Amanda's Adventures Abroad Part 1

I feel as though I have to begin all my posts with an apology.  This time, it's not just because I haven't written a post in two months, but because I didn't write a post in the two months I was traveling abroad and actually doing something exciting with my life.  I'm sorry.

Now that that's out of the way, though, I can make up for those two months.  It likely would've been more exciting if I could've written about all these things when they happened, but fortunately/unfortunately every day of my Study Abroad experience was pretty much packed.  Whether I was travelling, doing art, or visiting museums, I really don't think I had enough time to write good, engaging blog posts.  So now that I'm home and not in school just yet, I figured I'd use this rare free time of mine to fill people in on what's been going on in my life these past two months.  (If you're really curious, I did make a blog video for my family's blog every week - another reason I had no time for this blog - and you can view those over at greenegrassgrows.blogspot.com)

So, for those who might not know, I spent most of my summer in Europe this year on a study abroad.  The majority of our time was spent in Berlin, Germany, but we also did a fair amount of travelling before and after.  It was a life-changing experience and I want to share with you guys some of the highlights and the things I learned.

Paris

The program began on June 23 in Paris, France.  After almost three days of flying, I finally arrived to our hotel around midnight that night.  Just getting there was rather exciting.  I'm not exactly a frequent flyer and I've never flown by myself before.  Luckily I met up with two other students from the group in the Salt Lake airport and it turned out they had nearly the same flight plans as I did.  It was definitely a blessing as there were some complications with one of the flights and it ended up being delayed by about 7 hours, I believe.  And then, when we finally arrived in Paris, my bags had gotten lost and our taxi driver didn't speak any English and had no idea where our hotel was.  I have no idea how I would've dealt with those situations if I'd been completely by myself.  

We eventually made it to the hotel and with time enough  to get a decent-ish amount of sleep before the real adventures began.  

Paris was crazy.  Everyday we were running from museum to cathedral to cafe to museum.  We were given assignments that very first morning at 8 am.  I was overwhelmed, but in a good way.  Yes, I complained about all the museums we were required to visit and the responses we had to write and the art we had to make, but I secretly enjoyed it all.  Mostly.  What real complaining I did was stimulating complaining.  It got me thinking about art and why I did it and why other people do it.  I began to discover a little more about who I really was and what my own thoughts were on art.  At the time I had no clue that in the next several weeks I was about to start unearthing some passionate opinions and crazy ideas.  In Paris, though, the only major discover I made was my love for architecture.  The wrought iron!  The shingles!  The rain spouts!

 And some of this stuff has been there for centuries!  Before machines or cranes or computers.  I have such respect for old buildings.  You can feel the love and the time and the effort that was required.  I wish things were still made this way.

Now, before I drag on for far too long, I need to remember I only spent four days in Paris and I still have many more cities to cover.  If you're interested, I made a much better video about my trip getting out to Paris and all the things I did there on our family blog.

Brussels

The land of waffles and little peeing boys.  Brussels was a major change from Paris.  Paris is certainly well worth the visit, but all the art and history crowded into it's borders accounts for some crowded streets and non-too-cheap prices.  In Brussels I felt like I could breath again.  This may be in part because we were there for only one whole day and that day happened to be a Monday.  You see, museums don't open on Mondays.  I know it's a strange thing for an artist to say, but I was relieved.  I finally had a chance to wander and window-shop, without too much worrying about how many museums my professors wanted me to see or what paintings I was supposed to look at.  We were free to be nothing but tourists.  (Well, I was supposed to be working on art, which I did somewhat, but perhaps not as much as I could have . . .)

In Brussels I was finally able to wander.  In Paris the group I was with always had an agenda (which was good for me, otherwise I would've gotten nothing done), we always had to be here or there and had to get places as quickly as possible.  I don't like travelling that way.  I tend to shut down and sometimes get a little moody.  But in Brussels there were no agendas.  On Monday morning we went to a flea market where I bought some old books to use in collage and an adorable miniature French-Dutch dictionary (I don't know either of those languages, I was merely enchanted by the look of it).  Afterwards some of us split off from this larger group we had been with and meandered around the city.  Towards later afternoon/evening we tried to find a high point in the city to watch the sunset.  On our way, we discovered a cathedral.  It was beautiful.  So we went in and discovered, to our luck, that there was an organ and choir concert just about to start.  I don't like taking pictures inside cathedrals and churches very much - it feels disrespectful - but I had to pull out my phone and record a little of the concert.  The way the sounds echoed in that enormous space filled your soul and resonated in your chest.  I'm not one for noise, I prefer silence and quiet, but I could've sat there and listened for hours.

Unfortunately we didn't have hours and we still wanted to see the sunset.  Plus, the concert ended whether I wanted it to or not.  So we continued our search for some place tall and we found some stairs above a public garden.  A peaceful ending to a peaceful day.

A final note on Brussels: where Paris enchanted me with it's flying buttresses and colorful gables, Brussels got me with its doors and surprisingly charming graffiti.

Absolute favorite door.  Ever.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, as much as I don't like to admit, was most definitely not love at first sight.  The canals and buildings were pretty, but the streets were crowded and dirty.  It wasn't as bad as Paris, though, but I think I was mostly unhappy with Amsterdam because it wasn't Monday anymore.  We suddenly had a grocery list of museums we had to go to again.  We had an agenda.  We started off on a bad note getting on the wrong form of public transportation and ending up who knows where.  I was kind of excited to get lost for the first time, but my companions not so much and as I have learned, stress and unhappiness is catching.

The first day was mostly unpleasant for me.  And it's mostly my own fault.  But there's nothing that some good food won't cure.  And that's just what we got for dinner that night.  

By the next morning I was ready to give Amsterdam a second chance and it did not disappoint me.  We hit the major museums that day.  The Rijksmusem and the Stedlijk.  I thoroughly enjoyed both and my eyes began to open to the wonders of contemporary art.

One of my favorite pieces from the Stedlijk.  I don't remember the artist, though . . . :(

Amsterdam turned out to be all right in the end.  I'm glad we went there and I'd like to go again, someday.  

Well, I was hoping to fit my whole trip into one blog post, but I'm afraid that isn't going to happen.  Two months is a long time and I don't want to rush the good bits.  So, hopefully, I'll put the rest of my incredible journey into Part 2 for tomorrow.  

To be continued . . .