Fall Break in a nutshell, but not really

Hey everyone! Long time no blog! I apologize for updating so late, but I got home from Poland late Sunday night, and yesterday was kinda hectic getting back into the swing of things, etc etc. So, I'm finally ready to commit 100% of my energy to regaling some great tales of adventure to you all as I sit here in a California Coffee Company café sipping my hazelnut macchiato. Actually, that's a lie...I've already finished the macchiato. But now that my sugar level is sky high, I'm rearin' to go.

Now, let's see, where did we leave off? Ah yes, the week before break. As far as I can remember, nothing too big happened. It was kind of a crazy few days because we had a shortened class (as Fall Break started on Friday) and ended with the exam on Thursday. We had a plan to go hungarian folk dancing thursday night until 2am friday morning before we all left on our respective trips, but that just didn't happen. Instead, a huge group of us cuddled in me and Meg's room and watched Vicky and Christina in Barcelona. Not exactly a cultural experience but just as enjoyable :)

I had to wake up around 4am Friday morning to finish packing and preparing to get to the airport to catch an 8:30am flight. I was a bit nervous getting to the airport for the first time on my own, but, luckily, things went very smoothly. The desitination: Riga, the capital of Latvia where I would meet my cousin, Greta who teaches (and also handles principal duties) at a small international school right outside of Riga.

Upon arrival to Latvia, I realized that my 7th grade geography education had really gotten a bit hazy. Latvia was definitely further north than I thought..definitely next to Russia..definitely requires heavy duty cold-weather gear! Luckily, I had my new long coat with me, along with some cozy scarves and gloves, but it would have been nice to have some hardcore boots too. The first night I was there, Greta gave me a tour of her school (which is absolutely adorable), introduced me to her lovely housemate, and then took me by train into Riga for dinner and a nice walk afterwards. We ended up at a skyline bar and toasted to my being in Latvia as we gazed out over the elegant, illuminated city.

The next day, I got to take a shower with real water pressure, sit by a real fireplace in a real living room, and pet a real cat (this last homey feature was the best). We went back into the city for the afternoon and checked out some of the Art Nouveau architecture, which was something I honestly wouldn't have been able to appreciate without Greta's guidance. She showed me some of her favorite buildings before we actually went inside one such building and took a short tour of a former artist's home. Afterwards, we made our way in the cold, crisp air to a little café for some soup. Before meeting some of Greta's colleagues for dinner, we strolled through one of the city's parks. It was like walking in a scene from a movie...with the leaves in the midst of changing to a brilliant gold and the added ambience of a newly married couple fulfilling the Latvian tradition of fastening an engraved lock on to one of the public bridges in the park. Gorgeous. We enjoyed dinner at a chic restaurant and then headed home with full bellies for a good night's sleep.

The next day was just a good old day of relaxation, partly because it was raining steadily and partly because we just wanted it to be a lazy day. We slept in, watched a movie, read (I finished the Two Towers!! Now it's on to the Return of the King!), and then went out at night to the movies to see Julia and Julia. Meryl Streep is too cute.

Monday was our big travel day. We drove about 2 hours across the border into Lithuania to the Hill of Crosses. A memorial for thousands of loved ones from around the world, this site was certainly something to behold. In 1993, the Pope himself visited the Hill of Crosses to erect both his own cross and to commend the Lithuanians for their dedication to preserving this special spot, as the hill had been demolished several times during the reign of communism. After leaving the hill, we drove back into Latvia and visited one of the castles constructed during the 18th century. I believe the name was Rhundale Castle (there's an accent over when of the letters, but don't ask me which one). To describe it in a few words, I would categorize it as a "mini Versailles." Some of the furniture and interior architecture was even in the Louis the XVI style. Needless to say, it was a beautiful structure, and the renovations were, to my untrained eye, very well done.

Before I left the following day, Greta took me to the beach so that I could see the Baltic Sea. Even though it was raining, it was still gorgeous. The beach buts up against a tree line (and a forest in some areas), which is a contrast I'm just not used to seeing at the good old Jersey Shore. Sadly, we had to leave after a nice chat and walk along the water's edge so that I could catch my plane home. It was really a wonderful trip, and my lovely hosts couldn't have treated me any better! And a BIG thank you goes out to them for buying me a jar of PB to take home to Budapest. It's been exactly one week, and it's already gone..woops :/

So I had two days at home in Budapest! What to do???!!! I explored a couple of new places, some on my own, and some with some of the other kids in the program once they returned home from their travels. I went to yoga (and thoroughly enjoyed the instructor's description of the "pee pee bone" a.k.a. pubic bone), visited the French Institute and got information about upcoming French events (Yay! Free movies in french!), and went to Memento Park, a statue park in the outskirts of Buda that's home to the communist statues that the hungarian government didn't know what to do with after the fall of communism in 1989. It was just me, my ipod, a guide book, and my camera, and it was positively enlightening. I really felt as though all the history we've been learning about in our Culture class was all coming together so that I could see the full picture of Hungary's terror-ridden history.

And then, on Friday, it was time to leave for Poland! And, I must say, Budapest has my heart, but Krakow has certainly squeezed it's way in there. Not only was it easy to get around, but there was also SO much to see, and it was doable in the short amount of time we were there! We must have gone to at least 10 different restaurants and cafés over the course of two days. Heaven. We also took a guided tour of Auschwitz, which is located about 70km outside of Krakow. I'm not really sure that I can describe my experience in a blog entry, so that will be something I'll have to share with you in person. We weren't permitted to take pictures inside the buildings, but I did take some outside; however, I'm not going to post them here. I'd be happy to show you those as well when I return. Though it was certainly a tragic experience, I have no doubt that it was a good thing to see. Our guide was wonderful and had an obvious genuine connection to her work, which made the tour that much more meaningful. I think it's going to take a while for the whole thing to really sink in....I'm so thankful I was with 4 other girls who I not only love and feel comfortable with but who also took the experience seriously. It made all the difference.

So that was the brief version of Fall Break, but if you want the extended version, I'd be more than happy to accommodate :)

It's weird to be back in class..even weirder that I have reading to do now! So I'm off...until next week. Miss you all, and I hope you enjoy the pictures. There are a lot, so I'm going to try to choose the highlights..yeaaa that's going to be a bit of a challenge.

Lots and lots of love from across the ocean,

Val