Munich: Beer Capital of the World

So I made it back from Munich and absolutely loved it. The weather unfortunately was not as pleasant as we would have like it to be. Saturday morning when I went on a run with my friend, Rachael, the sky was clear, but by the time we made it to the Hofbräuhaus it was pouring rain. Because no one was prepared for such weather, we did not make it to the English Garden. Instead we enjoyed our German meals outside in the Beer Garden under an umbrella. I split the Schwammerltopf ("Mushroom Pot") and the Schweinsbraten ("Roast Pork") with a friend and enjoyed each one entirely. During the hours we were at the bräuhaus, we met many people including: An American family visiting from Connecticut, British men celebrating a Bachelor's Party, and more British people enlisted in the Navy. They were all a blast, but after a few dirty stares from the employees we left and walked around stopping for a beer here and there.

If I were to go back, I hope to go back in the summer when I can lay out next to one of many beer gardens. Or make it to Ocktoberfest! Munich, you did me proud and I can definitely say I approve of the beer!

Next trip: Rome, Madrid, and Barcelona!


Here are the few pictures I took of my stay:

Me and my Liter of Beer!


The lovely band playing inside :)







At the Main Square


Pumba!


The Main Drag


The Guys


The Girls

A time to reflect

Since I have been busy with school work and my roommate visiting me last weekend, I decided to leave you with a music video that my Sustainability teacher played for us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmEfuOLlAQ

Hopefully you all enjoying the beautiful spring weather like I am! It has been in the high 40s mid 50s. Being outside in nature really helps! This weekend I will be going to Munich with some friends so stay tuned for my next blog! Only a few more weekends left, since we past the halfway point about a week ago! It's going by super fast, but i do feel like i have been improving my German skills. Can't wait to show you what i have learned when i get back. Peace.

Geneva, Switzerland: A global, financial, and diplomatic city to say the least

The next short visit was to Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of this travel was to visit the United Nations of Geneva, the second major largest office of the UN after New York. Here we had three meetings from three different people. The first person we met with was an economist from the Trade Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In this session we discussed what the UNCTAD would like to achieve. Some of these goals include: helping poor nations, open the markets, deal with debt, achieve sustainable development strategies, and have economic governance towards trade and financial reform. It was quite interesting, but not something I would hold a job in this particular sector.

The next speaker, Mr. Constantin Itruschka, I could feel I had better connection with him than the previous speaker. Mr Itruschka is currently a legal officer from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees residing in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Throughout his presentation he emphasized the big problem arising from humanitarian challenges: the money, food, and water are there, but the coordination is not there due to the local government’s poor communication structure (ex. Haiti earthquake and its hampered rescue and aid relief). Another fact I found worth sharing from his presentation is that most refugees come from the Middle East (especially Afghanistan) and Africa (especially Zimbabwe) and seek to go to United States, South Africa, or France. Overall, he was very engaging with us and I thought he did a great job.

Finally, the last presenter was Mr. Bernie Kuiten who was not from the United Nations but from the World Trade Organization and is the Head of External Relations. His presentation was short but sweet. He didn’t have a PowerPoint but kind of just rambled on about its function, which is to provide predictability, stability and transparency, and briefly talked about some of the issues they are facing. Some of these issues include the increasing prices in agriculture and what to do about liberalization. In short, he was enjoyable to listen to but since it was towards the end of the day we all just wanted to get out of there.

For the last few hours before our departure from Geneva, we had the opportunity to explore the city. We were able to visit the United Nations Museum, which wasn’t anything special…just a small little room about how it formed with some pictures. We also got to see some cool landmarks, but unfortunately buying anything was almost impossible. Everything was so expensive I could only afford a tall Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks that was almost five euros. Needless to say, I believe I do not need to go back to Geneva unless someone else was paying for me. Here is one picture I took while exploring:

The flower clock in Geneva is a symbol of the Geneva watch industry, and apparently has the largest second hand in the world (it is more than 2.5 meters long)

A short visit to Strasbourg, France

Since this program is all about the European Union, we pretty much go to every EU institution there is. Saying this, the program thought it was necessary to take us to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, which is only a convenient hour bus ride away from Freiburg, Germany. Arriving in the city, I was stunned to see how beautiful it is. The Ill River that runs along it had gorgeous swans resting on it, the Cathedral had an astonishing view from the top of the Old Town, and the shops could not have been cuter. There were tons of delicious bakeries and French Restaurants.

After the two hours we had to explore the city (which was a perfect amount of time since I knew I was going to be back with my parents in a month), we got on the bus to visit the European Parliament. Inside the EP, we got to listen to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and have the graceful presence of the infamous Lady Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as well as the Vice President of the European Commission, discuss the issue of “State of Play of Peace Process of the Middle East.” Although not all MEPs were present, we got to hear from a few different perspectives of various party members. Some MEPs were advocating for peace in the Israel World, and others fearing involvement and wanting to shift focus to more important positive improvements at hand such as transportation, the environment, technology, etc. After listening in on their meeting, we got a little overview of the EP of what it does. To give you some little facts about it, the EP forms the legislative body along with the European Council and the European Commission, and the people, who make it the most democratic institution of the EU, directly vote the MEPs. Once our briefing was over, we left the building and headed back home to Freiburg. It was quite a short stay, but an overall positive one.

Rosenmontag, the traditional holiday in Freiburg

Rosenmontag was definitely a cultural experience here in Freiburg. The Monday I came back from my field study in Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris there was this holiday called Rosenmontag. It can also be called Carnival and is supposed to be the equivalent to Mardi Gras in the United States or the Penny Carnival at my grade school, St. Joan of Arc(or at least I think it is). Yet, here in Freiburg, there is a whole different vibe to Rosenmontag than other cities such as Cologne and Basel. It is actually more scary than it is cool. Here is a picture to show you…:



Even without the scary masks in the parade, everyone, especially the children, seems to dress up mostly as witches, clowns, or princesses and other costumes you would see during Halloween. One good think about the holiday were the amazing German food scatterd along the streets…bratwurst, schnitzel, and even crepes.

After the parade, most people went to the closest bar to celebrate the holiday. Me and some of my friends went to a beergarden and enjoyed the beautiful view of Freiburg over a nice cold glass of a hefe-weisser, or wheat beer. Life is good.

Paris, France…what a city!

So much excitement inside of me led up to this point. I had always wondered what Paris was like and now I was here. I could see the Eiffel Tower lit up and the cute boutiques surrounding the city were all too cute.

For the days we were there we met with a research fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies who deals with crisis and Foreign Affairs like that of the high representative of Foreign Affairs, Lady Ashton. We also met the Deputy Director for EU Affairs at the French Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs. There we discussed topics such as the Libya and Egypt crisis as well as Turkey’s accession and the French Referendum that didn’t allow for Turkey to join, and also the Roma issue. Both were very informative.

When we were finished with the meetings, we had time to explore the city. From climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to descending under the streets of Paris to the Catacombs, there were endless places to see. I also had the opportunity to see the famous Louvre and the Mona Lisa that hangs inside of it (So much hype for such a small painting…how did it get so famous?). And of course, when I saw the Eiffel Tower I was in awww. Too bad it wasn’t summer, it would have been nice to have a picnic and lay outside to admire it all day and all night. I also did see the Notre Dame, but the line was too long to see the inside, maybe next time…?



Half of the IES students, including myself, spent half the day in Versailles. Oh my gosh was it breathtaking. I felt like I was Marie Antoineete. The gardens had beautiful fountains and statues lined the pathways. A little lake rests in the garden with access to row a boat, which some students took advantage of. There were also various restaurants to eat at and enjoy the view. You could definitely get lost in the gardens and would be a great place to play hide-and-go seek. After roaming the garden we went inside the palace. Each room had a royal feel to it. The beds, the chairs, the mirrors, the statues and paintings, everything was gorgeous. To be rich and live like a king and queen must be pretty special!

And now the food. Oh French food is so unique. One especially good meal I had was at a restaurant near Notre Dame. It was a seven-course meal with bottom-less supply of wine, all for forty euro. I had bread, veggies that came from a basket (which I thought was kind of funny); pasta, potatoes and cous cous salads as our second course; sausages for the third; our entre in which I had a lamb kebob with a baked potato and a small salad; fifth course was an assortment of cheeses all delicious; fruit; and finally if you made it to the seventh course, which I surprisingly got to was hazelnut ice cream but I think the tiramisu and chocolate mouse were goo too.

Overall, I liked Paris as a city, but if you didn’t speak French, the people were not very nice and/or helpful. Catching a cab is almost impossible, especially in the Latin Quarter because you have to wait in line for a cab and not flag one down. You also had to keep an eye on your wallet and be smart since a few people got their wallets taken and cheated out of their money. (Thank goodness I was okay.) I also think the best time to go would be the spring or summer when flowers are blooming and enjoying the outside without bundling up and avoiding the cold that awaits you outside. Still, I did love it…but no, I did not find love.

Brussels=Headquarters of the European Union (Equivalent to Washington, D.C.)

To Brussels! After leaving Luxembourg, we headed straight to Brussels. We checked into our lovely hostel, Hotel Opera, and then some of us girls went to take a look around to find a place to eat dinner. While walking around, we stumbled across the Grand Place Square. It was all lit up and beautiful to see at night, so we decided to go to a restaurant nearby so that we could have a wonderful view while we ate. The restaurant we picked was a delight, a bit pricey, but worth it. Before going back to rest for the night, I had to walk into a chocolate shop to end my craving for a chocolate truffle. Simply bliss!

The next day we had meetings with Directorate-Generals from the European Commission on Enlargement and one on Economic and Financial Affairs. The first guy touched on the perspective candidates such as Croatia, Iceland, and the most controversial one, Turkey who may join the European Union. The other talked about the Eurozone Crisis and the steps they are taking in order to build the euro back up for it to be stable and considered a global player to the market economy. That night I knew I had to have Belgium waffles and the amazing French fries for dinner. I know, super healthy…but hey, you gotta do what the Belgiums do!

Same thing again the next day, more meetings but related to the courses we are taking in Freiburg. Unfortunately, the meeting with BUSINESSEUROPE (The Confederation of European Business) was cancelled so I only had to attend one, which was with a DG representative from the European Commission on Agriculture & Rural Development. The meeting was interesting, he basically sketched out a rough outline of the Common Agriculture Policy starting in the late 1950s early 1960s after WWII all the way to its present state and the progress taking now to reform CAP. He mentioned the surpluses known as Wine Lakes and Butter Mountains occurring in the 1970s and 80s, which led to floor pricing and direct payments to farmers. Now, they are looking to be more sustainable for environmental reasons, more employment for economic reasons, and more cautious on the climate for territorial reasons by the year of 2020.


When the meeting was over, I had a few hours to walk around the city. I went into the Magritte Museum and enjoyed looking at its works of art. (To my disappointment the Modern Art Exhibit was closed until next year). Nonetheless the surrealist Artist, René Magritte, had a very interesting view on art, which I enjoyed. If in Brussels, I do recommend going and looking at his work. One of his pieces that i enjoyed were the birds shaped like lieaves pictured above. Next, I took a walk through Parc de Bruxelles or Warandepark, which is the largest urban public park in the city of Brussels. Within the park are tons of statues, fountains, trees, a playground and so much more. It looks like a great place to go for a run or walk your dog. Along its borders, it is surrounded by embassies such as the United States. I kept walking to see the Botanical Gardens and Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral, one of the most famous churches in Brussels. Finally, I could not but continue to make it to the infamous Manneken Pis. I could not believe how small it actually was, such a disappointment!

Later on I met up with my friends and ate at one of the many fish joints. Yes, we were caught in the tourist trap of settling in on the Rue des Boucher Street. Still, we were given a free drink of our choice and endless supply of fish. After our meal, we could not skip out the bar with over 2,000 types of beers. So we walked around the corner to Delirium where my friend and I split a boot of a beer that contained a litter of our choice of beer (we stuck with xx Bitter and loved every sip of it). I could now say that I experienced all of what Belgium has to offer me! On to Paris, France for me.

Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris…OR… Castles, Waffles, and Romance (whatever you prefer)

Wow, what a week I had! It all began Monday morning when we all piled into our Freiburg double-decker coach bus. We all had on our nice, business formal attire on since we were to meet with an intern at the European Court of Justice later that day. We departed Freiburg, Germany at around 7am and were to be in Luxembourg at 3pm for our meeting with the intern. Along the ride, we made a quick pit stop right outside Saint-Avold, France at the largest US Military Cemetery in Europe, Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial. (This is where 10,489 American soldiers who were not shipped back to America are buried). I hadn’t seen so many graves since I visited Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. when I was in 8th grade. As a result, this definitely made me reflect on how brutal the past really was before peace in Europe began to form.

After walking around a bit, we needed to be on our way. We arrived in downtown Luxembourg around noon just in time to eat some lunch and roam the tiny city before our meeting. Since Luxembourg is known for having one of the highest, if not the highest GDP per capita in the world and being known for a tax haven as criticized by some Europeans, we felt we fit right in with our business attire. A group of us decided to eat at a fancy French Restaurant and order a bottle of red and white wine for the table over a salad, warm bread, steak tartare with frites. The meal was simply delicious. We paid our waiter and then walked inside a nearby church to admire the stained glass and the huge organ for a few minutes. Across from the church was the Alzette river and its beautiful bridges and landscape alongside of it. Taking in the fresh air and absorbing the sunrays across the blue sky, the day could not have been more beautiful. Strange enough, I could feel a sense of home and know why a part of me is part Luxembourgish. Thanks Grandmama Conrardy!

At the European Court of Justice, I learned about its basic function and its role inside the European Union. Ever since the start of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 and its six members, the community continues to enlarge. Because of its expansion, or more notably its “deepening” and “widening” the European Union was founded and twenty-seven countries have joined a membership. With this comes more construction to fit these new countries, i.e. the Balkan States, into the buildings and more languages are introduced to make a current total of twenty-three (Gaelic being the most recent). This institution allows for public viewing of cases and a constant interpretation of EU law.

Although this may sound boring, I figured I would write about what exactly I am learning on these trips. I don’t just eat, shop, and drink… I actually do learn about how the European Union works! … The next stop=Brussels, Belgium!