A Roadmap to Kurt's European Odyssey

As you know by now, in the wake of the volcanic eruption I had to find an alternative way to get back to Oxford.  Well, I made it back yesterday morning, and now that I have the comforts of using my own laptop again,  I made a google map to show you what my trip looked like.  You can see how a trip that was supposed to visit two countries and three cities over ten days turned into one that saw five countries over a period of almost two weeks!

You can see view the map here.  By clicking that link you, too, can experience the chaos and confusion that can be known only as Kurt's European Odyssey!

My bed on the sleeper car from Rome to Milan.

Some views of the Swiss Alps on the way to Geneva.

Check-in at Eurolines, the international bus company that shuttles people from Paris to London and back.

The bus - it was a double decker one and every seat was full!

My apologies for the poor quality, but that is what the ferry I took looked like.  The buses park on one deck, the passengers get off and spend the ferry ride on another.

The view from the top deck of the ferry.  Those lights are the coast of Calais, France.

Once Upon a Time a Volcano Ate My Homework...

Wow.
I never thought I would ever write that sentence, but in essence, that's the truth.

My flight from Rome to London was cancelled because of the volcanic ash over Europe.  I still can't believe it... the situation is too absurd to be true.  I'm not mad about it - when I think about it, it makes me laugh - but it does throw a rather large wrench into the conclusion of my Euro trip!

Instead of flying back, I'm taking the train.  That's right, travelling from Rome to London by train.  I leave Rome in about 2 hours and get to Milan, Italy at 7am in the morning over here.  From there, I take another train to Geneva, Switzwerland and another to Paris, getting into Paris around 4pm European time on Wednesday. That's three trains crossing three countries in over 20 hours - this will be quite the capstone to my Euro trip!

Then I'm stuck in Paris until Saturday, because that was the earliest day I could get to London.  Yes, it is stuck in Paris... Don't give me any of that mock sympathy saying how much you'd love to be "stuck" in Paris.  Though, I am glad I get to visit Paris again.  Earlier this semester I was lamenting about how I wasn't able to make it to Paris over spring break.... funny how things work out!

My tutors at Oxford have been extremely flexible about this whole fiasco, which is wonderful.  Had I been able to fly, I would have gotten back in just in time for 0th week (the week where we meet with tutors and arrange times for tutorials over the term) but now I get in just in time for the beginning of 1st week, the actual term.

I'll make it home in time for term... it's just going to cost me a small fortune to do it!

I'm Back... But Not for Long!

If you didn't read it on facebook, I'm back in the UK!  I arrived yesterday morning severely jet lagged. Despite many earnest attempts, I couldn't seem to fall asleep on the plane over here.  With only a short nap, I made it through the day and now I'm fully back on UK time.  Coming to the UK is much harder transitioning (time-wise) than flying to the US.

My visit to the US was wonderful.  It was great to see so many friends and family over such a brief visit - especially since a substantial number of my friends who are graduating will be living abroad for the next year or so!  (Congrats, guys!) It was also nice to once again eat spicy food, listen to NPR on the radio, and ride the DC Metro.

As  soon as I unpacked from the US, I packed up again for the last trip of my vacation. Starting tomorrow, and for the following week and a half, I'm visiting Berlin, Rome, and Florence.  After this trip, I'll have been to nearly every major country in Western Europe!

I'll be busy sight-seeing and soaking up the cultures, but every once in a while I'll resurface on Facebook and maybe blog, so check back here again soon.

Oh hey Chicago!

I never made it to Syracuse yesterday.  I'm still in Chicago's O'Hare Airport!

My flight to Syracuse last night was overbooked, so they needed a volunteer to be bumped.  Since I wasn't getting in until almost 10pm, I knew it wasn't a big deal to fly out the next morning instead.  Basically, all I lost was a few extra hours in town and a night in my own bed.  Now I'll be getting into Syracuse late morning today.  It's all good.

American Airlines treated me well for volunteering to be bumped, too!  They put me up in a Hyatt Regency hotel near the airport and gave me an executive-suite room.  How often does a poor college student get to stay in an executive room in a Hyatt and sleep in a King-size bed?? AA also gave me $250 in flight vouchers and credited an additional 1200 miles to my frequent flyer account. Not a bad deal at all!

Some pictures of the hotel from their website:

The 30-Hour Day

Hello from Chicago O'Hare International Airport!

As most of you know already, I'm spending the next leg of my spring vacation in the U.S. visiting friends and family.  I arrived at O'Hare around 12:30 CST, and am now just sitting in the airport killing time before my flight to Syracuse, NY.  Since that flight doesn't board till 6:30 CST, I thought I'd take this opportunity to blog.

Since I last blogged, I went to Madrid, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal.  After a long, jam-packed, nine day sight-seeing trip, this weary traveler returned to Oxford late on Wednesday night.  But - I saw lots of great sights and got some new stamps in my passport, so it was a success!

Here's some pictures from the trip:

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia,  a gorgeous, but unusual cathedral in Barcelona that's still under construction.

The facade of the entrance to the cathedral depicts the Passion of Jesus.  A rather timely sight to visit, given that this week is Holy Week for Christians.

Some other views of Sagrada Familia:

The wild, wacky, and wonderful Park Gueil, another of Gaudi's architectural masterpieces.

Gaudi also designed several Barcelona houses, including this one.

After a three days in Barcelona, we moved on to Madrid.  I decided that Madrid compares to Barcelona much like Washington, D.C. compares to New York City.  There was still plenty to see and do in Madrid, but it wasn't the lively, artsy city that Barcelona was!

Puerta del Sol, the center of Madrid where all the main streets converge.  In the middle of this lively public square is this statue:

Supposedly the bear and the tree is Madrid's symbol, though I never could figure out the significance behind it.

Perhaps the most exciting thing we did when visiting Madrid was see a bull fight at Placa de Toros.

Here's one picture from the bull fights.  I have a lot of decent pictures, but the wifi here at O'Hare isn't great and I don't have the patience to upload more.

None of us realized, however, that bull fights are fights to the death.  One of my friends with whom I was watching the bull fight was so disturbed that they left and another refused to look.  I watched for the duration, and after the first fight (there were six) you become desensitized to it and look at it more as a sport.  Still, it raises issues about animal rights and humane treatment.  But as an outside observer from another culture, I don't think it's my place to judge.

After Madrid, we spent a few days in Lisbon, Portugal! Though the pictures speak for themselves, Lisbon  is a beautiful city with a quaint, old feel to it.

The streets of Lisbon, or Lisboa, as the Portugese call it.

Lisboa is a very hilly city, so locals and tourists alike still use these old-style trams to get around town.  Tram 28 is the one all the guidebooks recommend - it gives you one of the most scenic tours of the city! 

And I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the trip!