LONDON!!

Last stop... LONDON, the spot I couldn't wait to get to and admit was so sad to leave! London as you all know is huge! So this trip we all sort of split up during the day and then came together for performances at night! So Pheegan and I were off in the big city!

Day 1 once we all got settled in our hostel and mastered the tube, we made our way to Piccadilly to search out cheap show tickets for the night! We grabbed at the chance to see 3 Days of Rain, a three person show which included James McAvoy as one of them! It was such an amazing performace and a wonderful play! For the rest of the day we walked around and found Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey!
Day 2 we made our way to King's Cross and found Platform 9&3/4 from Harry Potter. Then walked around Hyde Park, saw part of the changing of the guards, but decided to try another day. Took a ride in the London Eye and spent some time at the British Museum! One word to describe that place, massive! That night we had our tickets to the musical Spring Awakening! It was fantastic and so upbeat! All the actors are our age, so it made the storyline more relatable and fun! After the show we made our way to the stage door and got to meet some actors and even got a pic and autograph with the main guy!
Day 3 was Pheegan and I's busy day! We started in Hyde Park searching out the Peter Pan statue and Finding Neverland movie spots. Then we went to Buckingham Palace and waited for changing of the guards which unfortunately got cancelled! So we moved on and found St. Paul's Cathedral where we climbed to the very top, about 400 or so steps to see the city again! After that we jumped a bridge to the Tate Modern to relax and find some great artwork! Right next door we saw Shakespeare's Globe theater and took the tour. Down along the river we continued to the London Bridge - nothing to see ;) and then the Tower Bridge, another stunning view from the top! And finally the last stop was the Tower of London, which we saw the outside, but didn't have the time or money for the tour! At night Andrea and I took the infamous Jack the Ripper tour and saw some of the murder sites and dark alleys of east London! Very good, much recommended!
Day 4 was Easter Sunday and our day for a tour! We signed up for Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor Castle, but unfortunately the royal family was celebrating Easter at Windsor, so we saw Hampton Court Palace instead. First stop was Hampton Court Palace where Henry the 8th brought all 5 of his wives, including Anne Boleyn! Then we continued further down the road to Stonehenge! Unfortunately you can only walk a clear distance around it, but I did take this photo! That one is for you Em! And finally we finished at Bath where we saw the Roman Baths and Jane Austin's museum! After the tour ended, the evening was not yet finished, so Pheegan and I were off again to search out Fleet St. and Baker St. to end our time in London!
The next morning we were off again, this time back to Lillehammer after a span of two weeks! Overall it was an unbelieveable trip considering all the places we managed to get to!

When in Rome...

To really begin our spring break Andrea, Mallory, Emily, and I made our way to Italy. Pheegan too! We had one flight to Bergamo, where Em and I spent 5 hours in the city before our 2nd flight to ROME! We arrived at night, found our hostel, had supper, and walked by the Colosseum at night!

1st full day we got up early to see the sights! We had a morning tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. Then we started walking around and found the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain! In between we did some shopping and of course had gelato!
Day 2 was the day for the Vatican! Yes, we manage to go to another country :) We visited some of the many museums and Sistine Chapel inside. We had quite the time in the chapel because literally one guys whole job consists of silencing people and yelling "No photo!" Pheegan and I couldn't help it and secretly took a photo ;) So amazing it hurt my neck! Then we headed off to St. Peter's Basilica which is the biggest and most amazing church I have seen! Breathtaking!
Later on we found the Spanish Steps by accident and stopped for more gelato!Day 3 we had the remaining sights to hit and by the end of the day we realized we had walked all the way back to the Vatican which was pretty much the whole city! Our main stop was the Piazza di Navona, a stop on the trail of the Illuminati! P.S. can't wait for Angels and Demons to come out because we hit up all but one of the trail sites! Then we toured Castle Angelo and saw the city from the top! That night we had a wine night out and visited the Trevi Fountain after dark! Something magical I think about that fountain~I just loved it!
Day 4 was our shopping day that we spent on a couple of the main streets. We purchased a bunch of souvenirs and of course more gelato! Then we head to a hostel closer to the airport for our flight the following day! ~Ciao Rome!

Deutschland!

Here is the first entry in my two week long trip, which began with group travel for 4 days in parts of Germany and then to kick off spring break, a free day in Berlin!

Our studies for religion took us to Martin Luther sights all over Germany! To get around during all our travels we got to drive on the Autobahn which I must admit was crazy to see all the cars whizzing by! Day 1 & 2 were in Wittenberg! It was a small, but colorful little town!Here we met up with a tour guide who took us to the Castle Church, St. Mary's Church, the printing press place, the University of Wittenberg, Luther's House, and exhibition - trust me all important sites if you don't remember the history of Luther!

Here is Pheegan and the door where Luther nailed the 95 theses!Day 3 we took to the road and in the morning we visited Buchenwald Concentration Camp and Memorial in Weimar. Pheegan proudly shows his respect by the site.

In the afternoon we move on to Erfurt to spend the night in the Augustinian Cloister where Martin Luther fisrt became priest and so forth goes the story. That night I had my first meal of bratwurst and saurkraut in Germany- delicious :)
Day 4 we head out again, this time to Eisenach to see Bach's House, Luther's House (another one), and the Wartburg Castle! There's Pheegan!Every house and especially the castle had some interesting artifacts and gorgeous rooms!
Day 5 we were free for break and since our flight to Rome was the next day, we spent our free time in Berlin! We walked pretty much the whole city and saw the East Side Gallery (Pheegan again), a Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Parliament, Checkpoint Charlie, and even took a boat tour ~unfortunately it was in German - whoops! By the end of the day we were all tired and burnt from the fabulous weather we had!
For me I thought it was about time I made my way to Germany since I live in such a german town and I have to admit they are sort of similar! Even knowing a little german there helped everyone order and find directions better! Such a great trip!

Easter!

Today was Easter and unfortunately my last day in London! We have all made it safely to the last place over spring break and have a long travel day tomorrow! I wish you all a Happy Easter and will post the exact location I spent this holiday later :)

Travel Update

Hello Everyone!

I have made it safely through my group travels in Germany, spent a day with 10 girls in Berlin, and now I am in Rome! We are having a great time and will continue sightseeing and making our way across Europe! After a few more days I will travel to London and then back to Lillehammer to update further this blog!

Ciao

Homeland of ABBA & IKEA

This past weekend was my trip to Stockholm! It was another trip about sustainability, but because of some misunderstanding it was really 3 solid days of sightseeing! One of the neat things from the start was the fact that we lived in a hostel that was a boat! We each had a cabin type room with two people each. It didn't move with the waves, but it did tip to the left a little!

Day 1 we made it around to see the "old town" part of Stockholm with all the cute side streets, cafes, and shopping!Day 2 we started off by hitting up the National Museum where I managed to find some beautiful works of Monet! Then at noon we headed to the Royal Palace for the changing of the guards and then a tour of the palace! Next we hit up the music museum which had a lot of old instruments that we could play and listen to, which kept us quite entertained! We even found ABBA amongst the greatest groups of Sweden! After a long subway ride we came upon the motherland and found IKEA!! We just had to go and visit where this great store originated!! Later that night we found our way out to the Hard Rock Cafe and had a great night!
Day 3 began with a visit to the Skansen open air museum where we visited a bunch of old Swedish buildings and even found a zoo with lots of random animals! Inside the aquarium part we found the monkeys!! This little guy was my favorite!And yes you could literally walk and climb in and around with the monkeys! A little scary when they jumped and ran for food, but I just loved it!! Next we headed to the Vasa Ship Museum which is a recovered ship from Swedish waters after 333 years that has been restored and now displayed since 1990! I was just in awe! It really reminded me of the flying dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean!! So cool!!
Day 4 started with a quick stop to Hammerby Sjostad, a part of Sweden that has implemented the most environment projects. We didn't get a lot of information, but a quick rundown of what they have done and a few brochures. A bunch of us spent the remaining part of the day going to the top of the TV/Radio tower to see the whole city! We then headed back to Lillehammer! Definitely another great exploration!!
*A fun thing a bunch of us saw everywhere were perhaps some relatives of Pheegans? Maybe he has a little swedish in him? Who knew?

All over Denmark!

*Day 1 we began our trip on Friday the 13th and made it safely to Copenhagen for a day full of sightseeing after getting settled! Copenhagen is such a fantastic city, 5 story buildings, lots of people on bikes, and a bustling town of history and architecture! We walked around the central town area seeing Trivoli, the Town Hall + Pheegan, and the Natural History Museum. On the way back to the hotel we found the Hard Rock Cafe and even took a shot!
*Day 2 started out early with a 4 hour bus trip to a town on the main part of Denmark called Hjortshoj where Inforse is located, a fully sustainable community of 250 residents. We toured all their buildings and even saw a compost toilet! Certainly a fascinating way to live! At the end of the day we got to tour around Aarhus where we stayed for the night.
*Day 3 was the full day on the island of Samso! We started by taking a ferry and met up with our guide for the day Frank. He works at the Energy Academy and to me seemed a little insane, but none the less an interesting guy! He took us all over the island - literally! We saw the Baltic Sea, visited a wind turbine field and climbed to the top of one!, visited a medieval church from the 1600's, a wood chip heating plant and solar field, and a cute village which has been there since the start! It was a busy day of sustainability!
*Day 4 was another free day where a group of us literally walked the whole town! Our stops along the way included the Christianborg Palace, Nyhavn Walking strip + Pheegan, Amalieborg Palace, The Little Mermaid Statue, and the Rosenborg Castle. We had a quick session as a group near lunchtime and then we were off again to walk the "walking street" that was filled with lots of great shops! At a little chocolate shop a bunch of us got hot chocolate and ice cream and a free marshmellow ball ~so delicious!
*Day 5 was our final day and a bunch of us remembered our green attire to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! We only had meeting in the morning at the Environmental Agency and then had lunch with a lady who helped set up our trip! The rest of the day was our plane, train, and bus trip back to Lillehammer! It was all very tiring, but a really great trip filled with some memorable moments!!