Reset search
Europe Study AbroadEurope Study Abroad
SatelliteEdit route

Europe Study Abroad

August - December 2023
Fall 2023 Westmont Study Abroad Trip woohoo!!
Northern Ireland, London, Germany, and Slovakia Read more
+1
  • 23footprints
  • 9countries
  • 115days
  • 264photos
  • 13videos
  • 6.0kkilometers
  • 1.4kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    31
    Day 35

    Goodbye London😓

    October 1, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Just a few pictures to share from the end of London. First, the NFL game I attended (AHHHHHH IT WAS SO FUN). It seriously was a blast. I had a great seat, sat by myself but was surrounded with amazing fans that were super invested in the game which is truly the best, and I got a T-shirt. The whole area was decked out in Jacksonville stuff so I became a Jaguars fan for the day. My last full day in London was on October 6. It really was a blast. I went with Sarah and Mitchell to a test kitchen in Notting Hill. We paid 7 pounds to get in, they seat you in a bookstore, and then you are served a 3 course meal. They try new recipes daily. It was super good and such a fun experience. Then we went shopping at Harrods… love. I found the most amazing pair of sunglasses that I decided to pass on as it would be a poor financial decision. BUT I did buymyself a curling iron because I was tired of my straight hair. Unfortunately I will now forever have a curling iron that plugs into a UK outlet. So I will always need an adapter to use it hahaha but I’d say it was worth it. Lastly, I put together a very short video (a “reel” as we like to call it) of some clips from London for you to see.
    Overall, London was fantastic. It seriously is the most beautiful city with beautiful people. It is big, there are so many things to do, so many different types of food, great public transportation, and we really lucked out with great weather for our time there. I MUST go back soon. The next update will detail how our group finally made it to Berlin after a cancelled flight:) stay tuned    Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    1
    121
    Day 41

    Ich lebe in Berlin

    October 7, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Hallo! I’ve been living in Berlin now for one week (it is currently October 14) so here is my summary and review of things so far:
    1. Our flight was cancelled from London to Berlin, so we ended up having to change airports. That turned travel day into a really really long day.
    2. Our first day in Berlin, one of our leaders Chris bought us all croissants and cappuccinos. Super yummy. Also I live directly above a coffee shop so I go there all the time. Today I ordered completely in German and answered all the baristas questions in German (what kind of milk, for here or to go, cash or card, etc). Yay.
    3. We went on a 3 hour boat tour of Berlin. No boat tour should ever be that long in my opinion. It was also all in German so I understood nothing except at the end when they said auf wiedersehen.
    4. That night we went to the light festival where they light up all of the big buildings including political buildings and museums.
    5. I was in a horrid mood the first few days here so that is why there is a picture of me sitting by myself on the tram. I put in my airpods and listened to music to make myself happier. Sometimes just hearing other people’s voices made me annoyed. That is definitely a me problem and not a them problem. And it’s better now.
    6. We travelled to Leipzig and went to a peace prayers service at a church for the 34th anniversary of a peaceful protest march where 70,000 people marched on october 9, 1989 for the freedom of those in east germany. Soon after, the berlin wall fell. The church played a big part in this. We couldn’t understand the German service, but did participate in Vater Unser (the Lord’s prayer) since we all know it in German now.
    7. We found peppa pig on the Berlin Wall
    8. Döner is so yummy it’s my new favorite food. Sarah loves it too.
    9. I found out my host family for my German Homestay (I’ll be there for 3 weeks starting October 23 while I’m studying at the German language school). I included a picture that I think is her. She’s a personal trainer. Her husband is a judge. They have a private lake. Apparently I have the rich family homestay. We shall see.
    10. Tyler comes to visit on Wednesday, and Im stoked. He’s meeting Sarah, Mitchell, and I in Prague. We’ll be there through Sunday for our fall break. Also today marks 5 years of us dating woohoo🤍    Read more

  • TravelerEurope Study Abroad
    Day 50

    End of Germany Pt 1

    October 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    October 16- Grace, Rory, and I travelled to our homestay just to make sure that we didn't have any trouble finding the house. Our home is located an hour northwest of central Berlin. The small town is beautiful. It is quiet, full of trees, and our house backs up to a lake (actually a sea). We will live there starting October 22.
    October 17- our group travelled to Ravensbrück Concentration Camp Memorial. This camp was not a death camp, but was a work camp that primarily hosted women. I included 6 pictures of the camp. It is eerie how extremely beautiful the location is. There is a lake, there are many trees, and it is very quiet. It is hard for me to imagine the horrors that took place here. I was especially moved by the exhibit they had on women guards at the concentration camps. I found myself asking How? and Why? It is deeply sad and angering, but I was glad to visit the site after learning more about German history.    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

  • 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
    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
    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 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
    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
    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

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