4 Days in Munich

I cannot believe it. My last week here in Siena. Most of us are leaving a week from today. It’s very sad to think about the group who I have been living with for the past 3 and a half months will soon disperse back to our various states and universities. I said goodbye yesterday to my Florence travel friends, but am looking forward to seeing them in the states. After the program I am traveling with my friend Jill, from CET, to Milan and then meeting up with my sister and cousin in Paris. We are there for three days and then together London and Venice. I must come back to Italy to fly home from Florence (I recommend buying a roundtrip for here but making sure they won’t charge you up the wazzoo to change the day you depart back to the US and the city from which you depart from. It gives you more flexibility with travel plans after the program). Right now I am so sad to leave my homestay and program here in Siena, but the travel bug is kicking in and I’m ready to move on. I can’t wait to start the last leg of my European tour. Please if anyone has any questions about Siena, Italy, Europe, and life, feel free to email me! I am very good at writing lengthy responses with lots of details! haha- mkess@brandeis.edu

            This last weekend in Siena before finals we all decided to stay here. So last weekend was my last for traveling before the program ends. We had Thursday off from class due to the Festa della Liberazione of Italy from the fascist regime at the end of WWII, therefore we had 4 full days in Munich, Germany. What a trip to end our semester together. All of my different friends from study abroad were able to meet up in the same city for a weekend of festivities. The last 2 weekends of April are Frühlingsfest, Springfest, in Munich which is the springtime version of Oktoberfest, but without all of the tourists and crowds. I would recommend all beer lovers attend this amazing festival. It was a giant carnival with a beer tent and German Bavarians running around in Lederhosen, Bundhosen, and Kniebundhosen. The food was also a nice break from Italian cibo that I have been enjoying every day for 3 and a half months. We ate tons of pretzels, potatoes, bratwurst, meat dumplings, and drank lots of beer.

            Our days were filled with many attractions, sites, parks, and museums. In Munich you must go to the English Gardens. That was probably my favorite part of the city. It’s a beautiful park filled with Germans laying out in the sun drinking beer and playing music. The river runs right through the park so you can see people surfing in the currents or just jumping in to cool off. This was the perfect time to go see Germany because the weather was amazing. All of the plants were in bloom in the window boxes and the air smelled of fragrant flowers. Other must-sees are the Olympic Park from the Summer 1992 Olympics, BMW museum, Deutsches Museums of Technology, Toy Museum, and lastly the Dachau Concentration Camp.

            Three of us from the CET program are Jewish, so going to see a Concentration Camp from WWII was very important to us during our time here in Europe. Dachau, a work camp of the Nazis, is about 20 minutes outside of Munich. It was a very special experience to go with my two Jewish friends here who taught me a lot about the culture and history of being Jewish. And then the three of us learned even more about the Holocaust at the camp.

            I cannot believe my time here in Europe is coming to an end. This experience has been the best time of my life. I couldn’t have made this experience happen without the support of my family and friends at home. 

Megan Kessler, Brandeis University

CET Siena Student Correspondent

My Crash Course in Rome and A Few Days in Greece

Before I begin, I can safely say that the rainy season in Siena has FINALLY ended and we have seen the most beautiful days of the semester this past weekend. It took forever, but Siena is finally feeling like Spring. After spending most of the weekend lying out either in the Fortezza or Piazza del Campo, and walking around enjoying the sunshine I feel completely ready to start a new week.

Spring Break was both wonderful and exhausting. If you plan to spend only a short time in Rome, I can now assure you that you can see (almost) all of the “important” things in one day. With the sole intention of seeing the Sistine Chapel we decided to spend an afternoon in Rome before we departed for Greece, but when the bus arrived late and the Chapel was closed, we had to find alternatives. As the only one in our group having never been to Rome before, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to see the most, so we then decided to do it all. The Colosseo, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and even my first spaghetti carbonara. If you have 6 hours in Rome (or even less) you can accomplish everything with sufficient time for photos and souvenir shopping in between! Also, the metro system in Rome is super-efficient (very New York-esque) and it is so easy to get around.

After making our way to the airport we were off to Athens. The short flights around Europe are great for quick naps during travel. After arriving in Athens and unpacking at our hostel we decided to have our first authentic Greek meal and from the restaurant there was even a nice view of the Acropolis!

We also only had one full day in Athens, so after waking up early we started our journey. We did the entire city in a day starting at an archeological museum and working our way around the Acropolis, the Parthenon, their museums, the Temple of Zeus, the Olympic Stadium, and a few markets. Of course there were stops for delicious Greek food (gyros, Greek salads, and tons of tzatziki sauce) along the way as well as “freddoccinos” which are delicious iced cappuccinos that are incredibly popular in Greece.

Mykonos was next, and after a short 30 minute flight over to the island we were greeted by the owner of our hotel who drove us back and also gave us a map of the island. If you’re ever over that way I completely recommend Aeolos hotel. The staff is wonderful and their recommendations of sights and food were perfect. Mykonos is the kind of place you can relax, shop, and just see beautiful things. The windmills, pelicans, and Paradise Beach were our main stops along with the shops where they have handmade clothing, jewelry, and sandals! The weather in Greece was beautiful - 70 degrees and sunny the entire time! And also the people we encountered the entire time were so hospitable and welcoming. It was truly the perfect place to end a wonderful vacation.

After an intense day of travel home, we arrived back in Siena after midnight on Sunday completely exhausted.  It’s funny because now when we arrive back we feel like we’re “home” as opposed to simply back in Siena, and there is no better feeling than coming home after a busy break away.

Madison Bedford, University of Virginia

CET Siena Student Correspondent

YOSO

        One month left from this coming Sunday. I cannot believe it. Where has the time gone? It seems like I was just arriving here in the 30 degree cold weather and today it was 70 degrees and beautiful outside. Today is also the 3rd Monday of April and in Massachusetts that is synonymous with three things: Spring Break, Patriots Day, and the Boston Marathon. I am fortunate enough to live in the town where the Boston Marathon starts, 26.2 miles from the finish line on Boylston Street. We had just finished up dinner tonight and I was helping my host mom clear the table when I started to tell her about my traditions at home on this Marathon Monday. Shortly after I walked over to my computer to receive a message from my friend at home that there had been a bombing at the finish line on the race just after the elite runners had finished. My heart dropped to hear this news, luckily I have not heard of any loved ones being hurt.

            I sit here now, thousands of miles away, as a tragedy happens at home. This is something I would have never thought I would be experiencing while studying abroad. They don’t teach you this coping skill in your meetings at school before you leave. Yet right away I received text messages on my Italian cell phone from my friends here at CET. It was amazing to feel that kind of support from friends who I have only known for three months, yet know me too and saw how this directly affected me. This kind of support I also did not know I would experiencing abroad. We are all each other’s’ closest thing to home and its incredibly comforting to know that I can count on my 9 new friends and of course our program director, Christina.

            Now on a more positive note, I believe one of the main reasons we are all so bonded is probably due to our traveling seminar to Catania, Sicily. This trip is included in our program fee and a credit of the Italian Cultural History course that is required. Coming from Siena to Catania, the sun and warm weather was just what we all needed. We left thursday morning on a short flight from Florence to Catania and returned home Sunday evening just in time for dinner. I was very excited to go to Catania because, as someone who has focused their travels here in Europe to Italy first and then other countries, this was my opportunity to experience the south. As one might know, il Sud is considered something very different from the rest of Italy. The stereotypes exist that life there is very slow, the dialect is very hard to understand, the mafia control everything, and il pesce is plentiful. I believe that all of these can be true in some respect, but after our weekend in Catania we learned so much more about this beautiful island and culture. While in Catania we were traveling and had free time, yet also attended lectures with the local CET italian cultural history professor. This Sicilian woman educated us on history, culture, and people of Catania. Sicily has always been ruled by foreign powers so you can really see the french, arab, and spanish influence on the culture particularly in the food and language. The food was pleasantly different from that of my beloved Tuscan cuisine. I really enjoyed pasta alla norma and the beautiful antipasto plates they had with delicious veggies.

            My favorite activity of the weekend by far was the hiking of Mount Etna. It was so cool to see the towns that live around an active volcano. You can see the ash from the lava flows all over the buildings. We all had so much fun hiking around and checking out all of the stone with our knowledgeable Italian tour guide, Roberto. What a geologist he was! None of this would have been possible without Christina. She essentially led 10 college students throughout a weekend tour of Catania. We did so much in so little time from the main Duomo, to the fish market, to the delicious food of small, cheap, and delicious trattorie. You Only Sicily Once.

Megan Kessler, Brandeis University

CET Siena Student Correspondent

Parade Floats and Mango Gelato

As I write this blog on my first free afternoon in over a week, the sun is peeking through the rain clouds and it looks like there might actually be some sunshine in Siena today. I have been told in the States that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, and I am hoping this holds true in Italy as well. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of travel, classes, and most recently midterms. Thankfully though the week is winding down and the weather is looking up. It is hard to believe we are halfway through the semester...

Since I last blogged I’ve had the chance to experience many great cities around Siena for day trips on weekends. The most exciting thus far has been our Carnevale trip to Viareggio (the hometown of one of our Italian roommates) with CET. Viareggio has one of the largest Carnevale festivities in Italy (second only to Venice, of course) and the trip was absolutely incredible. Having never been to a Mardi Gras celebration back home, I was excited and anxious to see what would await us. After a brief train ride spent napping we arrived in the city and had to only follow the large crowds of people clad in crazy costumes and masks to find the parade. 

The place itself reminded me of my home in Virginia Beach with a street of shops and restaurants running parallel to the seaside. It was beautiful and for the parade it had been transformed with vendors selling pastries, candy, drinks, and snacks along with masses of people in costumes, loud music, floats, balloons, confetti, and a lot of silly string (Italians love their silly string for Carnevale)! The floats in the parade were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. They were beautiful with music and dancers and some were even so large that police would walk ahead and move the crowds out of the way so the floats could fit down the street. The floats were cool because they all represented some part of Italian society in a creative (though sometimes mocking) way. From the election and political figures, the financial crisis in Greece, overcrowded prisons in Italy, and of course some more light hearted topics as well, the floats were all brilliantly done and are something I will remember forever. As the parade was winding down we all went to the beach to watch the sunset which was so beautiful. We took a ton of pictures on the beach, and then we headed back to Siena.

 

Another great trip we’ve taken together as a group was to San Gimignano with our Sienese Art and Architecture class. SAA can be a bit daunting for me at times because I have no background or prior interest in Art History, but I have come to enjoy our walks around Siena and talks with Piergiacomo. He is such a great professor and is very entertaining. If there is anyone who can make me appreciate medieval buildings and what may seem like thousands of paintings of the Madonna and Child, it is this man.

 

During this trip we explored the town which is small and surprisingly similar to Siena, thanks to the influence of the Francigena Road which you’ll learn all about. We also explored the church and the town hall which had an amazing bell tower that we climbed and looked over the entire countryside. From the top it seemed as if you could see all of Italy! After we went to what has been called the best gelato in the world at the Dondoli Gelateria di Piazza. The mango tastes exactly like you’re eating a mango and is definitely my favorite.

I’ve also had the chance to take another trip to Florence and a few other small trips here and there. Classes have been busy but not unmanageable. The weather in Siena has thankfully been a bit warmer and Italy is still amazing. I’m looking forward to the traveling seminar in Sicily next week and Spring Break soon, too! I’m still in awe of how beautiful and amazing it all is, the feeling hasn’t worn off yet and I doubt it will.

Madison Bedford, University of Virginia

CET Siena Student Correspondent