Reset search
Halle BooherHalle Booher
SatelliteEdit route
traveled in 9 countries Read more
  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    Day 108

    Barcelona, Spain

    December 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I was so blessed to be able to relax these past few days with two of my favorite people: my Mom and my Aunt B. I was SO excited to see them and spend time with them. I arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday and met them at our hotel. The hotel was beautiful and located on a busy shopping street with many nice stores and restaurants all around. The first day we found a place to get tapas, enjoyed a coffee in the hotel lounge, and had a yummy Italian dinner. The next few days we went to a basilica, the spa, and walked around the pier. The bright blue sky and palm trees reminded me so much of Santa Barbara. On Saturday we took a day trip to Montserrat. It was about an hour and a half train ride up the mountain to the little village. We went to the monastery, the museum, and went out to the viewpoints. It was good to get out of the city for a few hours and to enjoy nature and some beautiful architecture. Overall, our time was really nice. We ate some good food, met a lot of wonderful people, and I started transitioning out of speaking German. It still is hard for me to say "no" instead of "nein", but maybe those German phrases will just become a part of my vocabulary haha:) Right now I am at the airport ready to head home. Pray for safe travels today and that I make it home when I am supposed to. So far so good, but you know airports... anything could happen. Love you all and so happy to see many of you soon.Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    Day 92

    Tschuss Deutschland :(

    November 27, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    I just finished my last few weeks in Germany and concluded my study abroad program. It was such a fun and meaningful end to our time together. We visited another church, a memorial for those executed during World War II, went to lots of Christmas markets, ice skating, visited Dresden, celebrated Isabella's birthday, and hung out one last time together as a group. Also Sarah and I started Gossip Girl. And we had lots of papers due so we became frequents at St Oberholz coffeeshop. Lastly, we read our final reflection essays to the class and it was so nice to hear memories from the trip and how each person was shaped by their experience. I would love to share mine or anything you all would like to know about my trip! There are so many stories to share. Right now I am in Barcelona with my mom and Aunt B. It was so so so so good to see them I am still smiling. We are enjoying a few days here and then heading home. They have asked to be featured on here so there will be a Spain update coming soon... :)Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    Day 89

    Quick trip to Vienna

    November 24, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    After Thanksgiving, I travelled with the rest of the seniors (Sarah, Mitchell, Isabella, and Tyler) to Vienna, Austria for the weekend. Sarah booked us a lovely airbnb which worked out great and was just north of the city. Upon arrival, we quickly found lunch at an Italian restaurant. Yum. That evening we went to a smaller Christmas market and then had dinner at a sushi restaurant. I am so happy to say that I ate the sushi and even liked it a little. I know my family will be shocked. Back at the airbnb we watched a Christmas movie, the newish grinch movie (so cute) and then headed to bed. On Saturday, Isabella and I went on an adventure to find brunch. We walked through the snow to get there. It was SO cold and SO windy. I realized I should have bought a hat and a scarf. After brunch we found a super cute tea house and got a schokocinno which is hot chocolate and a cappuccino combined. It was so yummy. Then we met up with the rest of our group at the Rathaus Christmas market. It was adorable and it snowed while we were there which was magical (especially for Isabella who had never seen it snow before:) Then Isabella and I headed to Belvedere Castle because she really wanted to see the painting "The Kiss." It was a beautiful art museum. My stomach was feeling upset (sad) so I went home early and ended up watching part of the Ohio State vs Michigan football game with Mitchell and Sarah. Then Isabella and I got Indian food delivered to our house and watched Mall Cop with everyone. It was a great relaxing, and minimally adventurous weekend. Now we are back in Berlin for the rest of the trip!Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    111
    Day 88

    Thanksgiving in Bratislava

    November 23, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    We had a happy Thanksgiving in Slovakia this past week. We were back in the capitol city, Bratislava, and were able to celebrate there. It was sort of strange to be out of the country on Thanksgiving since other places obviously don't celebrate it. But we were able to make the most of what we had. In the morning I visited the Bratislava Christmas market. This was super exciting and was the first time it felt like the holidays. They had booths set up with food and drinks and they were setting up Christmas lights all around the square. I tried the holiday punch which was nice and warm and then headed over to the nearby university where we had Thanksgiving dinner. In Slovakia, it is traditional to have goose feasts so that is what we did. It was definitely not your normal Thanksgiving food, but it sufficed. We had goose, baked apples, potato salad, pumpkin pasta and these crepe looking things. Then we did some karaoke and our hosts, Alena and Juraj got our professors a cake since this is their last year of leading the study abroad program. It was sweet time together but I was really missing home. And I am really looking forward to seeing you all in just a few short weeks!Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1111
    Day 82

    The Tatras

    November 17, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    Next we made our way to the Tatra Mountains and stayed at a nice hotel/ski resort. Here I got to RELAX. I booked my massage and enjoyed the pool, sauna, and room service. We also had a couple of planned events. One day we went to a facility near the Ukraine/Slovakia border and learned about an organization that helps refugees. Another day we went to an integrated village where Roma and nonRoma live. It was fascinating to learn about, and it was a pleasure to meet so many lovely people. I have genuinely been shocked by the level of racism and sexism here in Slovakia. Remind me to tell you all about the Easter Monday tradition… We made a stop at the Tatra Tea store/factory? It’s a Slovakian specialty. We also went to a library with SUPER OLD books- it was really cool but no pictures allowed. Finally we visited a wooden church. Oh and then also our train caught on fire :)Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    Day 80

    banska stiavnica, slovakia

    November 15, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Our next stop in Slovakia was Banska Stiavnica. This is an old mining town. Here, we saw an old castle, went into a mine, and learned about the "7 wonders of Banska Stiavnica." To be honest, it was kind of boring.Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    11
    Day 76

    Bratislava, Slovakia

    November 11, 2023 in Slovakia

    And now to the next new country! Slovakia! Definitely somewhere I never thought I would visit, but I am glad to be here. We spent the first few days in Bratislava- the capitol. Our hotel is super cute and is in the old city. There are a few different restaurants just across the street that have been scrumptious. I've also ordered eggs Benedict at about 5 different places. It must be a favorite here. While in Bratislava we visited a Jewish cemetery, a castle, and even had a class with Slovakian students.Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    Day 71

    End of Berlin

    November 6, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    The last few weeks of Berlin were great. I saw a few great museums- the Jewish Museum and the People/Body Museum were super cool. It definitely started to look like fall. The leaves all changed colors and the weather got much cooler. For our PE activities we went bowling and also to a trampoline park. I included a picture of Rory, Grace, and I with our host parents. They were really quite sweet. It was sad to say goodbye. And GLS ended! I am definitely not a German pro BUT I will say that I can understand it much better now. I at least have the ability to try and communicate with people in German now.Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    Day 68

    Szczecin Poland

    November 3, 2023 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We went to Szczecin, Poland for one weekend during German Language School. It was a chance for our group to regather and spend some time together. Szczecin is a very interesting place... there wasn't a whole lot to do there, but it was the perfect place to rest. During our homestays, we were up to 2 hours away from friends, so it was nice to have the weekend all in the same hotel. I ate lots of yummy food (meat and potatoes which I had been craving), and I spent lots of time with friends- shopping and exploring the city. Also I have accidentally not been taking pictures so I stole some of these from my friend Isabella.Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    121
    Day 52

    Fall Break in Prague

    October 18, 2023 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Oct 18-22 was our fall break, and I took a trip on the train with Mitchell and Sarah to Prague. We had a horrible time getting there. We had 2 connections. We missed the first which put us on a later 2nd train. About 10 minutes before this train departed we realized that it wasn’t in the train station we thought it was in. This had us RUNNING around the station with our suitcases asking everyone in sight if they spoke English and if they knew where our train was supposed to be. Somehow, we found the right location and turns out our train was replaced by a bus…. so we took a random bus across the border from Germany to Czechia. It was super sketch. Note: this is all while we were trying to write papers due at 9pm that night. Then our last train took us to Prague where Tyler met us! He got in earlier that day, and we were so happy to see him!
    Our time in Prague was pretty relaxed. We saw a few sights like the Prague Castle, the National History Museum, and the Charles Bridge. We ate some awesome food and found a couple of cool cocktail bars. Overall our time was good and restful. I don’t know if I’d want to go back to Prague, but I’m glad I got to see it once. It was very beautiful, but I think I like the other European cities I’ve been to more. Also you have to pay for water at every restaurant (tap water isn’t an option or you still have to pay for it), so that seems unreasonable.
    I was sad for Tyler to leave, but I’m so glad that he was able to come visit. It was super fun to welcome him to Europe for the 1ST time ever. I hope we get to explore more places together in the future!    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English