EURO TOUR; part 3. Prague

The next morning we headed off to Prague, Czech Republic. It was the most beautiful city i had ever seen! The first night we had dinner at the hotel, then had our own celebration for the 4th of July.

our first day started with a three hour guided walking tour, which was probably the best way to start exploring this incredible city. Beginning up on the hill of Hradcany, where Prague Castle is located and slowly walking our way down through the town. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in all of Europe, and it filled with architecture from many different eras, it was amazing! And from the castle, you could see the most spectacular view of the whole city. The view was amazing, all the different coloured roof tops, and the beautiful scenery. We continued our tour through the city, with our truly wonderful guide eventually making it to the Charles Bridge. The entire bridge is covered in statues, the most famous being the statue of St. John, who was murdered right on this very bridge. The statue also has a touch of magic about it, as you can make a wish on the spot where he was killed. The bridge also had romantic history, as the entire bridge is covered with padlocks, on which couples have engraved their initials, locked their love and thrown the key into the Vltava River. We finished our walking tour at the famous astronomical clock, which is a wonderful piece of very old engineering, and watching it ring. After our guide left us, we had free time to go eat and explore the city of our own accord. We had a wonderful time eating lunch and exploring the city, watching street performers, and just generally enjoying Prague. That night in Prague we ate dinner on a boat on the river! It was a really wonderful to eat dinner and watch Prague pass us by. Of course there was a lot of singing and dancing going on, and we even did the Haka, with the help of the New Zealand exchange students. After our beautiful evening on the river, we had the night to head into the city and explore the nightlife Prague is most famous for. I and many others headed to Karlzony Lazne, the biggest music nightclub in central Europe. This club had five stories, each with a different theme of music. We danced up a storm all night, singing at the top of our lungs.

EURO TOUR; part 2. Cracow

very very early next morning we set off for Cracow, Poland. I had never really thought of going to Poland, but it ended being one of the nicest places. We arrived after a long bus ride, (600km) and after quickly dumping our things in our hotel rooms, we headed out for a traditional Jewish dinner in a restaurant situated in the former bathhouse of the historic Jewish quarters.The dinner was absolutely delicious, and what made it such a memorable experience were three musicians playing traditional Jewish music as we ate.After, we got to explore the city on our own, and being exchange students, we headed out to a bar. Then, we caught a taxi back to our hotel. After dinner we had the option of returning to the hotel, or remaining in the city and making our own way home.

The next morning, although it was cold and rainy, we headed off for our guided city tour. We saw many wonderful things, beginning back at the Jewish Quarters, which I learnt was the birthplace of Roman Polanski, among others, and heading then up to Cracow Castle. This castle was built in an Italian style, and was incredibly beautiful. We eventually made our way down in the main square of the city, which was when we came into the truly beautiful part of Cracow. The main square is one of the biggest and oldest in all of Europe, and contains many amazing buildings with beautiful architecture. This church was by far the most ornate and colourful which we saw in all of Europe. We also then had a lunch of traditional Polish dumplings before spending a little more time out exploring the city. That afternoon we left Cracow to visit the concentration camp Auschwitz. I cant even explain what i felt going there. Its so hard to imagine, that all these terrible things happened, right where you are standing. The weather was terrible, which i think made the experience more real. We were walking through mud, freezing, and complaining, but what the people who lived here went through, was so much worse. Hearing peoples stories, and what had happened to them, everyone was very emotional. The bus trip back, no body spoke. I think we all are a little different after visiting Auschwitz.

EURO TOUR; part 1. Berlin

we headed off for Berlin, Germany on the 30^th of June. We crossed 3 countries, and drove about 420km. First night in Berlin we had a traditional German dinner of bratwurst and sauerkraut, with a dessert of apple strudel. The sauerkraut was not really my favourite food i have ever tried, and not many of the other exchangees either. After dinner we had time to go out and explorethe city. the group i was with decided to 'try the local brew'.

Next day we began with a guided city tour, and a visit to the Berlin Wall documentation centre. After this we had free time to explore the city by ourselves. We first headed to the Brandenburg Gates, and saw an amazing group of street dancers perform. Then 3 other girls and I, went and had sushi for lunch and looked in some shops. I wish i did some more touristy type things, but i guess i will just have to go back one day. we then headed back to the hotel, had dinner and got ready to go out. there were a few girls who decided to get crazy dressed up (in cow cuits, and others in crazy coloured shirts) but that made it more fun. we headed to a bar, and made our own dancefloor. it was a fun night :)

april

Kiruna- Kiruna is pretty much at the top of Sweden (in the artic circle). i went there with about 60 other exchange students for 4 days. It was a really really fun time. We visited the ice hotel, drove snowmobiles, saw the northern lights, went into the iron-ore mine, went to Norway for the day and heaps of other stuff.

Switzerland- I went to Switzerland for a week with my host family to visit my host brother who is on exchange there. We visited Thun, Bern, Baden, Luzern and some smaller towns along the way. We also went to Schilthorn, the restaurant 3000m up int the alps where a 007movie was filmed. Switzerland was really pretty, and i enjoyed it very much

Easter and Sista April- Easter was very different to Australian easter. we boiled eggs, then painted them, then ate them later. They don't eat as much chocolate eggs as we do :( The weather was REAL warm, it was so so so nice. Sisita April is the 30th April, and its when you 'welcome the spring'. We had dinner at another australian girls house, and then went to a massive bonfire. it was really cool. after we just chilled at a friends house and had a sauna and such.

I was too lazy to write about everything i've done, so i just made a video. enjoy :)




Its coming up to my 4 month mark, and it has gone very quicck!
love meg :)

Stockholm weekend.

so, this weekend i went to Stockholm. It was the second time i had been there, and it was amazing fun. Friday- after school, i came home and quickly got ready and caught the train with my host Mum. We then caught the metro, but we were going different places, so she told me where to get off. I got off at the right stop, and then had no idea where to go ( i was staying at my host sisters, and i had only been there once). But after waking around for about 10mins, i found where i had to be. It felt so good knowing i did it all by myself. We went to Jensens Bofhus for dinner (danish steak house) and it had an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet; my wendys skills came in handy :) We then caught the metro home and headed off to bed. Saturday- i caught the metro into Stockholm central station, and had to try find my friends at McDonalds. i had no clue where to go, and when there are so many people around you, running, talking in a different language, it can be a little stressful. i eventually found it, all by myself again, and we sat there for a while, and then headed out into the city. We really didnt do much, just met up with other people and had fika and stuff. i wanted to go to the English Shop, were they sold tim tams, but it was closed when we got there. I also tried Max (fast food, like McDonalds, but 1000x better. it was so good). Lachlan, Oscar, Jacqui (Australians), Riley (USA) and I went back to Oscars place, and got ready to go to Experience. It was an +16 event, where there was live djs and the biggest laser show in Scandinavia. It was so so so much fun. we just danced, and met a few people. I would love to go to the next one. When we left, we had to RUN to the metro, and we got there just in time to get on it. When Jacqui, Lachlan and I got to our next train, it had been cancelled, so we ended up having to figure out different busses and trains to take. We found our way close to where Lachlan lived, but then had to walk, as we got lost. We made it home though. But what was supposed to be 40mins, took us about 2 hours. Sunday- we got into the city about 9:30, and nothing opened til 11. so we sat in a cafe, and fika. We then met up with some of the other exchange students in Stockholm, walked around for a bit, then had more fika. We then split up, and Oscar, Riley, Lachlan, Jacqui, Thomas and I went into the city, and walked around. We had more fika, and Jacqui bought a phone and camera, as she lost hers at Experience. We seriously did nothing all day, except walk around and have fika. i got the train home around 6:30, and slept pretty much the whole way. Now, i am packing for my trip to Kiruna with rotary. Its gonna be a lot of fun, and i can't wait to see everyone :)

past few weeks.

so, i haven't blogged since Falun, and thats because i haven't been doing a whole lot.

the day after Falun was just a chilled one, i didn't do anything. it was quite nice. The next day i met up with Amanda, bought Ben & Jerrys (YUUUUUUUUUM) and went back to her house and watched Napolean Dynamite, i love that movie so so much. After, we went for a walk through the park, and practised a little swedish. Malin (my host sister, who was looking after me while my host parents were in Austria skiing) picked me up, and we went to Valbo Kopcentrum (a shopping mall in Valbo) and just had a look around. I think we spent most of the time looking at shoes. We ended up having pizza for tea, mine was bolognese sause and onion. it was sooo good. we then ate buiscits that Malin and I baked, Ben & Jerry's, kladdkaka, and lollies. it was a lovely night.

It was back to school on monday, and i don't really do much. I've been starting to copy down the work off the board, then translating it, but it takes a long time. it gives me something to do though. The teahers are getting some work for me to do in english which will be good.

Last Friday night, it was Fredriks birthday, so we went over to his apartment and had some dinner, then i went to Olivers (from Perth) and Axels, Erik and Kollar were also there, and we had a sauna and swam in the pool. The boys were running out into the snow, but i wasn't game enough to do that. Oliver, Erik and i watched 127hours, and then i ended up staying the night. Lief picked me up the next day, and we drove home, then got ready to go to a Classic Music concert. I wasn't to excited about it, but it was better then i thought. We then went to the neightbours house for dinner, then i walked to the bus with Dan, and i caught the bus into town and met up with Malin. We went to the movies and saw Black Swan. It was alright, a little strange. We then got McFlurrys and i caught the bus home. Sunday i didn't do anything exciting. then it was back to school monday.

Laila, Leif and I went and had pizza one night for dinner(when you get pizza here, you don't share, you get a full one to yourself.) , and then Laila and I went to the ice hockey. its getting close to finals, so everyone was rough and there were lots of fights. Our team ended up loosing, and the other team scored a goal in the last 2 mintues to make it 2-1.
I also dyed my hair one night, and it didnt turn out as i expected, but im getting used to it.
Friday after school, i went shopping with caitlin, and bought a few things, and had fika (first milkshake i've had in Sweden :D ) and then headed home as i was cooking dinner for my host mum (Lief was away). I was making parmi's but they didnt have the right chicken, so i used niggets. haha, it turned out really well though, quite proud of myself. friday night was a boring one, i sat on the couch all night, but then Billy Madison came on TV and it made it okay.

Saturday i went into town and met up with Jossi. We did some shopping, and ate McFlurrys in the sun. it was sooo lovely to sit in the sun. Then we did some more shopping, and over the 2 days i spent about 1000kr (about $150, woooops!). I then caught the bus back into Skutskar, and met Alex at his bus stop and went to his house for his birthday. we watched a movie and had more Fika, and then one of his friends came over. We chilled for a while, then went to his friends where we played PS3, i kicked their butts in COD and Fifa :P i ended up getting home around 11ish, and then was off to bed.

the snow has been melting, YAAY, but that means puddles everywhere. hopefully it wont be around much longer now that the sun is up.

So thats what i've been doing. i probs have forgotten to put stuff in, but oh well.

looove meg :)

p.s. sorry i keep changing the theme of my blog, my nana complains that she can't read it. Love you nanny b.

Falun.

Okay, i haven't blogged in a while, and a lot has been happening, but i'll just write about the orientation camp i went on this week.
if you dont want to read everything, all you need to know is that i had the funnest time, and made the most amazing friends.

Friday 26th feb-i had an hour of school, so after this i went home and got the final stuff for falun. I met Malin at the train station with my bags, and she showed me what trian to catch. The trip was just over an hour, so it went pretty quick. when i got to the station, i had no idea who was picking me up, (not very well planned), so i waited at the platform until i was the last one there, then i went and sat inside. i had my rotary jacket, so i put that on, hoping it would make me easier to recognise. after an hour or so of waiting, i got the number of the lady who was picking me up, and we had got the train times wrong. when she got me, we waited for Jacqui and Lizzi (Australians), and then we went back to where we were staying, an old gaol! Our rooms were on the 3rd floor, so we had to take our bags up the stairs, but luckly Max (New Zealand) and Pat(Australia) were there to carry them up for us, how lovely :) we sat around the kitchen table, and ate brownies, until Dennis (Australia) and Agustina (Argentina) arrived. we had tea, then went for a walk around Falun. when we got back we watched a movie, then bed.

Saturday 27th feb-we had breaky and got ready to travel to Leksand for the day. The trip took an hour or so. when we got there, we went to the "winter festival". We did pulka, snow graffiti and some people tried snow shoes and when on the snow mobile. After this, we went back to the hall for lunch. We waited around there for a while, then walked back to the winter festival place, where we were volunteering to lay out 15000 candles to raise money for children with diabities. This took an hour or 2, then we went and had fika. After fika we went shopping, and bought LOADS of lollies, then went to the ice hockey. It was played outside, so it was very cold. Leksand and Mora were playing. Max, Jacqui, Dennis and I were going to More, and the others went for Leksand. The losing team had to drink a drink that the winning team made :) The pre-game entertainment was a heavy metal rock band playing, with fire and smoke going off around the stage. The effects were cool, but not the music. The game was really close at the start, but Mora ended up winning (YAAY!). There were fireworks, and everything after the game which was pretty cool. We eventually found our way back to the place we were having tea, and then headed back to Falun. We watched a movie then went to bed.

(i'm going to start cutting down on details now, ha)

Sunday 27th feb- each moring was getting harder and harder to get up in the morning. we had breakfast, then had a swedish lesson (which was the main reason for the camp!). Then we went to Falu Koppargruva (old copper mine), and we had a tour. We only went down 97m. It was pretty interesting. At one point, then turned off every source of light, and you couldnt even see your hand even if you put it infront of your face. someone decided it would be funny to randomly attack me, so i was screaming and laughing as the guide was talking. After the tour, we went pulka (tobogganing). It was so so much fun. After this, we went back to the place we were staying, and had tea, and after, we decided it was time to make the drink. it had vegemite, o'boy, soya sauce, grass, salt, pepper, beetroot, milk and hot water. we gave it to pat first, thinking he would only take a small sip, but he drank the whole glass! it was so gross/funny. after this we chilled a little, then went to bed.

Monday 28th feb- we got up, had breaky, got ready- same as every morning, and then we travelled to Mora, about an hours drive. When we got there, we went to the we had a look around the town, and then headed to the dalahast factory. we had a little tour, and watched them make the horses. everyone is hand made and painted, and they make about 500 a day. we did a little shopping, then headed into town for a rotary lunch. while there, we got presented with a dalahast each (right after buying some), but these ones said 'Mora rotaryklubb' on them. After, we watched some of the Vasaloppet (90km cross country ski race), and then got to go up into the radio box thing. We then had a tour of the museum, and after this drove back to Falun and got our stuff ready to go for a swim (indoor pool of course). Max didn't have anything for swimming, and i didn't have my wallet to pay to get it, so i thought i'd be a nice person and wait with him in the lobby thing. it was fun for 30mins or so, then he fell asleep (and snored), so i was just chilling by myself. After swimming, we went back, had tea, then just chilled again.

Tuesday 1st march- in the morning we had some swedish lessons, and then got ready to go ice skating on a lake. i was quite scared, as last time i went skaing i got HUGE blisters. but i actually did very well, and i didnt fall over once. i was a bit scared that the ice would break, but when i found out it was 40cm thick, i was fine. After we came home, we went for a walk, just like we did the first night. and then had some swedish lessons. We chilled again, watched a few more movies, then everyone except Jacqui, Max and I stayed up. we went into the kitchen and ate junk food, yum yum. Max ended up getting sick, so we stayed up with him til about 4am, then jacqui and i went to bed.

Wednesday 2nd march- our last day :( we had swedish lessons in the morning, and then went to get packed and clean our rooms. after we had lunch, we said our goodbyes, which was kinda sad. Rikki, Max and I were on the same train, so we chilled at the station for a little. When we got to our stop, we said goodbye to max, and then went back to rikkis house (my second host family) and had something to drink then fell asleep.

i love every single one of you. i'll never forget all the memories we made, about how fecking dicgusting we all are, how we spent over 300sek just on lollies and biscuits, our funny youtube sessions. we will catch up soon. Falun Friends 2011 xoxo