Happy New Year!!

January 1, 2009

Happy New Year and a late Merry Christmas to you all! It’s been a while since I last filled you in on what’s happening in my life. Let me begin…

The last few weeks of class were busy with finalizing projects and papers before I headed off for the Christmas holidays. Classes ended on December 19th, with final exams looming over our heads when we return in January. It’s been a change to not have finals before I leave for Christmas break, but no worries, I haven’t opened a book since I stepped foot out of St. Andrews. I guess I can thank the lack of space while traveling for that!

December 19th began my Christmas journeys around Europe. I left with 4 friends to embark on Bratislava, Slovakia first. We landed the evening of the 19th to this very pleasant city. We spent the next day there touring the entire city with a great tour guide. Through lots of research I was able to find a very affordable private 3-hour tour for the 5 of us, and it was well worth it! Never would I have learned so much about this city full of history without Eva the Tour Guide! Bratislava is a mixture of many colors of buildings, with lots of history as well. Remains from the days of Communism can still be seen on some buildings. It has a gorgeous town centre that gives the city a lot of character as well.

That evening, after a full day in Bratislava, we boarded the train for the one-hour ride to Vienna, Austria. We spent the next two days discovering this very beautiful city. Our days were filled with sitting in coffee houses enjoyed the great coffee culture Vienna is known for, touring the Hapsburg Palace and learning about the Hapsburg Dynasty, hearing the Vienna Boys Choir on Sunday morning at mass, being talked into hearing the Vienna Imperial Orchestra one evening, visiting the Sigmund Freud museum (which is at the site of the original house that he and his family lived in), many other museums, and enjoying more coffee. We couldn’t get enough coffee, as it has become our means of staying warm in all these cold cities we have visited! I must say though, there was not a more perfect time to visit Vienna. Nearly every corner we turned we would discover a new Christmas market. They were so much fun, as we would walk around sipping mulled wine to stay warm, eating typical Viennese cuisine and looking at the local produce and gifts for sale.

After our time in Vienna, our group split up, while two of my friends continued traveling, one went to meet their family in Italy, and I went with another friend back to England to experience a British Christmas. The holidays have been really nice. I didn’t realize how much I had missed being in a home for the past 3 months! It was nice to be able to relax, sit on a COUCH (something you don’t find often in University accommodations in St. Andrews!), and visit parts of southern England. Throughout the past week I’ve experienced what Boxing Day (the Brit’s day after Christmas) sales are like, visited Windsor Castle as well as the town of Windsor, and visited Cambridge University. The weather has been quite cold in the South of England, which makes me nervous for my return north to St. Andrews! Yesterday the temperatures didn’t reach above freezing! I am not exaggerating when I may not leave my room for days at the time when possible in St. Andrews in January and February!
Today begins the next leg of my journey around Europe. I’m off to Brussels, Belgium to meet back up with my friend, Meg, who is coming from Rome. We will meet back up with Emily and Lee (who are currently in Paris) tomorrow once they arrive in Brussels. We will see the city over the next two days, including sampling their famous chocolates and other delicacies as well as sites, and then venture to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where we will meet up with another friend as well as celebrate Emily’s birthday. On the agenda for Amsterdam includes the Ann Frank Museum, the Van Gogh art museum, admiring the architecture and canals, and whatever else we may find.

It’s back to the real world on January 7th, as when we arrive back in St. Andrews, the studying must begin hard core for the next two weeks. There’s a lot of studying to be done, as finals have to be passed, before we can embark again on more travels. We have a three week break between the end of finals and when the 2nd semester begins in February, and I can assure travels will abound!! Hopefully a ski trip will be in my future, as well as a trip to Italy, which has already been planned.
I look forward to hearing from you all, as you are very missed and loved! Please know that the invitation is open to anyone and everyone who wants to experience a bit of Scotland or any part of Europe! I’m always up for visitors!! Hope you all have a wonderful 2009!