My Big Fat Greek Weekend

This past Friday, Paige and I set off on our last trip of the semester to Chania--a town on the largest of the Greek Islands, Crete. Our flight got us to the island around 9pm local time (it's an hour ahead of Rome), and within the hour, we found our room and were headed to dinner.

We booked the room through Airbnb and found it to be really great. It was a slightly-below-street-level room with two comfy beds, a bathroom, and a teeny kitchenette. It was about a two-minute walk from the main harbor and about a fifteen-minute walk from the beach.

Our Room

It had exposed wood ceilings and reminded 

me of a northern MI cabin!

After dropping off our things, Paige and I walked to the harbor and stopped at a pretty kitschy restaurant where we ordered some pretty kitschy food and some cocktails. We both got Greek salads and I got a gyro. The salads were to die for--a thick chunk of feta cheese atop fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and onions--we were in love and they became a staple for the rest of our meals. My gyro was incredibly delicious too and the cucumber tzatziki sauce that my family is in love with was just divine. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us the check along with some complementary flan and a small bottle of Ouzo--a grape-based liquor that tasted similar to vodka--and two shot glasses. After taking a small sip of the liquor, we decided against it and just ate the flan.

Our drinks--San Francisco Sunrises

Saturday morning, we dressed for the beach and headed out for some breakfast. We ended up at another super kitschy restaurant where we had a quick meal before our search for the beach began. About an hour later, we found ourselves laying in the sand and listening to the waves roll in. It was pretty windy on Saturday so the water felt too chilly for swimming. Instead, we lazed about in the sand for a few hours and then walked over to a nearby bar to get some beachside cocktails. I ordered a nice blue drink while Paige ordered a Mai Tai that was WAY too strong and we sipped and enjoyed the view. A while later, we went back for another round but it became quite obvious that the bartender had no idea what she was doing, and after spilling our drinks twice, we decided it was probably better to just leave.

The harbor on the walk to the beach

The beautiful beach

 Paige and I and our drinks

We realized we had gotten a bit burnt, so we headed back into town. Not giving up on our quest for a cocktail, we sat down at a restaurant by the harbor and ordered some drinks and appetizers--Paige got a Greek salad and a chocolate martini, I got some meatballs and a pina colada. It was early evening after this and we decided to go back to the room and shower before heading to dinner (we smelled of sunscreen and B.O.). We ended up at a restaurant called Tholos. It had incredible curb appeal and the food was delicious too! Somehow, we ended up staying for about three hours (in a good way) at this place and when they brought us the Ouzo liquor and flan, we were ready for it. We did a few shots of the liquor and had tiny bites of flan to clear the taste from our mouths. After we left, we walked around the harbor for a bit and then went back to the room.

My delicious meatballs and cocktail

 The harbor from our pre-dinner snack

Tholos Restautant

(taken off of the site's Facebook page since I forgot 

to take a pic while we were there)

On Sunday, we had a boat/snorkeling excursion planned, so we stayed around town in the morning. We went window shopping for a bit and then got some brunch--chicken gyros--before heading to the harbor to hop on board. I had booked the trip online a few weeks before and it was a totally touristy-but-still-fun glass bottom boat cruise that included a bit of snorkeling. The boat took us around a nearby island (it was a national park and solely inhabited by goats) and then to a smaller island where we snorkeled for about a half hour. Paige and I had made sure to buy an underwater camera before we left, so I may or may not have some cool pictures of us snorkeling (to be seen whenever I get them developed). There wasn't too much marine life to be seen, but it was still fun to be in the water and dive around in the gear!

Our boat waiting for us in the harbor

We're incredibly excited to snorkel

Crete from the sea--yes those are snow-topped mountains!

Our snorkeling site

After the boat got back, we headed to the beach again to catch some late afternoon rays. The beach was a bit more crowded because the previous day's wind had died down, but it was still extremely luxurious. Once again, we returned to the room to shower before heading out for our last dinner in Chania. We went to the harbor again (where the kitschy restaurants are), and snagged a nice table right by the water--a great view and a great opportunity for people-watching.  Paige got "The Special"--which consisted of a small greek salad, a gyro plate, and a mini bottle of wine--while I ordered a full greek salad, dakos (similar to bruschetta with spelt bread toasts, crushed tomatoes, fresh goat cheese and kalamata olives), and the house cocktail. The food was incredibly delicious and because our seats were so good, we both ordered Mai Tais to keep the fun going. To our surprise and delight, along with the cocktails, the waiter brought us a bowl of peanuts, a bowl of potato chips, and a plate of fresh strawberries and bananas--on the house! The drinks were a significant improvement from the one Paige had on Saturday, and afterwards, we headed to a bar on the harbor where we got one more drink before calling it a night.

Paige covering up her burnt areas

The delicious greek salad and dakos--and my specialty cocktail

Sunset in the harbor--the view from our table

Monday morning, we set off early to the beach to soak in as much sun as we could before we had to leave. After spending about four hours (that included some swimming time), we went back to the room, showered, and packed up most of our belongings. We went souvenir shopping for a while and got a last meal--greek salad and stuffed grape leaves--before finally packing everything up and leaving Crete behind.

Last day on the beach

Old Town Chania

Lighthouse at the harbor

Overall, it was an incredibly fun weekend. This was one of the only trips that I've been on all semester that was so low-key, where we didn't worry about sight-seeing too much, but rather just enjoyed the beach and main town that we were in. It was a great "last hoorah" trip, and I'm so glad I was able to get to Greece. 

Things to look forward to this week (not sure how much I'm actually "looking forward" to these things, but whatever): last week of the semester, final exams, packing, a beach day on Saturday, and seeing my parents next Wednesday (I am looking forward to those last two). 

I'm not sure when my next post will be, but I will definitely have one or two more perhaps to tell about my post-class travels when my parents visit, and definitely one to wrap up the study abroad experience and whatnot. 

Thanks for reading,

Kasey Ann

A Taste of Munich

This past weekend I took a trip to Munich--or Munchen, as the Germans would say--for Springfest which is basically the little sister of Oktoberfest. A couple roommates and I booked this trip through a travel company that a lot of people have been using that transported us there (via 12 hour bus ride), booked our hostel, and planned a few outings for us. It was actually pretty nice not to have to figure out all of the trip logistics by ourselves, and the bus ride didn't end up being too terrible either. 

We departed from Rome around 8:30pm last Thursday in a 52-seater coach bus that for some reason had significantly less leg room on the right side of it (guess which side I was on). We watched a few movies before it was generally decided that we would all try to sleep. Despite the lack of space, I slept a decent amount and by about 9:00 Friday morning, we were pulling in to the hostel.

After we arrived, there was a fairly quick turnaround where we changed, freshened up, and took advantage of the hostel's free breakfast before heading into the city center for an 11am bike tour. The hostel was a bit of a hike from the city center--6 stops by train--but it was actually really nice and more like a hotel than the dingy hostels I've stayed in before. 

We arrived in the center and met our guides for the bike tour--there were so many of us that wanted to do this, they split us up into about 4 groups of 20. The tour started around the Hofbrauhaus and from there we went into the city, saw a few cool things that I can't remember anything about now (one of them was maybe a royal palace...and a church?), and then we rode into the English Gardens. This is a beautiful park in Munich named after its characteristic "English countryside" design. One of the most interesting things about it was there is a popular nude section of this park in which people (usually older gentlemen) can come and be their naked selves in broad daylight. I saw a lot of proud folks that day, including one man who was sitting with legs wide open in a straddle! It was hilarious and super interesting. Also of note--it's illegal in Munich to build an apartment complex that is not within a certain distance form a park (can't remember the specific distance now, but it was still worth mentioning). We continued through the English Garden to the Biergarten (or, beer garden, for all you anglos out there) where we stopped for some lunch and a beer. There were a lot of people there, and though it was kind of like cafeteria-style eating, the outdoor aspect (and the beer) made it incredibly awesome. On the way back to the city center, we stopped at a part of the river in Munich where the rapids provide a perfect place for surfers to come and hone their skills. It was so cool watching people just jump on to the rapids with their surf boards and have an awesome time! 

Biking in a courtyard of the Royal Palace

The English Garden

Candid Camera in the nude area

Tower in the center of the Biergarten

There was actually a band playing on the 

first level while we had lunch 

Surfing in the river rapids

After the tour, we headed straight to Springfest which was halfway between the city center and our apartment. There were four main beer tents and the rest of the space was occupied by carnival rides and game tents. We started off with the notion of walking around for a bit, but ended up going straight into a beer tent and getting a round of steins (the giant mugs that hold 2 pints of beer). We were so excited to be among the Germans and having our beer, it was awesome! A live band started to play and we ordered another round. After a little while longer, we decided to move on to another tent (a risky move since it was about 6pm, and the tents just keep getting more crowded). We went to the "Hippodrom" tent, where we had to wait about 40 minutes to get in. Once we did, we were immediately served steins and we headed to the front of the tent where there was a great live band playing on a stage. The night almost seemed like a concert after that--the band was playing a mix of American pop rock and German folk songs (including a drinking song that was played about every 20 minutes and called for everyone to drink at once). It was such a great time and I met a lot of locals and people from all over Europe. 

Welcome to the festival!

The first tent we went into, decorated in Bavarian blue and white

Our first round of steins

The circus-like Hippodrom

 Carnival rides abound

The next morning, we were warned to get to the festival early so we arrived promptly at 10am. Perhaps for Oktoberfest, this would be good, but there wasn't too much happening when we got there. Only one tent was open, so after doing a few laps, we walked in and ordered a stein (BEER COUNT: 1*). We were sitting there for a few minutes when a man came over and started talking to us. He was sitting alone and heard us speaking english, so he joined our table for a bit while waiting for his friends. He lived just outside of Munich with his wife and two kids, and was really pleasant company for the hour that he stayed with us. It was interesting hearing about German culture from him (as well as how much crazier Oktoberfest is). After finishing our beers, my friend Paige and I decided to go on one of the carnival rides (a stupid decision, it was pretty lame), and then we went to the Hippodrom tent around 12 for another stein (BEER COUNT: 2). We really wanted to get to the Hofbrauhaus, so after spending a few hours at Hippodrom, we walked back to the train and headed to Hofbrau. It was packed when we got in, and was set up essentially just like a beer tent--rows of picnic table seating throughout. We ordered a stein (BEER COUNT: 3) and some food--I had the Hofbrau sausage with saurkraut and enjoyed the atmosphere of the famous beer house. We got some souvenirs at Hofbrau and then headed back to the festival. 

          (*This count is based on steins--pints count as 0.5)

One of the halls at Hofbrauhaus

Paige and I somewhere in Germany

Springfest was definitely getting wild when we got back, we struggled to get in to an open-top beer tent. We ordered 2 pints of wheat beer (BEER COUNT: 4) here before deciding to go back to Hippodrom. We waited in line at that tent for about an hour during which I got a pretzel and some dark chocolate covered strawberry kebabs. Once we got in, we were immediately handed a stein (BEER COUNT: 5), and basically repeated Friday night--same great band, same great songs, new people, and one more beer (BEER COUNT: 6). It was such a great time. The entire tent was singing, drinking and dancing--it was the coolest party ever. Around 11, Paige and I got pretzels to-go, and headed back to the hostel. 

Standing at the back of the Hippodrom tent

Really enjoying the band at Hippodrom

We were feeling a bit groggy Sunday morning, but decided to join people from our travel group on an outing to the Dachau Concentration Camp about 20 minutes outside of Munich. This was an extremely humbling experience, to be sure. We kind of all broke off an walked through the site individually--it felt wrong to be talking about anything really, anyway. There was a main museum in one of the former buildings at Dachau that included quotes of first-hand experiences of life in the camp. The horrors that these people saw and lived through are unimaginable and brought tears to my eyes. The building at Dachau that affected me the most was the former crematorium. Here, thousands of people were burned, hanged, and gased. I walked past the incinerators, through the gas chamber disguised as a shower, and through the "holding rooms"--one for prisoners to undress in before they were gased, and another to hold corpses of those who had died at the camp. Despite the disturbing reality of Dachau, it is an extremely worthwhile visit. 

Gated entry into Dachau

Main area where attendance was taken

This attendance included brutal humiliation 

of prisoners and would often last for hours

The walls surrounding the camp

The prisoners had to dig 10 foot ditches between 

2 sets of walls to stifle escape

Entry to the gas chamber

"Brausebad" translates to "shower room"

2 of 6 total incinerators

The grounds of Dachau were strangely calm

"Never Again" Memorial

After returning from the camp, we packed everything back onto the buses and left around 1pm for our long journey home. The ride back was significantly better--most everyone had their own row to sit in because a lot of people opted to fly back to Rome. Six movies and a dinner-stop later, we arrived back around 12:30am. Not too shabby.

I have by no means exhausted my tourism in Germany. Being there this weekend made me want to visit so many more places in that beautiful country, and it's one of the few places that I've visited this semester in which I can imagine myself living. The German language is a tough one, but I feel like I fell in love with that, with the people, and with the lifestyle and culture in Germany. Plus I just really enjoyed saying "danke". 

Things to look forward to this week: My last week of classes, and a trip to Greece this coming weekend!

Thanks for reading,

Kasey Ann

A Weekend on the Amalfi Coast

It's getting extremely difficult to determine which views are the "most spectacular I've ever seen" anymore. This past weekend, I took a trip with the University to the Amalfi Coast area where we visited Mount Vesuvius, Sorrento, the Island of Capri, Pompeii and Naples. It was an incredibly fun trip and we got to see a lot of cool sights without feeling overbooked.

We left on Friday morning on a bus headed for Mount Vesuvius. After an uneventful 4 hour ride, we reached a midway point on the mountain where we left the bus, grabbed our lunches, and hiked the rest of the way to the summit. After the eruption in 79 A.D., Vesuvius is only about 4,000 feet above sea level, but before it erupted, it was closer to 7,000. After climbing the surprisingly steep gravel path to the top, we took in the sights (and smells) of the volcano. There were beautiful views of the Bay of Naples, but otherwise just quite a bit of rocks. We enjoyed a nice lunch and after a few hours, got back on the bus and headed to Sorrento.

The crater atop Mount Vesuvius

View of the Bay of Naples from the mountain

The majestic rocks

It only took about 45 minutes to get to Sorrento and after dropping our luggage off at our hotel, my roommates and I (we were all on this trip) headed into the main town in search of a beach. Sorrento is a fairly small town set atop a cliff on the bay. We walked down a series of narrow streets where the shopping was plentiful and we got some lemon slushy-type drinks--a very common treat in Sorrento which is famous for it's delicious lemons (and Limoncello). We finally made our way to a long stairway that led down to a beach. The views were incredible and since none of us had thought ahead to change into our bathing suits, we sat on benches and soaked up some Mediterranean rays. After enjoying the afternoon sun for a bit, we walked back (up the many stairs) to the hotel and ordered some pre-dinner cocktails (I had a limoncello mojito) which we enjoyed on the hotel's rooftop deck. Dinner was free at the hotel (so we didn't complain too much about the quality), and after we ate, we went back to our rooms and watched The Voice in some Dutch language before going to bed.

View from the rooftop deck at the hotel

These beautiful, aromatic flowers are all over Italy

Sea views from the city center

View from the stairway down to the beach

The coast and Sea from the port

My delicious Limoncello Mojito

On Saturday morning, we left the hotel bright and early to catch the ferry to Capri. The ferry only took about 25 minutes and upon arriving, we immediately purchased tickets for a boat tour of the island. The boat was a cute low-riding craft that fit about 15-20 people. We began our voyage around 10:30 and immediately agreed that it was the best 17 euro we had ever spent. The weather was beautiful and the tour guide only spoke up if there was something truly necessary to say (though we couldn't really hear him anyway, not that it bothered us). The captain took us in to several grottos along the island pointed out cool statues on the cliffs as we went along. The views were unbeatable and we found ourselves unable to keep from smiling--everything was so purely amazing! Near the end of the tour, we anchored at the Blue Grotto where small rowboats would take four passengers at a time into the cave (for a petty fee of 13 euro). We had to cram into the boats and lay flat to get under the rocks and into the grotto. Once we entered, the light and color of the water was overwhelmingly beautiful. Some of the guides were singing "O Sole Mio" which echoed throughout the grotto as we floated along. It was only about a 5 minute experience from the time we stepped into the rowboat to the time we got out, but it was so incredible--I found it well worth the money. Shortly after, we made it back to the Port of Capri where we got a quick lunch and went to the extremely rocky beach. Capri isn't known for it's beaches (mostly because with the exception of the port, the entire island is cliffs), but we found one nearby that was covered in pebbles. We waded into the water--which was freezing--and collected some sea glass before heading up to Capri Town, the "city center" of the island. This was about a 25 minute walk--all completely uphill--and once we got to the town, we realized we only had about 40 minutes until we left for the ferry. The town was nice, though we wished we had come upon it sooner, and we were able to see a few neat things before heading back.

Boats in the port at Capri

 Boats similar to the one we took for the tour

The cliffs of Capri

The Blue Grotto

Capri from the city center

Once we got off the ferry in Sorrento, we immediately went to the beach. Once again, we waded in the cold sea and basked in the sun for an hour or so--a great way to spend the late afternoon. We headed back to the hotel for dinner and a few friends and I went out for a couple of drinks after before retiring once again for the evening.

The beach back in Sorrento

Sunday morning, we packed everything up and got back onto the bus. We left Sorrento and headed straight to Pompeii where we met a couple of tour guide that would show us around the ruins. The story of Pompeii is quite amazing--about 50 feet of ash covered and hardened over the city following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Apparently the residents of Pompeii didn't even realize that Vesuvius was a volcano and even when the top of the mountain blew off, raining rocks onto the city, no one evacuated. Our tour took us to some main sights including a couple amphitheaters, a mansion with still visible frescos on the walls and beautiful mosaics on the floors, the main bath houses of Pompeii, and the forum of the city. We saw the famous plaster casts of the bodies* as well as a surprising amount of pottery. I was a bit bummed we didn't get to see the brothel, but it was a windy morning and the city was a total dustbowl so we weren't incredibly keen on hanging out.
       *Many people assume these bodies are frozen/mummified people, but in reality, they're just plaster casts of holes found in the ash layer. The bodies decomposed regularly but left perfect holes in the ash where they were covered.

The walls surrounding Pompeii

Forum area with Vesuvius in the background

 Pottery and a plaster cast of a body

After Pompeii, we took the bus into Naples where we spent a few hours getting lunch and walking around. We found a cute local Napoleon pizza place (completely by chance) and my roommates ordered pizzas all around (while I got a delicious seafood salad due to my unfortunate stomach issues) and the consensus all around was that it was the best pizza they'd had thus far in Italy. Overall, Naples wasn't a very attractive city (which I'd heard), but it was nice to say we went I suppose. After Naples, we took the bus another 3 hours back into Rome.

A main piazza in Naples

Mosaic of Libra's scales on the ground

 Port of Naples and Vesuvius

The weekend was incredibly fun and filled with indescribably fantastic views. With only three weekends left in Italy, I'm certainly glad I made the trip to Sorrento, and would highly recommend that and Capri it to anyone interested in visiting Italy.

Thanks for reading,

Kasey Ann