream. They have a hammock room, game room, TV, wireless internet and best of all the best bar in the city is underneath it all. Last night we made some pork chops for dinner and sailed through happy hour chatting with some folks that went to Sewanne on into the night when we went down to the club for DJ beats well into the morning. Having a club less than 30 yards from my bunk room might become troublesome. The set up really is great and you get to meet everyone and maybe play someone in a game of life size chess. Today we didn't do a whole lot but we explored the city a little more and went to Hooters for dinner (come on... Hooters in Switzerland? I had to go). Tomorrow we're going canyoning (think rappelling but in waterfalls) and given that I make it through unhurt... another night of fun here at Balmers.

Switzerland I

2009-05-30T14:43:00.002-04:00

Well as I alluded to getting to Switzerland was not an easy task. We missed a total of 3 trains and it went something like this:

We woke up fairly early in Nice ready to go and hop on a train. Thanks to a railway workers strike the day before the train station was an absolute mess. Our train was converted into a bus and since we couldn't find the bus we just waited for the later train to the Italian border town on Ventimiglia.

The 2:00 train worked out great but when we got to the final station we didn't have enough time to buy seats on the train to Milan that was sitting in the station so it left and that was train number 2 that we missed. By this point it was at least 4:30 so we had to wait an hour for the 5:45 train to Milan. That train went wonderfully other than it was about 3 and half hours and got us in Milan with 15 minutes to find our final train to Lugano.

In Milan we knew we only had 15 minutes to find the regional train but it simply was nowhere to be found. By this point it was after 9 and the station was beginning to shut down. We never found that train. Kevin called the hostel in Lugano and informed them that we would not be able to make it that night. Desperate, tired and hopeless we concluded we would have to stay in Milan for the evening. We were about to just walk out from the station and find a hotel, but Kevin thought it would be a good idea to at least get a map.

We found a customer service desk to find a map of Milan and the attendant informed us that there was a train heading to Lugano leaving from another station (the Garibaldi Station) in approximately 45 minutes. With renewed spirits we ran across the station and down to the metro line to the Regional Train Station. The train was right on time, and after a quick transfer in Chiasso we were in Lugano by 12:45 am.

Once in Lugano we wandered up the hill behind the station and found our accommodations for the evening. It was a long day of travel but a wonderful night’s sleep which lasted well into the next day.
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Wednesday
Lugano:

Lugano is Switzerland’s number 3 financial center hosting over a hundred different bank offices. The city is in the Italian speaking district of Ticino overlooking a magnificent lake. While we were there we explored the town and tried to take an inclined railway to the top of a nearby mountain. We made it up to the first transfer station and the attendant informed us that the last run was in 15 minutes and we could go to the top of the mountain but we wouldn't be able to come back down. So rather than risk a 3 hour hike down the mountain and into town we decided to explore where we presently were. After walking down a street through a neighborhood for a couple hundred meters we found a public park with a great bluff overlooking the city. The only problem was now we had an hour's walk back into town, no map, our bus tickets had just lost their validation and we had no cash to buy new ones... it was a long walk back into town. Once in town we thought it would be wise to save a few dollars and hit up McDonalds... 12 Swiss Francs (about 11 USD) and a Big Mac Meal later we left feeling half full and cheated. Kevin on the way out tried to get a refill on his drink... the attendant responded with "Como? (what)" and handed him a cup full of ice. It was at that moment that Kevin realized the world was NOT flat.
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Our train ride into Luzern from Lugano went very well and it was one of the most scenic train rides I've been on in my life... directly through the Alps and out the other side.

We are currently in Luzern and it is an absolutely wonderful city. It is situated on a lake with the Alps to the South and grassland to the north. Given its location it is a transportation hub for the entire region it is home to the Switzerland Transportation Museum. It is a working city centered around tourism with a great old city pedestrian district.

Yesterday we simply found our hostel and roamed around the city for a while. For our evening entertainment we found a bar with a blues band. The band was great and the bar was a great venue the only problem was that we were the youngest people there by about 20 years. Feeling out of place we tried to go to an English pub on the river but we ran into 2 problems there 1) a pint was 9 franc and it was last call at midnight. Without tails between our legs we made the trek across town and back to our hostel. Once back I looked at the events bulletin board and saw there was a disco tech nearby. We found the place without much trouble and it looked promising from the onset there were people our age and they seemed to be having a good time. We went into the bar area and we were immediately soaked in techno beats, smoke and lights. The establishment was divided in two different bars: The Bar and The Club. Seeing as the Bar wasn't quite my scene I thought I'd give The Club a shot. As we were scoping out the opportunity to get into the other part of the club Kevin found an "unguarded door" that led into the Club. We had a plan I would pay the cover and see if the venue was worth it and Kevin would sneak in through the back door. I went in and shortly thereafter so did Kevin. He walked through the unguarded door and down a short corridor, through some hanging beads and found himself behind the bar of the Club. Completely confused, Kevin ran back out the door and into the Bar area. I met up with him shortly thereafter and he explained that he had learned why the back door was unguarded... it was the service door to the bar. We stayed at the venue for a little while but again feeling out of place we soon headed out towards our hostel.

It's sad... I'm 20 but in Switzerland I'm more comfortable in the 40 and up bar than the 20 something disco-tech.

Today we had extravagant plans to hike halfway up this mountain, ride a boat, a gondola and make a whole day out of it. Well seeing as neither of us wanted to get out of bed this morning at 8:30... It didn't happen. We woke up around 11 and went down to the kitchen to retrieve our groceries from the refrigerator only to find that the kitchen had closed at 10 and we wouldn't be able to get to our food until 4. So rather than try and argue with the stubborn attendant we decided it would be best to just hit up the grocery store for lunch on our way to Mount Pilatus. The grocery store was a complete logistical nightmare... for some reason they decided to stock their entire store during the lunch hour. I had to wrestle a pasta salad out of some Swiss lady's stocking cart rather than dance around her in attempt to get something off the shelf. Too much money later we finally had a lunch and we got on the train to the town of Alpnachstad.

In Alpnachstad we boarded a dual cogwheel inclined railway car for the steepest railcar journey in the world... a 48% incline at some points. The ride took about 20 minutes but we were soon 7000 feet over central Switzerland. At the top we explored the camp which included a visitor’s center and hotel... the whole set up reminded me of Ober Gatlinburg. Apparently James Bond has frequented this mountain top in the movie Her Majesty's Secret Service and I think I found his mountain top bunker. We climb over to the other side of the mountain top and we saw a small chapel on the side of a cliff about 2 kilometers away. It was surrounded by sheep and at that point I knew I wanted to check it out. Armed with tennis shoes and a camera we took the 20 some odd switchbacks down the side of the mountain and over to the chapel. There we realized we had 30 minutes to get back to the top of the mountain to catch the last cable car down the mountain. The sign said it would take 40 minutes to get to the top... we made it in 25. Exhausted we then boarded the cable car and made our descent down the other side of the mountain and into Luzern.

Tonight is a slow night... seeing as nothing caught our fancy last night we're just chilling on our porch, listening to music and catching up on life. Tomorrow we leave for a 3 day stay in Interlaken Yee Haw!

Nice and Monaco

2009-05-28T10:24:00.003-04:00

Monday:

Nice was a wonderful experience. We arrived at our hostel early on Monday morning. Our place was in the old city and since we got there at 9:00 am it was pretty dead. Our first impression of Nice was not great to say the least... we found our hostel (marked by a small name placard on a apartment buzzboard) and made our way up. The owner wasn't there so we dropped off our bags and explored the town a bit. Exhausted from our night train ride...

[side story: so we hangout in Bordeaux all day and explore every last nook in the town. We went to the international fair (which had everything from livestock to cars to airplanes and furniture), climbed to the top of the cathedral bell tower and explored the commercial river front. We wait in the train station until we 12:45 am for it to leave, we get on the train and climb into our couchette bunks. The train master comes by to check our tickets and I can't find mine. So in broken French/English I plead to him not to kick me off the train. Completely furious with me, he decides that I can buy another reservation for 20 Euro. Afterwards I finally fell asleep and awoke in Nice.]

Kevin and I find a park to go sit down in and wait for the owner to come back we both look at each other and we can pretty much read eachothers mind... "I don't know about this man, what did we get ourselves into?"

After Helen (The Hostel Maiden) returned we quickly found ourselves at home in Nice. That afternoon we went down to the beach... swam a little and walked down the beach for a mile or so through the town.

That night we met up with one of the gals staying in the hostel and hiked up to an ancient castel just east of our hostel in the old city. From there we hiked down and explored the Nice port. After a long day of traveling and finally finding some comfort in our accomodations we called it a night.
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Tuesday:

Seeing as we had already discovered most of Nice the day before. Kevin and I decided to check out Monaco. It was a 1 Euro bus ride down the coast and into Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is quite honestly one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world. It is only 16 km long making it the second smallest country in the world behind Vatican City.

The big Monte Carlo Grand Prix was last weekend so we were able to see all of the bleachers and track side rails still in place. We took the bus to the Grand Casino where we saw some rediculous cars including a Mercedes McLaren. We then hiked down from the Casino bluff to the harbor where the main racing grandstands and pits were set up. From there we headed up the other side of the bay to the top of a bluff where the Palace is. The palace was interesting but not interesting enough for us to pay 7 Euro to go inside. The main government buildings are also on what is known as the "Rock" and a huge aquarium. After checking out all the tourist attractions there we hiked back down and hitched a bus home.

Once back in Nice we grabed a happy hour pint and meal at an english speaking bar called Waynes. We discovered there was to be live music that evening so we made plans to head back. We went back to the hostel cleaned up and chatted with our room mates for a while. By the time we got back down to Wyanes at about 10:00 pm the place was packed. There were students from all across the US, Austrailia, The UK and locals as well. The band came on around 10:45 and by 11:00 everyone was dancing on the tables. (I was too tall to dance on tables). At about 12:00 a gal in our group motioned that she wanted to leave. So we headed down the the beach. At that point Kevin and our hostel friend Alyshia decided it would be a great idea to go swimming. Seeing as there was already a rowdy crew of Australians having a ball they were in plenty of company. Afterwards we headed up to the hostel and called it a night.
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Wednesday:

Was a mess... missed 3 trains, there was a train strike the day before and we got to Lugano at 1:00 am. More details to come later.

- Ryan

Tennessee Farwell

2009-05-23T10:44:00.003-04:00

Friday we had our last day of class in Bordeaux. Which consisted of everyone giving a personal reflection on their experiences in France and a debriefing on the aerospace industry. Afterward we were given the afternoon off to shop and explore the city one last time. In the evening we all got together for a group dinner and thanked Mathais (our BEM host) and his family.

Today Kevin and I wandered around Bordeaux a while after lunch. We ran into live acoustic music, public improv threatre in one of the squares and break-dancing by the Cathedral. Tonight is our farewell dinner and at midnight tomorrow we leave for Nice.

Dunes and Dungeons

2009-05-21T17:22:00.006-04:00

Yesterday on our trek back from Toulouse back to Bordeaux was punctuated by a stop to Carcassonne, which is a fully intact medieval village surrounding a castle. There we took a tour of the castle and explored the town. After lunch we boarded the bus for a miserable 4 hour ride back to Bordeaux. Once we returned, Kevin and I found a laundromat and did some much needed laundry. It was quite an eventful evening though. One of our classmates had not been feeling well for the past couple days. Upon calling a local doctor and describing his "flu-like" symptoms the doctor quickly issued a medical quarantine in fear of the swine flu. Seeing as the hotel was getting ready to be swarmed by the French CDC, most of the guys took it upon themselves to go out on the town a little early and avoid the mass confusion.

Today was a fairly slow day. We hopped on a train to the seaside town of Arcachon, home to Europe's largest sand dune... The Great Dune or Plya. Sam had the genius idea of bringing cardboard pieces to sled down the side. Unfortunately the plan didn't work quite as planned and he ended up blazing along at a snails pace down the hill. I then immediately took on of the remaining carboard pieces and slept all day in the side of the dune. We got back on the train and our last day of class is tomorrow.

Stay tuned for the second leg of my trip... The Long Way Home.

- Ryan

Industry

2009-05-19T14:36:00.005-04:00

Well on Monday the class visited the Smuffit-Kappa Paper Mill outside of Bordeaux. The operation was absolutely huge. Wood chips everywhere and paper wizzing by at about 40 miles an hour it was quite sight. Then we went to a caviar farm in the afternoon and I tried caviar for the first time. It wasn't bad but certainly not worth 50 dollars a tin.

Today Kevin and I nearly missed the bus to go to Toulouse. We packed up in a 15 min fury and made it after holding everyone up for about 20 min In Toulouse we visited the Airbus facility where they assemble the A380 Jumbo Jet. Afterward we visited Rockwell Collins who makes aeronautical data systems and digital control component. Finally we then found our hotel and grabbed a kebab for dinner. A long yet hectic day. I was fun but certainly glad it's over.

- Ryan

Castles and Markets

2009-05-17T15:13:00.003-04:00

Saturday:
In the morning we took a bus for about an hour to Sarlat for an open air market. We explored the medieval town, found some lunch from a street vendor and took in the smells and excitement of the market. We then visited Benyac Castle. Benyac is the filming sight of many movies including Joan of Arc and Ever After. The Castle was perched atop a ridge and was a key fortification for the French during the Hundred Years War. In the evening I went to a Bordeaux Soccer Game, we arrived late and since we had block seating there were not any seats to be had. We hung around for a little while and then headed out for the evening.

Sunday:
I woke up bright and early to board a train to Cognac. There we explored the city and toured the Hennessy facilities. It was an interesting town, but since it was Sunday most everything was closed.

Bordeaux Part Deux

2009-05-15T05:48:00.004-04:00

Thursday:

We had class at the BEM and we had some interaction with the local students. We then had a walking tour or Bordeaux through it's pedestrian district. In the evening we all had dinner together at a wonderful brasserie where we were treated to a delightful four course meal. There were plenty of laughs and wine to be had.

Friday:

We visited Chateau Haut-Brion, one of the first growth wines in the Bordeaux region (really good and really expensive... Thomas Jefferson drank this stuff). This afternoon we are going to BEM for more class and I'm not too sure what it is on. I believe we are transitioning into the aerospace segment of our trip and I am assuming we will be briefed on the European Aircraft Industry.

Bordeaux Part I

2009-05-13T16:19:00.003-04:00

Well we made it into Bordeaux safe and sound Monday evening.

Yesterday we made it out to the Bordeaux Ecole d' Management (Business College) for a class discussion of our assigned reading on the California and French Wine industries. After class we went to the Bordeaux Wine School. There we had a beginners session on wine tasting and French wine in general. The rest of the evening we had off.

Today we got up bright and early and took a bus out to the St. Emillion region to a small family winery, Chateau Cassagne Haut-Canon. There we toured their facilities and fields and tasted their 2000 through 2004 vintages. we were treated to a wonderful lunch consisting of duck, greenbeans, scallaped potatoes, 3 different cheeses, and a pear poached in a sweet wine sauce. The two hour affair was one of the best meals of my life. Afterward we went into St. Emillion and explored the ancient town, there we had a sparkling wine tasting in an 18th century courtyard.

Tomorrow we have class at the BEM and we get to meet some of the Bordeaux students for lunch.

Paris

2009-05-11T04:14:00.004-04:00

Well I finally figured out how to get on the internet again by buying an online pass only to find out that I could have gotten one from the front desk for free.

Anyways...

Saturday was probably the longest day of my life. As a class we visited The Notre Dame Cathedral at about noon. Then we were given the afternoon off to explore Paris or go to the hotel and get our lives in order. Madison, Sam and I wandered around the Latin Quarter for a while and found a nice little place to have a late lunch. It was the first time I had had rabbit before. Then we literally walked in the direction opposite from the cathedral and turned on which ever street looked interesting. We stumbled upon the Pantheon, the University of Paris and countless little squares and fountains. As we were planning our trek back we were looking at a posted map, a man came up and offered us some directions (turns out we were looking at it upside down) he pointed us toward an ancient roman arena and some botanical gardens. We made our way through the arena and then to the gardens. In the garden we found a Zoo, they had some pretty interesting exhibits (My favorite was the North American Raccoon). After the Zoo we made our way back to Notre Dame, took a boat cruise on the Seine, and I promptly went to bed.

Sunday was another exciting and interesting day in Paris. Our first stop was The Arc De Triumph. We made our way to the top for a great view of Paris. After a few presentations we made our way down the Champs Elysees all the way to the Louvre. The trek went through the prestigous shopping district, by the presidential palace and eventually to the Palais des Tuileries (home to magnificent parks and the Louvre). We then went into the Louvre and explored one of the wings. We saw a number of famous pieces including the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory Statue. We were then let go for the afternoon. Kevin and I took the Metro back down the Champs Elysees, grabbed lunch at a sandwich shop and found a touring Andy Warhol exhibit. We then took the Metro to the end of the line to the Business District "La Defense." It was Sunday so it was pretty dead, but the modern architecture was interesting the say the least. We then made our way to the groups evening rendezvous point, the Eiffel Tower, and grabbed a pint at an Irish Pub on the way. Once we met up with the rest of the group we made our way to the top of the tower and fought off the young africans trying to sell us trinkets. After the Eiffel Tower a small goup of us went to the Latin quarter for dinner.

Today is pretty much open but around 2:00 pm we will board the TGV High speed Train and take it to Bordeaux. We will be in Bordeaux for the next two weeks.

In Paris

2009-05-09T03:03:00.002-04:00

Well... I officially made it into Paris this "morning" (about 1:30 Eastern) with my bags and all. We found a nice cafe close to our hotel and I have one of the longest days of my life ahead of me. Two hours of sleep on the plane will make today interesting to say the least. Well I've got to start on a presentation I have to give on something.

Hope all is well.

- Ryan

Leaving

2009-05-08T01:10:00.002-04:00

So I leave for Paris at 2:20 pm today out of Knoxville. All I have to do now is finish packing and put together two presentations.

My Intinerary

2009-05-06T23:31:00.002-04:00

May 24: Train to Nice

May 25-26: Nice

May 27: Train to Lugano Switzerland

May 28: Lugano

May 29: Train/Boat to Lucern Switzerland

May 30: Lucern

May 3: Train to Interlaken

June 1-2: Interlaken

June 3: Train to Geneva

June 3: Geneva

Evening: Train to Brussels

June 4-5: Brussells

June 7: Train to Den Haag

June 8: Den Haag

Evening: Train to Amsterdam

June 9-10: Amsterdam

June 11: Flight to Knoxville, Tennessee

Intinerary with University of Tennessee Program

2009-05-06T23:15:00.005-04:00

DATE	LOCATION
5.8	Transit
5.9	Paris
5.10	Paris
5.11	Paris to Bordeaux
5.12	Bordeaux
5.13	St. Emilion
5.14	Bordeaux
5.15	Bordeaux
5.16	Dordogne
5.17	Bordeaux
5.18	Les Landes
5.19	Toulouse
5.20	Carcassonne, Bordeaux
5.21	Pyla, Arcachon
5.22	Bordeaux
5.23	Bordeaux
5.24	Transit

Blog Kick Off

2009-05-02T18:05:00.001-04:00

This will be my main form of communication home given the time difference and the ridiculous phone rates. I will try to post pictures and journal entries daily. Still figuring out how to work all of this but yeah. Hope you enjoy!

- Ryan