Romania

          In the USA there seems to be a misconception that eastern Europe is a delapitated desolate depressing place. Perhaps this is because older generations remember when parts were still the Soviet Union and can recall the fear of the Cold War, but it seems much has changed in the past 25ish years. These places are vibrant and alive and although there are traces of communism they have their own rich cultural heritage and wonder to show the world, so don’t discount them quite yet. If you are patient and open, the surprises that await are beyond measure. Welcome to Romania....

            After another excrutiatingly long train ride I arrived the capital city, Bucharest.  I was collected at the station by this lovely lady.  I was very excited to have a travel buddy after flying solo and we got down to business right away. Kitty and I were introduced by a mutual friend sometime ago and have been in touch though skype ever since. Turns out we get along as well in person as we do online, hooray!! Haha

        Well of course first thing's first after tiring a train ride: food. We started the trip off with a traditional Romanian meal of Sarmale (beef wrapped in cabbage leaves and boiled), sour stomach soup, and mamaliga (polenta smothered in sour cream and salt) washed down by fresh orange juice. It was probably the heavyist meal of my life but it sure was tasty!! 

       As I came to find out, most Romanian food is quite heavy.  Most dishes are salty, meaty, and include some form of cheese.  The desserts vary from sweet pastries to cakes to pies with honey glaze and cinnamon…..it seems eating light isn’t really a thing.... After a meal like that it was time to get out and move around, so we headed to Herastru Park in the heart of the city where bikes cost about $1/hour to rent. I was thrilled and we spent the afternoon biking around until Kitty had to run off to work and I went exploring on my own.

           An abundance of flower shops line the streets here as well (and yes I indulged again!) and even though I was still mostly full from lunch I managed to squeeze in the citys most famous snack, a soft warm pretzel!! They are sold from small storefront windows on every block and I swear the whole city smells like baking pretzles….does it get any better than that?! 

            The next morning we hopped a short train to a town called Sinaia in the Trasylvanian countryside.  It is a small town home to the last kings country castle.  Of course Romania hasn’t had a king since before communism so now the castle is open to visitors. The last king is actually still alive and living in Bucharest at the ripe age of 92!! The castle was stunning and so were the surrounding grounds. We spent our time there hiking, shopping, exporing the town and enjoying the quiet crisp air. Kitty was a fabulous guide and we ate more traditional Romanian foods like mici (grilled meat rolls), stuffed peppers, and baklava…no wonder my jeans feel a bit tight!

            Good thing we returned to Bucharest just in time for this!! What is it? Well the first day in the city I saw a poster on the subway that Bucharest would hold its first Color Run right before I was to leave the country.  Of course I was so excited I could hardly contain myself and I was able to sign up at the last minute. The color run is basically a 5K run/walk for any level and at each kilometer the runners/walkers are doused in colored chalk. Needless to say I was finding orange/yellow/blue/green chalk in my ears and belly button for days, but it was sooooo fun! Kitty opted not to take part but her and her boyfriend, Shageldi came to take photos and cheer me on! 

                          

        Also while in the city I stumbled across a gym where I found myself in a wonderful spinning class!!! Near the Dristor metro station is SanGym and this happy guy is Mihai the cycling instructor. If anyone is traveling through and looking for a place to work off the the over indulgent Romanian food, I highly recommend you stop by for a class. The gym facility is wonderful and has everything and the spinning classes are full of positive energy and great music. I really enjoyed myself. Thanks Mihai!!

            As I prepared to board my India bound flight I realized I was not done with Romania yet!! I wanted to stay more and eat more and exlpore more and visit more! But isn’t that how is should be? We go and travel and fall in love with a place and leave with a heavy heart and a head full of nice memories…I wouldn’t have it any other way. Off to the next phase of the trip!!!

PS In case anyone is wondering how Charlie, Jason, and Shelby are doing I received this pic a few days ago....everything looks great to me!! xoxo

Vilnius, Lithuania

            After what seemed like the longest train ride EVER, I arrived safely in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius in the early afternoon. As is my habit, I took a taxi straight to my hostel and regrouped. Now, before I get into all the particulars of my activities, I want to quell some family anxiety. There seems to be a misunderstanding about where I am and the dangers of being so “close” to Russia. I am receiving concerned emails and phone calls form certain members of the family about my safety that I will be swept up in Putin’s decidedly overstated “communist revolution”…. So I’ve included a map: As you can see Lithuania is surrounded by friendly countries and I can assure there is no trouble here at this time, so fear not MacNichol family!!

            Ok anywho, during my city expirations I was surprised to find the city was not at all how I expected. I envisioned communist block style housing and gray building with cracked corners and forlorn shutters, and boy was I wrong. This city is astoundingly beautiful. Communism met its demise here between 1989-1990, which in reality isn’t that long ago, so of course there are remnants of it, but more so than that, the city is a true Baltic beauty.  The old style baroque buildings and cobblestone streets give way to a large busy city center and some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. The city is cut in half by a river and large spired cathedrals are tucked into the crevasses of what seems like every street. Fresh flower shops dot the alleys and bouquets can be had for less than $1 (I admittedly went a bit overboard…). 

            The food here is succulent and heavy on the stomach. Juicy grilled meats, dark breads, savory pastries, dense sauces, thick soups with seafood, and sweets so sweet they make ones teeth scream are the norm and it leads me to wonder why everyone here isn’t obese!! The streets everywhere smell like baking bread and juicy meat at lunchtime and a side of some variety of potatoes seem to accompany every meal. The fresh produce markets smell like herbs such as thyme and freshly ground pepper and I spent a good amount of time just perusing and contemplating my tiny purchases.

            The parks are dense with trees and tulips (my favorite flower!) and there are many benches to sit enjoy the sunny weather. What a treat!!

            I went to check out Vilnius University on my second day and was even more surprised by the University than the city. I am including another areal photo of the campus so you can see how it is laid out, but the most impressive aspects are the ceilings.  They are painted with the most intricately spectacular works of art and combined with the large courtyards and tiled floors some of the buildings feel more like castles than classrooms. There is a large greenhouse on campus and the whole place seems...peaceful, although I am sure that changes around finals time!

            Needless to say I enjoyed it quite a bit and realize I did not quite budget enough time to see all I wanted! Shoot!! But perhaps I’ll be back…. For now I am on yet another overnight train this time to Bucharest with a stop over in Budapest. I will keep you all posted on my ongoing journey and inform you immediately if there are any Dracula sightings in Transylvania ;) Love and miss you all xoxo

The Netherlands

            Let me just say this blog entry will be mostly educational as the purpose of my visit here is, after all, to school shop…but don’t stop reading!! I promise sprinklings of fun facts here and there to keep you entertained. ;)

After a 6-hour layover in Newark airport I excitedly boarded my plane for Amsterdam. Although I had previously chosen an aisle seat I lucked out and had no one sitting next to me for the whole 8 hour flight, yahoo!! (I used this extra space to store my secret extra carry on and to play solitaire) Also before I get to revved up here, I just want to take a moment and say that airline food on Europe bound international flights is waaaaaay superior to US flights.  I remember this from when I flew to Spain in high school and was again reminded of it on the flight over here. This is what they served for breakfast….yeah, it’s muesli and it even tasted good! Not a spongy two-week-old microwaved breakfast sandwich in sight, so bite me Delta/United/American Airlines with your crappy plane slop!! Ok moving on….

I arrived very early in the morning and even so, I feel compelled to mention that the International arrivals/departures area of the Amsterdam airport at 7am may possibly contain the best people watching I have ever witnessed.  It is really indescribable and must be seen in person. The variety is quite astounding.

          I took a taxi directly from the airport to my hostel and after a bit of rest and reorganization I headed out for some exploring. I must say the city is quite clean and beautiful and the canals are truly lovely.  Amsterdam is shaped like a giant pentagon with one side on the river and is enveloped in a unique system of canals that runs all over giving off the impression that the sea is a at your fingertips. At least that is how I felt coming from Idaho, where Payette Lake is the largest body of water in my life. This aside, Amsterdam is by no means a sleepy city. The constant hustle and bustle gives the place a lively hum and everything seems to be in motion.  Although I speak not a word of Dutch, people were friendly and most spoke enough English to get by. I spent most of the time wandering, enjoying the nice park areas and even ate some French fries dipped in mayonnaise…I know it’s shocking but I read in my Lonely Planet book they were a popular snack (they could put anything in those books I swear), although I am not sure why because it isn’t very tasty…

I had also read The Netherlands is the most biking friendly country in the world and it shows as the streets and bike lots seem to be packed with bicycles at all hours of the day. Side note: The bike lanes are not sidewalks and walking in them with get you sideswiped or at least yelled at.

On my outings I found many little tourist shops with cute wooden shoes (I almost got some but remembered my poor swollen suitcase back in my room and refrained…next time…), lots of pubs and coffee shops, and decent sunshiny weather. It seems the only thing that Dutch people like more than coffee and biking and beer is cheese. Like seriously…its everywhere, and it is oooohhhhhh so delicious.

Fun facts about The Netherlands:

1: It was the first country to legalize same sex marriage (2001).

2: Most of the country is at sea level or below.

3: The Netherlands was one of the six founding countries of the European Union.

4: 70% of the worlds bacon is comes from The Netherlands.

5: The Netherlands and Holland are not actually the same thing!! The Netherlands is the official name of the country while Holland is considered to be the Western costal area. Who knew!! Thanks to a friendly staff member at my hostel, now I do!

Ok back to business. The next day I took a train south to the The Hague University to have a little looksee. I went on a campus tour where I met a nice girl named Anna with whom I later had a coffee date at one of the thousand coffee houses around the campus (not exaggerating).  The tour included a question and answer session that was very helpful and I got some great info about studying abroad and what my program entails. The university itself is compact and very professional looking with big metallic shiny buildings and large throughways, not to mention it is also appears to be floating on a canal. Obviously I didn’t take the aerial photo but thanks to Google you can get a better view of the campus.

            After I had my fun in Amsterdam and The Hague, I took a late morning train north to Groningen. The largest city in northern Netherlands with a population just under 200,000 Groningen has a much homier feel to it than its famous southern counterpart.  The streets seem narrower and the buildings seem older and the whole city emits a lacksidaisical almost goofy charm.  Groningen is home to Hanze University of Applied Sciences, which I took a tour of and found myself quite taken by the campus. It is not as new or attention demanding as The Hague, but it is quite lovely and the location is very convenient to the city. After the tour I hung around for a cooking demonstration in the food court where I got to try some kind of exaggeratedly thick pea soup with vegetables in it. I think if I lived here it would be the ultimate comfort food. It was delicious.

            Ok, so here is my dilemma… As I now sit on an overnight train to Vilnius (with a changeover in Warsaw), I find I am torn between the two schools.  The Hague is very well known and nice and in a bigger metropolitan area and is slightly more expensive, where as Hanze is in a quainter city and less expensive although also less prestigious and more hidden away. What to do, what to do?! Those of you who know me best already know I will be making lists and obsessively comparing for the next few days and depending on how Vilnius agrees with me I will decide. Stay tuned!!

PS I apologize for the lack of/lame photos…my selfie abilities are terrible and I will do better in the future haha

PPS If any of you are wondering about how Mr. Charlie is doing, here is photo I received from Jason yesterday. Yeah, I think he's fine..... :)