Bratislava

The beginning of Rachael's and my blitz through Europe got off to a rough start including a night in the Bergamo airport and a bit of traveling through the eastern bloc suburbs surrounding Bratislava. Any unease we felt disappeared as soon as we got to the Bratislava Castle. The castle sits on a hill which overlooks the beautiful old town and is skirted by the Danube River. The castle grounds have many gardens with outlooks where we could admire the sights like St. Martin's Cathedral and the New Bridge. The bridge was built by the soviets and with its kind of sci-fi styling it looks like an alien crawling across the water. We began our descent into old town by winding our way through the gardens and down the steep slopes of the castle hill.







As we walked we passed by many beautiful old buildings with Slavic flags hanging proudly but also by many dilapidated structures which were barely standing. It was an interesting feeling walking through this part of town but it was actually more upbeat than it sounds. It did not seem like a town failing but more that things were on the mend. There were nice little restaurants and brand new banks on almost every street and I just felt like it was taking some time for them to get over the economic woes left by the soviet union. What added to the sense that Slovakia was doing "A OK" was that they were recently allowed to switch over to the euro which shows the strength of their economy. And did I mention that old town is absolutely amazing!





Winding through the tiny streets full of little cafes and shops it became apparent why Bratislava is seen as a travel destination. The center was absolutely beautiful with amazing buildings stacked right next to each other. In the main square there were little stands selling all kinds of Slavic crafts and folk art. We wound our way through the narrow streets and underneath St. Michael's tower. The tower marks the edge of old town and was once the only gate over the moat that surrounded the city. From here it was just another short walk past the presidential palace and through the gardens to the train station.











While one morning was plenty of time to see all of the sites in this town I could have stayed for much longer. This is definitely a place to go for a relaxing time because there is no pressure to move on and see the next big thing. In Bratislava I would be content to just sit in the square and watch the world go by. Unfortunately time for relaxing was not on our itinerary so Rachael and I hopped on a train and headed just one hour west to our next stop, Vienna.

Springtime in Pavia

Spring began in Pavia in early March and is still going strong even though we are approaching the middle of May. The weather is almost constant with highs in the low 70's and lows in the upper 50's. The city is full of blooming rose bushes and gelaterias (ice cream shops) both of which make afternoon walks that much more pleasant. Most of these strolls lead to a park beside the river and beneath the covered bridge. It is an absolutely perfect place to spend the afternoon and has been the site of St. Patrick's day festivities and end of course stress relievers. In addition to lounging in the sun I have also participated in a few pick up soccer games.

I say that I only participated because there is no way anything that I did on that field could have been considered actually playing. You can easily pick me out in the picture as the huge guy wearing basketball gear and trying to run over people. During the first game my team somehow managed a tie despite my poor play. In order to add a little excitement they decided to go to penalty kicks. After five kicks for each side it was all tied 3-3. I was the only one left to shoot and it was my kick that would decide the game. I walked up with one plan and that was not to embarrass myself. I kept my head down and just focused on making contact with the ball. I kicked it as hard as I could and it shot off my foot and landed perfectly in the top right corner for the win!!! I don't really know how it happened but I think it was a lot to do with beginners luck. My team was so excited about my improbable heroics I think they actually forgot about the goal I scored for the other team earlier in the game.

Pazza Inter Amala

While the title of the post may sound like some sort of amazing Italian dish it actually means "crazy Inter I love it!" and is the catch phrase in the fight song for the International Football Club of Milan, Inter for short. It was my first real soccer match and it was fantastic! The walk up to the stadium had a carnival type atmosphere with fair food, inter gear everywhere, and the enormous stadium in the background. After I bought a souvenir scarf and downed a sausage and beer we went into the game.

Getting into the game was a bit different than I am used to. We had to show ID to get our tickets which had our names printed on them. We had to show ID again to get through the massive gates surrounded by security guards and riot police and into the stadium. While this scene initially made me apprehensive the number of families and small children in attendance calmed my nerves. The fans were absolutely amazing and everyone was chanting the whole game. One section completely lived up to the reputation of the crazy European soccer fans. This section lead all of the cheers, lit flares, and even shot some kind of firework after the first goal. Everyone else was pretty tame and typical of your average sports fan.

The game started out slow but picked up in the second half. I got to see Ibrahimovic score an amazing goal and also make a beautiful pass to record an assist for the second goal in a 2-0 victory for Inter. It was really amazing to watch one of the best players in the world showcase his skills as well as watch another victory on Inter's way to an Italian Series A championship. Unfortunately the season is almost over with the last game being in just two weeks. Hopefully I will be able to go see the last game where I will see Inter get awarded the championship trophy!

Parma

On the way home from Modena Andrea decided to take a quick tour of Parma. We couldn't have stumbled upon this beautiful city on a better day as it was the national holiday of liberation day and the whole city was out celebrating. There were flags hanging from every window and strung across the crowded streets. As we wandered around the city we came upon the main cathedral. While it was not much to look at on the outside the sanctuary was absolutely amazing. Every inch of the place is covered in beautiful frescoes. With all of the alcoves beautifully adorned and well lit from the enormous dome hovering above the altar.











Leaving the church we passed by an enormous tower made of pink marble and then slipped back into the crowds which carried us to the main square. There we admired the beautiful clock tower complete with a complex sundial and solar calendar. We stopped for a coffee and watched the many people who strolled past. All of the buildings around the square were covered in banners and there was a large stage in the center where a band was warming up for the show that night.





We then walked down to the river and back up through the center of town. This time stopping in a big green that was littered with people. Everyone was sitting in the grass enjoying the sun and listening to more live music. It was really nice to be in Parma on that day and get the Italian festival experience. Not only was the weather beautiful but the atmosphere was amazing.

Ferrari

I am currently taking the most boring and ridiculous class I have ever taken. The plus side to this awful course is that the homework is not too hard and we only have class four days a week. With these two things combined I have had a ton a free time to get out and experience more of Italy!

The first excursion that I took this semester was to the town of Modena, the birthplace of the Ferrari. Due to the small size of the town the Galleria di Ferrari was extremely easy to find and our group wasted no time in getting inside. The place was not much bigger than a large car dealership but as the old saying goes it is not about quantity but quality.

The first room was completely full of Indy cars. The cars encompassed about the last 70 years of Ferrari racing and all of the cars on the showroom floor were champions. This included two of Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 behemoths. From this room we went up stairs to the two galleries of Ferrari's most famous production cars. They were all lined up and colored that same beautiful Ferrari red. From the showroom we left the town and just as we were about to get on the highway we caught a quick glimpse of the Ferrari test track. I cannot really do justice to the sights and experiences of the galleria with my words so hopefully these pictures will give a little taste of the amazing vehicles on display in Modena.

Porto

Porto is another amazing and beautiful Portuguese city. It is the second largest city in the country and serves as the gateway to northern Portugal. Porto is extremely hilly with many large cliffs that fall straight into the river that carves its way through the center of town. Houses, Monasteries, and warehouses full of the famous port wine cling to the steep slopes that surround the river. Adding to the beauty of the brightly colored hillsides are the numerous amazing arch bridges that span the gorge. Porto sets itself apart from its more famous neighbor to the south by trading in the terracotta for stone giving the city a powerful and unique feel.

We unfortunately were not accompanied to Porto by one of our amazing tour guides so in order to make sure we saw the important landmarks we decided to take the most touristy tour we came across. The gods must have been smiling on us as the first thing we walked upon was a truck towing a few trailers made to look like a train engine and train cars. We boarded the miniature train and let the fun begin. We drove past the main square downtown and the beautiful city hall. Then past a tower that has been used to guide ships into port for hundreds of years. After a drive past the beautiful water front and some of the large parks we ended the tour at Porto’s largest cathedral.











After the tour we decided to go back to the historic waterfront for dinner. The area around the river is full of tiny little restaurants and bars carved into the hillside. From our table we could admire the wonderful views of the large arch bridges overhead and the tiny boats sailing below. On our way to the airport we passed back through the main square where there was a protest taking place. The demonstration was centered around the local football club and everyone was decked out in team gear with flags waving and bull horns blasting.















We then boarded the brand new metro and headed for the brand new airport. Both were really nice, modern, and thoroughly impressive. In the airport I had an entire night to review all of my pictures and think about all of the amazing things that I had seen in my journey of nearly 500 miles from Sevilla to Porto. I am so grateful to Antonio and Romain for showing us around and really giving the trip a personal touch. I wish I had been able to stay in Portugal for five weeks and not just five days but I feel like I was able to get a pretty good idea of what life is like there. I don’t think I can say enough times how amazing Portugal is and am already counting the days until my return.