Philharmonie

Already Friday, I think I only have 7 weeks left… boy is time flying! This weekend I will be in Berlin, celebrating Birthdays and we were invited to go drinking with the group of HTW student at Berlin’s Oktoberfest so that and along with all of the homework I have to do, should make for a fun weekend!

This week went by smoothly; on Monday we went to HTW and met with the engineering students that are going to help us with out projects. There school was so much nicer than Wentworth, it is in an old factory complex on the Spree River, and they had green walls! There lecture classrooms were also set up differently, the desks folded down from the seat in front of you.

Wednesday we went on a field trip to a Music School, which use to be where the King stored his horses and carriages. There were some cool acoustical elements, and one of my fellow classmates played the piano for us so we could test out the acoustics.

On Thursday I went to the Philharmonie and got to listen to the whole Orchestra, it was an amazing experience. I have never seen a professional orchestra perform before, so it was just breathtaking. The group I went with all dressed up too and it made for a nice night. 

On the way back to the U Bahn, we stopped into Potsdammer Platz and got to see it all lite up at night, it changes between blue and purple. The whole complex is just out of this world, and I could never imagine it in Boston or the United States for that matter.

I have been trying to use German, and I ordered perfectly in German at the Philharmonie, 2 red wines, and she thought I was speaking English and just got very upset with me, so that was disappointing, but least I can order at the Backeri.

Observations:

Germans don’t like to go out of their way to talk to you or ask you if you need help unless they need something from you.

Germans don’t believe in dryers and are kind of behind in personal technology, no Kindles here!

The deposit for bottles here is .25 cents!

Germans think swimming when it is 80 degrees out is sheer madness!

You see the same beggars on the train time after time again, and musicians

BARCELONA: Gaudi, Seafood, Beach, and SANGRIA!!

That is what I would sum Barcelona up as! It was such an amazing trip. Barcelona is such a beautiful Mediterranean city.

The night before we left for Barcelona, most of us when out for Michele’s 22^nd birthday to this German restaurant.  It was such a good time, and I shared a bottle of Dark Red Riesling with someone and it was so yummy. When we got back to our flats, Carlie had bought a tart for Michele, so we sang happy birthday to her and I called it a night.

….Well 4am came, and my alarm clock went off. But I didn’t wake up till 5:30 when Carlie woke us up!! So Julia and I got ready in 10 minutes and ran out the door, and thankfully didn’t miss our flight. We took easyJet, which is a budget airline, very similar to Southwest except more cheap!! So we landed in Barcelona before noon and figured out how to get to our hostel. It took a bit to check in, but the place was really cool in an old gothic building in the heart of Barcelona and very close to the beach. I went with a group of 13, so we settled into our rooms and then went to the beach and grabbed lunch at Ryan’s Pub. We had Sangria, that wasn’t very strong, and had a very fun waitress! After that I laid on the beach for a bit and then the whole group of us got ready and went to a Flamenco show!!

The show was really fun, but not worth how much we paid. Nonetheless, it was still a good show. There was a group of 4 girls and a guy, and there were the best dancers, especially one of the girls. If you don’t know what Flamenco dancing is, it is just went girls were fancy dresses, were tap shoes, and everyone screams OLEY!! After the show we broke up into smaller groups and got dinner. I tried Paella, which is Spanish rice with seafood, it was really yummy and great with Sangria. I was exhausted from such an early morning, so I called it a night.

On Friday morning, I got up early and went with a smaller group of people to check out this market we learned about in school. It was an old building that they re-used as a market by putting this curved colorful tile canopy over it. I was a little disappointed to find that it was more of a grocery store than a market, but it was still a really cool thing to see. Afterwards we bought tickets to hop on a tour bus to take us around Barcelona, it was one of the ones were you can sit upstairs and be outside, and they told you all sorts of facts in between stops.

We got off at Gaudi’s most famous villa and took pictures, and then headed to the Sagradia Familla, which is an amazing and out of this world temple (church). It has been under construction since the 19^th century and won’t be finished until 2030, but what is finished just takes your breath away. There was a bit of a line to wait in to get into the church, but it went by fast. Because it is under construction you can only see parts of it, but we did take an elevator ride up in one of the towers that offered really good views of Barcelona, and an interesting climb back down to the ground. Afterwards we grabbed lunch at an outside Italian café, and then got back on the bus.

The next stop was Park Guell, also by Gaudi. We took the long way to get there but after climbing a hill we reached the park. It was full of native vegetation, and of course Gaudi’s mosaics. We explored the park for a while, and then got back on the bus for a long ride to Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion.

We have studied this Pavilion so much in school, so to see it in person was like an out of body experience. I was disappointed a bit because it looked like the pavilion was just dropped into an abandoned parking lot. But it was still nice to finally see. Afterwards we jumped back on the bus and took a night spin back to the hostel.

I got dinner with a group of people by the ocean, and it was a 3-course meal for 15 euro including sangria. I got mussels, sea bass and potatoes, and ice cream.  They had these huge sangrias full of fruit there, so I splurged and got one and very much enjoyed it. I then went out with most of the group to a bar next to our hostel, free shots!, and hung out there for a while before calling it a night.

Saturday we slept in a little later, and then headed off to the Picasso Museum. It featured all of his work from the beginning of his career. The museum was in an older building that was beautiful. The collection was also cool to see because I hadn’t seen much of his early work. Afterwards we planned to head to the beach, so we got large Sangria “juice boxes.”

It was a beautiful day for the beach. I got a massage on the beach and enjoyed the beautiful Mediterranean sea. Michele and I collected pretty rocks and then swam out to this man made rock island. Upon arrival on the island, I cut off my foot =(.  But the island was really cool and had a beautiful view of the city. Once we swam back, more people joined us on the beach so we went and grabbed lunch at Ryan’s Pub again. Our waitress remembered us!! So we took a group photo with her.

Some people went shopping, but a few of us stayed on the beach. Ironically we were circled by a group of girls tanning without their tops on. Hahah. We stayed at the beach for a while, and then did a lot of fun shopping. Then went back to the hostel to relax, and found dinner in this cute littler square. More mussels and sangria!! After that we grabbed a nightcap and then called it a night because we had an early flight.

Tuesday, hair cut and no rain!

This weekend was a nice one in Berlin. Saturday night I went out to dinner with Julia, Amnah, Alia, and Natallie to this Turkish restaurant down the street from our apartments. It was really fun/yummy. We all share humus, this eggplant thing, and this yogurt/cucumber dish. Then for dinner I got this really good grilled lamb dish and it was so good dipped in the yogurt. Julia and I had this really yummy red wine.

After dinner, Julia and I went out for the evening to dance at Haus B, it was so much fun!! We made it till 4:30ish and decided to go home and head to sleep.

Sunday was pretty uneventful.

Monday, I had class/studio all day and then at night I went with a group of people to Potsdamer Platz to see  the Town. It was so good and it was weird because for a couple of hours I felt like I was back home in Boston. Also, movies are so much cheaper here. Our tickets were 5,50 euro, and you pick your seats when you buy your tickets. Then there popcorn was so good and was reasonable for 3,00 euro.

Today I didn't have any classes, so I slept in for a bit and then did a load of laundry in the bathtub and sink, and then skipped of to Alexander Platz to get my haircut. I was really nervous the whole time because I was afraid there was going to be a mis-communication, but the guy understood me and did a really good job. It was kinda a fancy haircut but I paid about the same as I do in Boston for a banging haircut. After that I explore that gay area of west berlin on Motzstrasse and then continued on to studio. I need to do some work before I go to Barcelona but I am really unmotivated. I just want to go already!!

Weekend in Berlin / Holocaust Memorial

Last night Julia and I went to Roses to just hang out for a bit, everyone is gone this weekend at Oktoberfest.  It was an unusual crowd and some random guy told me I look like the stupid guy from Twilight! Insult!!! I hate that movie. I also got a drink spilt on me by the bartender…but I ended up getting a free shot of Jager!!

Today Julia and I ventured out into rainy Berlin. We went to the Topograpghy of Terror, which is all about Hitler’s time in power. It is on the site of where the SS and Gestapo Headquarters was. We then walked along the long stretch of the remains of the Berlin wall and went to Check Point Charlie. After that we grabbed lunch at his American/French place, it was yummy and cheap. Then walked to the Memorial for Murdered Jews (very upfront title) and went inside. It was all about different people/families who died during the Holocaust… it was very intense.  There was one room were you just sit and listen to the names of people who died and how they died. The museum sits under Peter Eiserman’s memorial, that I mentioned in my last post. After that we went to Alexander Platz and I got yummy bread at the Brot Festival!!!

Now I am just relaxing a bit, going to grab dinner soon with a few people and then go out dancing!!!

Another week in Berlin!

So it Friday... weeks fly by here!

Monday I had class all day, and then afterwards went grocery shopping, which is always an adventure! I also finally got my internet stick to work (it isn't the greatest, but it gets the job done)

Tuesday we took a class field trip to the Reichstag. We go to go into the Budastag's Assembly room (there congresses area to debate) and learn about the German Government. We then went up into Norman Fosters Dome with the double helix ramp, mirror cone that brings light down into the assembly room, and the cone also pulls hot air our of the assembly room and lets it escape through the opening at the top of the dome. The dome offered fantastic views of the city.

  

Wednesday before studio we took a class field trip to another Norman Foster building, a library, on a college campus outside of Berlin, It was spherical building and the inside all the levels were wavy. I had my first pin up for my project to go over my concept, it went well. Afterwards I just went home and relaxed for the evening.

Thursday we finally got to go on a boat tour of Berlin! And it was such a nice day for it! So the boat pick us up in the Tiergarten and took us up and down the Spree River, through the government sections, historical sections, and turning around in Kreuzburg. Thursday evening I finally watched Glee, which was good, and just relaxed.

Friday I had my humanities class which is from 10-6. We started off by going on a walking tour of Berlin, with the best tour guide I have ever had! We walked through the old part of Berlin, down Unter de Linden, through the Brandenburg Gate, and then ended at the Holocaust Memorial and the site of Hitlers Bunker. It was nice to finally get to see all of the famous sites of Berlin. 

This weekend a majority of the group is going to Oktoberfest in Munich, but Julia and I decided to not go and instead enjoy the weekend in Berlin. We are going to go to some Museums, shop, and just explore Berlin. Next week is a short week, and on Thursday we leave for Barcelona! Exciting!!

Observations:

I can finally unlock the doors! It's actually pretty easy. You turn towards the door to lock, and away to unlock... I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out!

Buying certain products can be interesting. The vanilla ice cream I bought, taste like straight up butter!

Germans put meat into everything!

Half a week in Berlin / Prague

Before leaving for Prague it was mostly business as usual with studio work etc. I am almost getting along with the locks, but they still are a challenge. I will just say again how cheap grocery shopping and food is here, I love it!

Studio is going well, I am starting to get use to designing in the metric system and that the second floor of a building is really the first floor and the first floor is really the ground floor. Also, we have a wire cutting machine for making blue foam models and it is taking quite a bit of time to get the hang of, soon hopefully. My studio professor, Detler, is pretty cool. He talks a lot though and there is a slight language barrier but he is super nice.

I have gotten use to washing my clothes in the bath tub, and then hanging them through out the apartment. Socks are the only things that really get stiff, but no more wrinkled clothes!! I even act like a washer machine when I do laundry =) Cooking is fun, we finally have all the ingredients we need and organic food (bio food here) is cheap too. And we get fresh baked bread because there are Bakeies every 5 feet. I love it.

Wednesday night before we left for Prague a group of us went to a beer garden and it was so much fun. For 9 Euro you get a beer the size of your head (1 litter) and they have a band and you just dance around. Some people were lederhosen and the girl were dresses, its a lot of fun.  I danced with Michelle most of the night. The beer garden was right near the Reichstag and the huge train station, so it was amazing to experience at night. 

Thursday – Saturday I spent in Prague (Prag in German and Praha in Czech) and the trip was for our Urban Design class, we are also going to Rome and Hamburg before I leave in November. We drove there by bus, and it was about 5 hours. When we got close to Prague, Rolf played us this really beautiful song, and it set the mood right. We checking into our “botel” that was right on the main river and in old town. It also had an amazing view of the Prague Castle.  We then all went out as a group to explore Lesser town, the Charles Bridge, old town square, and this smaller square. It was one of the girls birthdays so we all went out to dinner, I got pizza with Buffalo cheese and Czech beer, Pilsner. It is very good on draft. I then went back and hung out on the roof deck and then called it a night.

Friday we started the day early but taking the metro, that is seriously a mile underground and has the longest escalator in the world, to a catholic church and another more modern church. At the catholic church we got to go up in the tower that had an incredible ramp up to an amazing view. We then breaked for lunch, and I went to a Czech resturant with Julia and got fried chicken steak with tomatoe and blue cheese on it, it was yummy. We the then metoroed it over back into Prague central and explored the city and ended up at Frank Gerrys contribution to the city, “Fred and Ginger” it was a pretty amazing building. We then were free for the night to work on our Urban Design research. Julia, Austin, and I walked over to Lesser town to analyze the square there, we break for a bit at Starbucks, and then headed over the Charles bridge into old town. We went to a Czech restaurant by the other square we had to analyze and it was off the beaten past so no tourist. They played music, we got Pilsner again, and I got the traditional Czech duck, which was huge and delicious. We then analyzed the square as the sun was setting and into dusk. It was a cool space to analyze in this setting. We then strolled back to the Botel and got gelato and explore around the Old Town Square. We eventually got back to the Botel and Julia and I wanted to separate from the group, so her, Michelle, and I went bar hoping and it was fun. We went to a local Czech bar, and Irish Pub, a street vendor with beer and huge hot dogs, and then a British pub. It was a good night.

Saturday we had an early start and a free morning to finish the analysis and explore. I went with a group of people and we walked around, shopped, and eat lunch. We then met back up and split off into groups of ten. We had to climb the mountain to the Prague Castle, which has an amazing view! And then our group was first to go to Adolf Loos’ Muller House. The space was absolutely amazing. Each room has a different ceiling height, and sometimes is on a completely different level. It was defiantly a trademark building for modernism. We then went back to the castle and walked around with Rolf for a while. We saw the first palace with a huge gathering room with vaulting ceiling, a later renaissance chapel, the massive/impressive Gothic Cathedral (made me re-appreciate Gothic Architecture), and then we went down into the old trench around the palace and went through this amazing tunnel that was added to connect the two halves. We then headed on the bus back to Berlin.

Prague is absolutely an amazing place, and I would love to go back again. There money is interesting (1000 = about 50 euro) so it’s fun to use. But the city is amazing with so many secret hiding spaces for amazing things. You can duck into an alley, and then your in a beautiful garden or find a tunnel. It is very touristy, so it was weird hearing English and seeing Americans!

But it’s nice to now be back “home” in Berlin. This week is a full week, and I have a pin up on Wednesday for studio. Everyone is going to Munich for Oktober Fest next weekend, but Julia and I decided to stay in Berlin.  Next trip planned is Barcelona, which should be a blast!

One week since I arrived in Berlin!

Hallo!

So, after being here in Berlin for a week, I am beginning to get my barring on my new home.. My neighborhood is dominantly a turkish neighborhood, and there is a really cool street near by, that is full of shops, restaurants, and bars.. I also understand the subway more, and its pretty easy to navigate... The only hard things are ordering food (because its all in German) and unlocking doors ( the lock is backwards, and there is different levels of locking) Aside from that, its pretty easy adjusting..

I have visited many things so far... if you check my facebook you can see pictures... but potsdamer platz, alexander platz, spree river, Kurfursten damm (like NYC's 5th avenue), the Reichstag, Brandenburg gate, KaDeWa (largest deparment store)... so it has been fun. Classes are good too, all of our professors are very nice and caring. Our project is also small scaled too, so we don't have to spend to much time on it, and gives us more exporing time.

On Thursday we go to Prague until Saturday as part of our "urban design travel elective." I hear things are cheap there because the Euro is more powerful, and they use a different currency. One thing about the Euro, all of the bills and coins are sized according to amount.. 50$ bill is larger than a 5$ bill, and coins do the same... coins! I have a huge collection of coins ranging from 2$, 1$, 50 cent, 20cent, 5 cent, 2 cent, and 1 cent... ah! I love the Euro though, I feel like its a powerful currency.

Berlin is very cheap and I like it.. food, alcohol.. the only expensive things are the subway (which is worth it) and depending on what kind of clothes you like to buy. But so much cheaper than Boston.

I bough this internet stick, but I had to set up in German, and it still isn't work.. =/ I might have to go back and ask for help..

I caught the cold that has been going around, so I took it a little easy this weekend.. Friday night I went out till 5 am at a bar called Roses, and met some people from Sweden, they were really nice! They are study abroading here as well.

I bought a picture book from english to german, so it should help me in the grocery store, we shall see.  Tschus!

First week in Berlin

Finally in Berlin and getting adjusted.,, Berlin is a very large city. It reminds me of the size of NYC and the character of NYC, but with the scale and greenery that Boston offers. Our apartment is in former East Berlin, and our studio/classes is in the former West Berlin… so it is about a 30-40 minute commute every day on the U Bahn.

German is everywhere. When we visited Sweden, Finland, and Estonia…pretty much everyone spoke English. Here it isn’t always the case because we aren’t always in touristy areas. For instance, Julia, Austin, and I were dumb and bough the wrong subway monthly pass, so we had to get it fixed, and it took a good 5 minutes with the guy for us all to understand. And another instance, when I bought my phone at Vodafone, the lady spoke very little English. So it is very frustrating, but I am starting to pick it up. We have language class twice a week, and pluse I have a general phrase book, so all together I should get it eventually.

Everything in Berlin is cheap. Food, alcohol, etc. Which makes it nice because the Euro is still a little bit stronger that the US dollar. I love it here though, every time you get off the U bahn and come up, you feel like you are in a new part of Berlin. Tonight I explored an area North of my apartment, and it just felt like I was walking the streets of the village. And today we walked down a Turkish street, and it felt like a street out of San Francisco. This city is just a hybrid of cultures and excitement.

School is starting to get into full swing. Today we start studio and visit our site for our semester long project. It should be interesting because we have to use the metric system, but we are working on an addition to a hostel.

Our apartments are very nice and big. I am sharing a room with Julia and Austin lives in the single bedroom. We cook here to save a little bit, grocery shopping is an adventure but getting the hang out it. I am not really home sick at all, but I do miss Houston. That is about it. I love Europe!

This week/weekend I am going to explore Berlin with my roommates and by myself, and really start to make it my home. There is SO MUCH to explore. Next Thursday-Saturday we are going to Prague, which should be amazing because I hear it is just such a beautiful city. Then the following weekend Julia and I, and a lot of other people are going on our optional travel long weekend to Barcelona. I booked the hostel, so we are right smack dab in the city.

I am trying really hard to make the best of this and keep an equal balance and a set priority list. I am here for school yes, but I am most importantly here to discover other cultures and visit the architecture I have been studying fo

Last night in Tallinn, Estonia!

This city is absolutely beautiful!! Tonight is my last night here, we spent the past few days working on a Charrette, fancy word for a small project. We had to establish a waterfront area and connect it back to the old city, new city, and port. It was a different way to explore the city and we worked in pairs of three, I worked with Julia and Carlie.

Everything here is really cheap because there money isn't worth a lot, so you get a good exchange. So that food and service has been amazing. Tonight a group of us are all going out drinking together to celebrate this trip being over, because tomorrow we ferry back to Helsinki, and then fly to Berlin. I am so excited!! We will be there for a week and a half and will start school. Then we will go for a long weekend to Prague! I am so excited, I hear it is such a beautiful city. And then at the end of the month I am going to Barcelona with a group of people. I love how easy it is to bounce around all of these beautiful places in Europe.

Tallinn was just an awesome city. It is a very old Medieval City, as I mentioned in my previous post, so it feels like you are at Disney World or something, also all the building are colorful and the streets have no rhythm or reason, they just go all over the place.

So, tomorrow it is off to Berlin!!

I'm on a Boat!

So I am on a Ferry on my way to Tallinn, Estona... so I have some time to kill because I am hungover and not motivated to do anything!

I have been in Europe now for a week, and I am really enjoying traveling to these countries that not alot of people ever go to.. Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. But, I am also ready to set a "home base" in Berlin and discover the city on my own and meet some Germans. But I am enjoying the group I am with, the 30 of us are getting along very well, and it has just been alot of fun.

Last night we all bought alcohol and just chilled at the Hotel for a while. You can drink in the streets, so we walked around drinking for a bit and then the whole group went with me to this gay club "DTM" it was alot of fun dancing with everyone. We stayed out till 2-3am, I can't really remember, I then went back to the hotel and made some phone calls and hung out the window, the Finish air is amazing...haha.

I really liked Helsinki, I can't wait to come back again. The city is just amazing, it is so clean and beautiful... ah! Enough going on about how much I like Helsinki.

Estonia should be fun. Tallinn is an old Medieval city, with a modern section. We are doing a project there to create a new water front, because the city lacks one now. We are working with students there, so it will be cool to get their perspective because they know the city.

So far, I am just have an amazing time... I am hanging out with people I never thought I would/ or even talk to on this trip.

Last Night in Helsinki and Finland!

Its been a pretty jammed packed two days in Helsinki... yesterday we looked at a bunch of Alvar Aalto buildings, and today we went around and looked at Finish architects Simo Paavilainen and Juha Leiviska's buildings... in total we looked at 9 buildings, and it was just an amazing array of architecture. My favorite was Paavilainen's office building, KEVA Office Building. It was just full of light, had a huge atrium, and multiple outside terraces.

The food here is really good, and they really like their sweets. I have eaten to much of it. haha. They also all have blonde hair here too and are skinny. We have been walking everywhere since we got here and the city is really easy to do that in. It is also jammed packed with fun places to go out, I am going to try a find a good place to go tonight.

Today we also went to Steven Holl's Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, and besides it being an amazing piece of architecture, it had a really cool exhibit where there was this huge field of ribbon to run through.

Tomorrow we are going to Tallinn, Estonia and are going to be actually doing work... we are doing a water front urban design project that we have a day to work on, and then a half day of presenting. It should be fun because all of the cities we have visited have had really strong connections with the water.

So far Helsinki is my favorite and I would love living here.. it is so clean, everyone is nice, and there is just so much to do. Defiantly better than Boston!

Last night I booked Julia and I's plane tickets to Barcelona, JJ is coming too and Carlie and Michelle might as well, so it should be a fun trip... and the weather seems like it is going to be nice.. we are going the 30th-Oct 3rd. I can't believe it is already September!

Quick Note... Breakfast in Scandinavia!

They eat the weirdest things for breafeast... deli meats, hard boiled eggs, and the weirdest "cereal"... also they put yogurt on everything, and love apple juice.. haha I am starting to get use to it... oy!

... 7 hours ahead in Helsinki, Finland!

Just got to Helsinki, last time I blogged I was leaving Stockholm... We took a ferry, which was a cruise ship and it went over night to Turku, Finland. We all drank from the time we stepped aboard the ship till about 2 hours before we docked. It was a good time. We all ate dinner together, then went to the duty free shop to buy alcohol, and then we all drank in our cabins, and then went to the disco till about 3am. The boat docked at 7am, but we jumped time zones so we lost an hour.

We spent the day and night in Turku... we had a relaxed schedule and just went on a few visits. Then we checked into our Hostel, which was alot like a summer camp, and just relaxed for the rest of the day. This morning we got up early and went to this beautiful chapel. It was very relaxing. We then went to an Aalto furniture making factory for a tour and were on Finland's Channel 3 news. Then we had a 2 hour bus ride to Vila Maira, which was amazing! It was so awesome to finally get to visit. Then we drove 3 hours to Helsinki, and we are now going to be here for 3 nights/4 days... this city looks fun/beautiful, so I am going to go out and find dinner and explore soon. But I wanted to give everyone an update!

Day 2.. Stockholm

So today was fun.. we went to the Stockholm Public Library, and had the most amazing tour guides. The guy took us to a good place for cheap lunch and I had the most amazing salmon. We then went to the Stockholm School of Architecture and had a lecture by a Swedish architect. We then went and visited his building, and then we were free for the night.

So Julia and I shared a bottle of red wine. We hung out with a bunch of people for a while and then finally went out into the heart of Stockholm and found an expensive bar. It was alot of fun, but we only stayed for two beers and then went back to the Hostel and went to the Cash Bar. It was alot of fun, minus the Prussian guys that wanted like all the girls in our group. Luckily we ended that. Now its pushing 1am, I just made a few phone calls thanks to google phone, and I am going to head to bed soon.

Tomorrow we are going to the Wood lawn Cemetery and then an art gallery, and then boarding an overnight ferry to Finland. So tomorrow is our last day here in Sweden. It was a lot of fun, but I am ready for another country. I don't know when I will have wireless again so stay tuned!

In Stockholm!

So this is my first blog.. it took a while, but I am finally in Sweden. My first flight left Boston at 5 PM and it was a lot of fun. They fed us really good food and kept on serving the alcohol. Needless to say I showed up in Frankfurt, drunk, at 5 am in the morning. It was weird loosing 6 hours. Then we continued on to Berlin and met up with our Professor, and got rid of our bags. We then had to wait around for a few before taking a flight to Stockholm.

When we got here, we checked into our hostel, which is really nice with wireless internet, so I am rooming with Julia. Its weird staying in a place where the toilets and showers aren't in the bedrooms. But the place is still really nice.

After we checked in we went on a brief walking tour of the water front. We then all split off to find dinner. The Swedish don't use the Euro, that use the Kroner, that we now just refer to as the Corona.. but its is very confusing and things sounds like they are really expensive, when they really aren't. But I went with a few people and we walking around their big shopping street and got dinner. And now I am back at the hostel and I haven't slept in over 24 hours, so I am probably going to pass out here soon. It's only 830 so I am going to try and give it some time.

Tomorrow we are touring the library and meeting up with a Swedish architect to get a modern view on the city. Tomorrow is our last night in Stockholm before heading to Finland.