It was sad to leave The Hague this morning - as I told you in my previous post. We gave our gifts to our host family (I was so happy that my mugs and plat I had brought as gifts remained perfectly in tact - go mum's packing skills!) and they were well recieved. We even taught our host sister how to drink tea through a Timtam. Exciting times being a tourist indeed. The train trip itself was uneventful although we did enjoy catching up after spending a week all but completely separated from one another.
After arriving in Amsterdam and checking in, we were set lose in the city. Our group grabbed lunch and then split up. I did look into going to the Anne Frank Museum, but the line would have taken half an hour to get through and it wasn't going to be worth the time. So my group explored and shopped. The city is beautiful, but, as we discovered, very similar all over. By the time it came to come home, we weren't sure how to get back and arrived back late because we were told to take the wrong tram and ended up going in the wrong direction. How helpful. But it was okay in the end, we made it back, an hour after we had set off for home.
One member of our delegation has already left, which is sad. Tomorrow we go our separate ways as some of us (such as myself) head off and others continue in Europe on private vacation. THIMUN 2011 has been an amazing experience. I promise I will post again soon.
Elyse
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Days 19-21: The Hague!
Sorry for the wait, the THIMUN conference has been so full on I haven't had much time to do any blog posting. Mostly it's my fault and I do appologise, but I'll treat you now to a quick summary of my past three days (it has to be quick because I have to go catch a train to Amsterdam for my last full day before we fly out tomorrow :()
So, Wednesday was only a half day of debate, we finished debate before lunch and after lunch the Australian Delegation went out to the ICJ and met with Sir Christopher Greenwood, British Judge on the ICJ. He was an intelligent and very funny man who discussed the role of his job and how the judges were elected, as well as having a go at us Australians about the Ashes. It was an honour to meet him and learn just a small piece of the wisdom he had to offer. A very entertaining afternoon.
Despite a plan to celebrate Australia Day with the entire delegation, I did not feel too well and so decided to stay a home and get some much needed sleep. It was disappointing not to go out and enjoy The Hague whilst celebrating our national holiday, but I felt better in the morning for it.
On Thursday we had a full day of debate and I was lucky enough to be seconding the last resolution of the day. The issue of having set topics to write on had become very apparent as different resolutions came forward with the same solutions and clauses to ones we had debated and failed earlier. By the end of the day, most delegates were tired and my resolution I was seconding just happened to be the resolution they sought comic relief from. It was annoying that delegates proposed "funny" amendments on this resolution and I was disappointed that the resolution did not pass, but there was nothing more I could do. I was having an easier time that some of the delegates from Australia, so I thank my lucky stars for that.
Friday was the last day of debate and saw me seconding another resolution that experienced similiar problems to all the other resolutions on the topic and failed, sadly. When the two sub-commissions joined together we debated resolutions that had passed through one of the sub-commissions and the other delegate from the Commission on Crime and Punishment, Sarah, proposed one of them which was passed! Congratulations to her, I am so proud of her. She put in a lot of effort and the success was well-deserved.
Last night also was the final dance and our last night with some of the great people who have become allies, friends and occassionally hillarious enemies (in a good way) over the past week. The Australian Delegation left the final dance early with our hosts to go out and enjoy their company for what will sadly be the last time. I have met some amazing people and I now thank Facebook for its existance so I can keep in touch with them for what I hope will be forever. Well, at least until we meet again.
That is all there is to it, I have packed my bags and now look towards catching a train to Amsterdam. Tomorrow we fly home from what has been an amazing experience. Those who have participated in THIMUN before have not lied: THIMUN does change lives.
So, Wednesday was only a half day of debate, we finished debate before lunch and after lunch the Australian Delegation went out to the ICJ and met with Sir Christopher Greenwood, British Judge on the ICJ. He was an intelligent and very funny man who discussed the role of his job and how the judges were elected, as well as having a go at us Australians about the Ashes. It was an honour to meet him and learn just a small piece of the wisdom he had to offer. A very entertaining afternoon.
Despite a plan to celebrate Australia Day with the entire delegation, I did not feel too well and so decided to stay a home and get some much needed sleep. It was disappointing not to go out and enjoy The Hague whilst celebrating our national holiday, but I felt better in the morning for it.
On Thursday we had a full day of debate and I was lucky enough to be seconding the last resolution of the day. The issue of having set topics to write on had become very apparent as different resolutions came forward with the same solutions and clauses to ones we had debated and failed earlier. By the end of the day, most delegates were tired and my resolution I was seconding just happened to be the resolution they sought comic relief from. It was annoying that delegates proposed "funny" amendments on this resolution and I was disappointed that the resolution did not pass, but there was nothing more I could do. I was having an easier time that some of the delegates from Australia, so I thank my lucky stars for that.
Friday was the last day of debate and saw me seconding another resolution that experienced similiar problems to all the other resolutions on the topic and failed, sadly. When the two sub-commissions joined together we debated resolutions that had passed through one of the sub-commissions and the other delegate from the Commission on Crime and Punishment, Sarah, proposed one of them which was passed! Congratulations to her, I am so proud of her. She put in a lot of effort and the success was well-deserved.
Last night also was the final dance and our last night with some of the great people who have become allies, friends and occassionally hillarious enemies (in a good way) over the past week. The Australian Delegation left the final dance early with our hosts to go out and enjoy their company for what will sadly be the last time. I have met some amazing people and I now thank Facebook for its existance so I can keep in touch with them for what I hope will be forever. Well, at least until we meet again.
That is all there is to it, I have packed my bags and now look towards catching a train to Amsterdam. Tomorrow we fly home from what has been an amazing experience. Those who have participated in THIMUN before have not lied: THIMUN does change lives.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Day 17-18: The Hague!
Whooo! Two days later I get another opportunity to fill you in on the frustrations of THIMUN. It is very different to Australian MUNing which has caused confusion and a bit of stress amongst our delegates.
So the first day was in full swing by 9am, when we recieved our briefing on the rules of procedure and the room was divided up into our separate resolution topics so we could be diplomatic, merge resolutions and the like because the chair said they would only accept two resolutions on each subject. So you can imagine my horror when pretty much my ENTIRE commission came over to Youth Crime with me. The worst part was, diplomacy really wasn't the main aim of the resolution discussions, proposing was. People gave the impression that if they didn't propose then their life would be basically over. Wow, talk about pressure. A group of us merged resolutions and I said that we should draw the proposer and seconder out of a hat to make it sort of fair (although people complained behind the proposer's back to me afterwards, cause being little girls is really diplomatic) and I was drawn out as seconder! So that's very exciting, the resolution went to Approval Panel today but I'm not sure how it went. I will find out tomorrow.
So that was yesterday at THIMUN in a nutshell, although my host sister, Laura, took me and Honeylyn out with her friends who were also hosting, so most of our delegation spent a night out with our hosts. It was a lot of fun, although we did end up getting locked into a train because the trains are entirly automated and when they shut down, they lock up so you can't get out. Much awkwardness all around. Other than that I made some really great friends who I have also spent today enjoying the company of. Tonight we are spending a quiet night in as tomorrow we are meeting with an ICJ judge and then celebrating Australia day, so we need to get our rest.
Today also saw the start of debate. So firstly, we sat through over 100 very repetitive opening speeches, all one minute long. Some people had some great things to say, others rambled on pointlessly, which was disappointing. I had not been allocated a speech, but the other girl, Sarah, who is in my committee and delegation was. Unfortunately, she had to take her resolution to the Approval Board during the opening speech time and so would miss her speech, meaning I got to deliever her speech instead. So, despite Sarah's misfortune, I was very pleased with being able to deliver a speech to the committee.
Today we debated two resolutions, one on youth crime and the other on cultural differences affect the concept of crime and punishment. There is no speakers list a THIMUN, speakers are called from the floor. This means that you may hear four speeches in a row from the 'for' arguement on the resolution and occassionally, no one from the against, purely because no one knows who is on what side of the debate until they start speaking. Today, in the youth crime resolution, the resolution was passed because we only had about one speech that was against the resolution. This meant easily swayed votes were tipped towards the 'for' side anyway. This was unfortunate, because I was against the resolution. After this, I started sending out notes to create an alliance of countries from Africa to make sure that a resolution is not passed that will be of detriment to Africa again. Whoo, politics!
That's all for now,
Elyse
So the first day was in full swing by 9am, when we recieved our briefing on the rules of procedure and the room was divided up into our separate resolution topics so we could be diplomatic, merge resolutions and the like because the chair said they would only accept two resolutions on each subject. So you can imagine my horror when pretty much my ENTIRE commission came over to Youth Crime with me. The worst part was, diplomacy really wasn't the main aim of the resolution discussions, proposing was. People gave the impression that if they didn't propose then their life would be basically over. Wow, talk about pressure. A group of us merged resolutions and I said that we should draw the proposer and seconder out of a hat to make it sort of fair (although people complained behind the proposer's back to me afterwards, cause being little girls is really diplomatic) and I was drawn out as seconder! So that's very exciting, the resolution went to Approval Panel today but I'm not sure how it went. I will find out tomorrow.
So that was yesterday at THIMUN in a nutshell, although my host sister, Laura, took me and Honeylyn out with her friends who were also hosting, so most of our delegation spent a night out with our hosts. It was a lot of fun, although we did end up getting locked into a train because the trains are entirly automated and when they shut down, they lock up so you can't get out. Much awkwardness all around. Other than that I made some really great friends who I have also spent today enjoying the company of. Tonight we are spending a quiet night in as tomorrow we are meeting with an ICJ judge and then celebrating Australia day, so we need to get our rest.
Today also saw the start of debate. So firstly, we sat through over 100 very repetitive opening speeches, all one minute long. Some people had some great things to say, others rambled on pointlessly, which was disappointing. I had not been allocated a speech, but the other girl, Sarah, who is in my committee and delegation was. Unfortunately, she had to take her resolution to the Approval Board during the opening speech time and so would miss her speech, meaning I got to deliever her speech instead. So, despite Sarah's misfortune, I was very pleased with being able to deliver a speech to the committee.
Today we debated two resolutions, one on youth crime and the other on cultural differences affect the concept of crime and punishment. There is no speakers list a THIMUN, speakers are called from the floor. This means that you may hear four speeches in a row from the 'for' arguement on the resolution and occassionally, no one from the against, purely because no one knows who is on what side of the debate until they start speaking. Today, in the youth crime resolution, the resolution was passed because we only had about one speech that was against the resolution. This meant easily swayed votes were tipped towards the 'for' side anyway. This was unfortunate, because I was against the resolution. After this, I started sending out notes to create an alliance of countries from Africa to make sure that a resolution is not passed that will be of detriment to Africa again. Whoo, politics!
That's all for now,
Elyse
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Day 16: THE HAGUE!!
Boo-yeh! Today has been wonderously exciting, full of meeting new people and sleeping in (yes!) What has been also the saddest and least eventful day yet was also full of joy and thrills. Biggest joys of the day include:
- meeting my host family
- waking up at 7, knowing after an 8am breakfast I got to go back to bed
- meeting other delegates
- knowing that the conference starts tomorrow
Saddest Moment: Saying Goodbye to Rob and Matt (our topdeck tour boys) as our tour with them has ended. :(
So this morning my alarm went off at 7am, so I got up and packed my bags - managing to do so effectivly enough to be able to no longer have to carry around a H&M bag to fit in all my clothes (Yes! A great triumph there!) I then went down to breakfast and enjoyed my last hotel buffet breakfast for a little while at least. Not to worry. I returned to my room and spent my morning napping and watching Bob L'éponge (SpongeBob Squarepants) on French TV. That show is weird in English, but on French it just takes on a whole new level!
At noon, we left Brussels on our last bus trip. Most of this was taken up by THIMUN briefings, hightening the excitment as we entered the Hague. Hugs, presents and thankyous were shared as we sadly said goodbye to Rob and Matt. Matt has been a fabulous driver and both have been really amazing people over the past 17 days. Unfortunately, I never managed to be able to balance that lightsaber for 30 seconds, I might be able to do ten if I am lucky. They were great entertainment, very intelligent and friendly and definately made my first trip to Europe and enjoyable one. We will miss you guys.
After many group hugs, we entered the THIMUN conference area to be registered. During this time, we introduced ourselves to other delegates and started a bit of lobbying. Of the almost 15 delegates from my Special Commision on Crime and Punishment, all bar one of them has written a resolution on Youth Crime. It looks like there will be intense lobbying on my part if I want my Youth Crime Resolution to be passed. Oh well, all the more fun to be had tomorrow.
We got on the last bus to the British School of the Netherlands and met with our host family. Can I just say, they are amazing. After spending only an hour, at a generous estimate, in their company, I already feel right at home. They have been so nice and welcoming. I will definately be enjoying going home at the end of a long conference day.
So excited for tomorrow
~Elyse
- meeting my host family
- waking up at 7, knowing after an 8am breakfast I got to go back to bed
- meeting other delegates
- knowing that the conference starts tomorrow
Saddest Moment: Saying Goodbye to Rob and Matt (our topdeck tour boys) as our tour with them has ended. :(
So this morning my alarm went off at 7am, so I got up and packed my bags - managing to do so effectivly enough to be able to no longer have to carry around a H&M bag to fit in all my clothes (Yes! A great triumph there!) I then went down to breakfast and enjoyed my last hotel buffet breakfast for a little while at least. Not to worry. I returned to my room and spent my morning napping and watching Bob L'éponge (SpongeBob Squarepants) on French TV. That show is weird in English, but on French it just takes on a whole new level!
At noon, we left Brussels on our last bus trip. Most of this was taken up by THIMUN briefings, hightening the excitment as we entered the Hague. Hugs, presents and thankyous were shared as we sadly said goodbye to Rob and Matt. Matt has been a fabulous driver and both have been really amazing people over the past 17 days. Unfortunately, I never managed to be able to balance that lightsaber for 30 seconds, I might be able to do ten if I am lucky. They were great entertainment, very intelligent and friendly and definately made my first trip to Europe and enjoyable one. We will miss you guys.
After many group hugs, we entered the THIMUN conference area to be registered. During this time, we introduced ourselves to other delegates and started a bit of lobbying. Of the almost 15 delegates from my Special Commision on Crime and Punishment, all bar one of them has written a resolution on Youth Crime. It looks like there will be intense lobbying on my part if I want my Youth Crime Resolution to be passed. Oh well, all the more fun to be had tomorrow.
We got on the last bus to the British School of the Netherlands and met with our host family. Can I just say, they are amazing. After spending only an hour, at a generous estimate, in their company, I already feel right at home. They have been so nice and welcoming. I will definately be enjoying going home at the end of a long conference day.
So excited for tomorrow
~Elyse
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Day 14-15: Paris and Brussels
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I needed the sleep as this morning we were leaving at 6am, so sleep was more important than blogging. But I can give you a summary of the past two days whislt I have a lot of free time here in Brussels. Also, I am posting now because Hagen was bugging me to do so. Shout out to Hagen!
So Paris yesterday was characterised by a diplomatic meeting with the Deputy Commissioner to Paris, whose main role is to be Australia's Ambassador to UNESCO. In that meeting we also met and spoke to the ambassador to OECD and one of the lower ranked diplomats in the mission to Paris, UNESCO and OECD. It was just by coincidence that we happened to meet with the Ambassador to Paris, head of the delegation as he was coming out from a breakfast meeting. He walked past and just chatted to us, asking us where we were from and about THIMUN, it was really exciting. I didn't expect that the ambassador would do something like that (I imagined he'd be too busy with furthering Australia's national interests to have time for a chat with 17 high school students.) The meeting itself was really interesting, discussions on how to get a role as an australian diplomat and the overlapping roles of international organisations such as UNESCO and OECD were in depth and detailed.
After the meeting, we broke off for lunch, after which we went to the Palace of Versailles. This place is absolutely huge, I was hardly surprised the peasants revolted after they were taxed so heavily to build a palace like this. I mean, people were living in poverty and starving to death whilst the King and Queen had separate bedchambers and gold all through their palace. Let's not get started on the servants they would have needed to keep the place clean. It was just obscene.
It was with sadness that we left Paris, although most of us slept away our sorrows on the bus after getting up before 5am to get ready for Brussels. Upon our arrival in the new city, we enjoyed a lovely morning tea and diplomatic meeting with Dr. Brendan Nelson, Australian Ambassador to Brussels, NATO and the EU. Aside from the incredible and funny stories Dr. Nelson shared with us, I was amazing by his house and the caramel slice that was served for morning tea. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Dr Nelson and his wife, something I would never have been able to do if I had not gone on this trip.
Originally, we were going to grab lunch and go meet with the International Crisis Group, however the representative we were going to be meeting with called in sick and our meeting was cancelled. Instead, we got to experience Brussels, which naturally meant chocolate shops and going to see the Manneken Pis (statue of a little boy weeing.) Brussels is a beautiful city with some amazing shops (Tin Tin!) so today was definately a lot of fun.
Tomorrow we leave for THIMUN, at long last. I am very excited, if somewhat nervous, to begin the actual conference. I will be meeting with my host family tomorrow as well. Wish me luck.
Elyse
So Paris yesterday was characterised by a diplomatic meeting with the Deputy Commissioner to Paris, whose main role is to be Australia's Ambassador to UNESCO. In that meeting we also met and spoke to the ambassador to OECD and one of the lower ranked diplomats in the mission to Paris, UNESCO and OECD. It was just by coincidence that we happened to meet with the Ambassador to Paris, head of the delegation as he was coming out from a breakfast meeting. He walked past and just chatted to us, asking us where we were from and about THIMUN, it was really exciting. I didn't expect that the ambassador would do something like that (I imagined he'd be too busy with furthering Australia's national interests to have time for a chat with 17 high school students.) The meeting itself was really interesting, discussions on how to get a role as an australian diplomat and the overlapping roles of international organisations such as UNESCO and OECD were in depth and detailed.
After the meeting, we broke off for lunch, after which we went to the Palace of Versailles. This place is absolutely huge, I was hardly surprised the peasants revolted after they were taxed so heavily to build a palace like this. I mean, people were living in poverty and starving to death whilst the King and Queen had separate bedchambers and gold all through their palace. Let's not get started on the servants they would have needed to keep the place clean. It was just obscene.
It was with sadness that we left Paris, although most of us slept away our sorrows on the bus after getting up before 5am to get ready for Brussels. Upon our arrival in the new city, we enjoyed a lovely morning tea and diplomatic meeting with Dr. Brendan Nelson, Australian Ambassador to Brussels, NATO and the EU. Aside from the incredible and funny stories Dr. Nelson shared with us, I was amazing by his house and the caramel slice that was served for morning tea. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Dr Nelson and his wife, something I would never have been able to do if I had not gone on this trip.
Originally, we were going to grab lunch and go meet with the International Crisis Group, however the representative we were going to be meeting with called in sick and our meeting was cancelled. Instead, we got to experience Brussels, which naturally meant chocolate shops and going to see the Manneken Pis (statue of a little boy weeing.) Brussels is a beautiful city with some amazing shops (Tin Tin!) so today was definately a lot of fun.
Tomorrow we leave for THIMUN, at long last. I am very excited, if somewhat nervous, to begin the actual conference. I will be meeting with my host family tomorrow as well. Wish me luck.
Elyse
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 13: Paris - FREE DAY!
Whoooo! Hi guys, just got back in, so excited and slightly overwhelmed. Just spent a whole day in Paris! It was amazing. I come bearing words and pictures of my day and all the exciting things we did. I am tired though, by the time I reached the Notre Dame I was pretty much overstimulated and hardly taking it all in. But enough rambling, lets start from the beginning....
We started the day as a whole group by going to the Eiffle Tower. We were disappointed by the fact that the top of the tower was closed because it is winter and the wind and cold just makes it unsafe, however, we did decide to take the lift up to the second floor. Below are photos of me at the Eiffle Tower and of the view from the second floor. The sun was rising and the rays of light through the clouds just looked amazing.
So after that we broke off into our groups. I was in a group which included Claire, a seasoned Paris traveller with a plan for our entire day. We began by catching the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe where we visited the tomb of the unknown soldier and posed for many pictures.
After the Arc we walked along the Champs Elysee (meaning the "fields of peace", but I prefer "Elyse the Champ" :P) There we did some shopping and grabbed a bite to eat before getting on the Metro to go to the Louvre.
So after a bit of a shopping spree and a short metro trip, we arrived at the Louvre. Today I appreciated the fact i was under 18 as entry to most things is free for children (under 18) which meant that my trip to the famous at museum was free. It was amazing! There are many pictures I could show you, but lets just skip to the most important one:
That's right. Front row at the Mona Lisa. It actually looks awesome in real life, the images you normally see are yellow tinted so she looks sickly and bland. I was pleasently surprised at how pretty it actually was. And yes, the eyes do follow you around the room; I checked.
After the Louvre we went to see Monet's Water Lilly Paintings at Orangerie. There's no really good pictures to go here, just photos of the paintings in the oval rooms. Let me tell you though, it was very pretty. The works were fabulous and made me wish I was creative.
We were disappointed as our next trip was to the Paris Opera House, which was unfortunately closed for renovations. The Phantom was obviously busy today and we sadly decided to hit the shops for some Paris fashion. One of the stores there had a dome as a roof that was abolsutely gorgeous. See:
Yes, that is the roof of the local department store. Really makes Pitt Street Mall look second rate aye? Such is my continual realisation that Australia has very little to show for its age.
After we expressed our inner shop-a-holic, our group travelled to the Notra Dame (Church of our Lady.) We were originally going to stop at Saint Cathedral, however this place to was closed for renovations. So we went straight back to Notra Dame and spent a lot of time there, taking the place in. I even sat through part of a sung mass, which was interesting as it was in French so I didn't have a clue what was going on. I didn't get any decent photos of the inside, which is sad, but the images couldn't have captured the place appropriately.
On our way home Matt, our bus driver, took us into the Louvre courtyard to show us how gorgeous it is at night. he wasn't lying. Seriously, this photos I have to share with you:
I know I am owing in other images and photos of me in other cities, but I don't have the time to share them with you tonight. Tomorrow we meet with the Australian Mission to Paris, which is very exciting. Hopefully, I can share photos i owe tomorrow night. Until then,
Elyse
We started the day as a whole group by going to the Eiffle Tower. We were disappointed by the fact that the top of the tower was closed because it is winter and the wind and cold just makes it unsafe, however, we did decide to take the lift up to the second floor. Below are photos of me at the Eiffle Tower and of the view from the second floor. The sun was rising and the rays of light through the clouds just looked amazing.
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| See - I'm actually there |
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| The view |
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| The sun through the clouds |
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| The Arc before we went through the underpass to get onto the roundabout it is located on |
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| Yeah Boiz |
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| Me on the stairs in Swarovski |
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| Disney Store! |
That's right. Front row at the Mona Lisa. It actually looks awesome in real life, the images you normally see are yellow tinted so she looks sickly and bland. I was pleasently surprised at how pretty it actually was. And yes, the eyes do follow you around the room; I checked.
After the Louvre we went to see Monet's Water Lilly Paintings at Orangerie. There's no really good pictures to go here, just photos of the paintings in the oval rooms. Let me tell you though, it was very pretty. The works were fabulous and made me wish I was creative.
We were disappointed as our next trip was to the Paris Opera House, which was unfortunately closed for renovations. The Phantom was obviously busy today and we sadly decided to hit the shops for some Paris fashion. One of the stores there had a dome as a roof that was abolsutely gorgeous. See:
Yes, that is the roof of the local department store. Really makes Pitt Street Mall look second rate aye? Such is my continual realisation that Australia has very little to show for its age.
After we expressed our inner shop-a-holic, our group travelled to the Notra Dame (Church of our Lady.) We were originally going to stop at Saint Cathedral, however this place to was closed for renovations. So we went straight back to Notra Dame and spent a lot of time there, taking the place in. I even sat through part of a sung mass, which was interesting as it was in French so I didn't have a clue what was going on. I didn't get any decent photos of the inside, which is sad, but the images couldn't have captured the place appropriately.
On our way home Matt, our bus driver, took us into the Louvre courtyard to show us how gorgeous it is at night. he wasn't lying. Seriously, this photos I have to share with you:
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| Louvre by night |
Elyse
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day 12: Paris plus Photos!
So, having fallen far behind in photos it is time for a photo update, now that I have time and free wi-fi to spend on uploading pretty pictures for all to see. This is by no means all of the pictures I intend to upload here, but it will be all for tonight because I do need to get some sleep. Promise lots more tomorrow (although mostly of my free day in Paris.)
These next two are from the inside of the Hungarian Parliament - lots of gold.
Now for a quick Paris summary. We didn't do much in Paris today, mostly a driving tour. It took us 6 hours to reach the city of love from Geneva, and it was a pleasent trip. We watched Finding Nemo, had a lecture of International Law and finished resolution presentations. I have a lot more work to do on mine, mostly just making it seem very shiny for when I have to lobby it during the actually conference.
The girls (and some of the boys) got really excited when we finally reached Partis. Personally, I can't see what all the fuss is about. It's a crowded city that gets by mostly on its reputation and on the fact the French surrendered to protect some beautiful buildings. We did a quick driving tour to get out bearings to be ready for a our free day tomorrow, stopping at the Eifle Tour. It was very pretty lit up, but still, it wasn't as exciting as some girls made it out to be. Maybe I'm just cynical. Or practical. Whatever.
This evening we enjoyed dinner with the THIMUN delegation from New Zealand. They are a lovely delegation with some great people to talk about things like sport (I got a hard time for support Manly for the first time in over a month.) I had a great night and can't wait to see them again at THIMUN. Not long to go now - so excited.
Until tomorrow, post Paris free day
Elyse
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| Starbucks - Budapest |
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| Hungarian Parliament - the outside |
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| Crown of the former rulers of Hungary |
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| Palace Gardens in Vienna |
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| Vienna Palace |
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| Austrian Parliament - Statue of Athena |
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| Vienna Starbucks |
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| Church at Salzbourg |
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| Salt Castle - Salzbourg. Walked up there! |
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| Salzbourg Chess Match |
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| Inside the Salt Castle |
The girls (and some of the boys) got really excited when we finally reached Partis. Personally, I can't see what all the fuss is about. It's a crowded city that gets by mostly on its reputation and on the fact the French surrendered to protect some beautiful buildings. We did a quick driving tour to get out bearings to be ready for a our free day tomorrow, stopping at the Eifle Tour. It was very pretty lit up, but still, it wasn't as exciting as some girls made it out to be. Maybe I'm just cynical. Or practical. Whatever.
This evening we enjoyed dinner with the THIMUN delegation from New Zealand. They are a lovely delegation with some great people to talk about things like sport (I got a hard time for support Manly for the first time in over a month.) I had a great night and can't wait to see them again at THIMUN. Not long to go now - so excited.
Until tomorrow, post Paris free day
Elyse
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Days 10 - 11: Geneva
Since the internet hasn’t been the greatest here in Geneva, I have only been able to make one blog post using my left over Franks to pay for it. Annoyance, but hey, I need to spend my cash on something and I can’t fall behind again. So here is two days packed into one.
Yesterday was a traveling day. We enjoyed presentations of other people’s resolutions (mine will be presented tomorrow as we head towards Paris.) It was very exciting and interesting to see what people had chosen to write about. When we arrived in Geneva it was very misty and a little cold. We visited the International Confederation of the Red Cross (ICRC) Museum and met with a very interesting guide. He spoke English as a second or perhaps third language but was very enthusiastic and eccentric to say the least. I really enjoyed his company and his knowledge and entertainment as we discovered the history of the ICRC. There were some great artworks with moving and thought provoking messages. A very interesting tour indeed.
For dinner we were treated to African. I’ve never had African food before so it was a very different experience to what I have normally had. I tried Chicken and Onions in interesting sauce with rice. It was a bit spicy for my taste, but still a lovely meal. The atmosphere was very exciting. Another interesting note was a couple of men who entered the restaurant selling roses. This has happened once before on our trip and it was very interesting, as this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Australia. Another wonder of Europe.
Today was a day jam-packed with meetings and tours. We started the day very late (thankfully) and left to experience a tour of the UN building in Geneva. This building was originally constructed for the League of Nations (the organization preceding the UN) and now serves as like a second home for the UN. After this we met with a former UNYA member who now is serving a 3 month internship with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She was a fascinating and inspiring speaker.
After this our busy day continued with a visit to Australia’s Permanent Mission to Geneva. It was amazing to hear some Australian accents after all this time. Both of the diplomats were on their first posting and had come into the post via different routes. The Deputy Commissioner had once been out on a boat writing a PhD on humpback whales whilst the other diplomat came through the graduate programs that are set up in Australia.
Finally, at dinner, we met up with a relative of one of our delegates who works in the contagious diseases crisis area of the World Health Organisation. He was a very impressive man and a thought provoking speaking and I am thrilled to have met him. I am now very tired from a long day, although I am looking forward to Paris, where we are heading tomorrow.
Hopefully, better internet. Until next time
Elyse
Yesterday was a traveling day. We enjoyed presentations of other people’s resolutions (mine will be presented tomorrow as we head towards Paris.) It was very exciting and interesting to see what people had chosen to write about. When we arrived in Geneva it was very misty and a little cold. We visited the International Confederation of the Red Cross (ICRC) Museum and met with a very interesting guide. He spoke English as a second or perhaps third language but was very enthusiastic and eccentric to say the least. I really enjoyed his company and his knowledge and entertainment as we discovered the history of the ICRC. There were some great artworks with moving and thought provoking messages. A very interesting tour indeed.
For dinner we were treated to African. I’ve never had African food before so it was a very different experience to what I have normally had. I tried Chicken and Onions in interesting sauce with rice. It was a bit spicy for my taste, but still a lovely meal. The atmosphere was very exciting. Another interesting note was a couple of men who entered the restaurant selling roses. This has happened once before on our trip and it was very interesting, as this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Australia. Another wonder of Europe.
Today was a day jam-packed with meetings and tours. We started the day very late (thankfully) and left to experience a tour of the UN building in Geneva. This building was originally constructed for the League of Nations (the organization preceding the UN) and now serves as like a second home for the UN. After this we met with a former UNYA member who now is serving a 3 month internship with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She was a fascinating and inspiring speaker.
After this our busy day continued with a visit to Australia’s Permanent Mission to Geneva. It was amazing to hear some Australian accents after all this time. Both of the diplomats were on their first posting and had come into the post via different routes. The Deputy Commissioner had once been out on a boat writing a PhD on humpback whales whilst the other diplomat came through the graduate programs that are set up in Australia.
Finally, at dinner, we met up with a relative of one of our delegates who works in the contagious diseases crisis area of the World Health Organisation. He was a very impressive man and a thought provoking speaking and I am thrilled to have met him. I am now very tired from a long day, although I am looking forward to Paris, where we are heading tomorrow.
Hopefully, better internet. Until next time
Elyse
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Days 8 -10: Salsbourg, Munich, Neuschwanstein and Strasbourg
Sorry for the couple of days silence. The free wi-fi dried up and I decided to skimp on paying for internet so I could spend more of my Euros on the wondrous places I still have left to see. Instead, you get treated to an ultra-long blog post written gradually as I have travelled. This way, you still get the same quality but it all comes at once. Exciting? Yes! I will date the entries for you so you can unstand when they were written.
However, there is much sadness hanging over this blog post. My laptop has begun to show its age and refuses to connect to wi-fi. It is the second casualty in the trip, following my Ipod wiping itself of all 784 songs on the third day. As such, unless my laptop decides to fix itself (trust me, I have tried everything, it does not pick up the wi-fi I am on right now and I am sitting right next to it.) I will have to rely upon the good will and spare time of other delegates to borrow a laptop off them. Blog posts may become more like this one, unfortunately.
Day 8: Salzboug and Munich
It was sad to be leaving Vienna after only such a short stay. So much to see, so little time. We were all exhausted and slept our way through most of the morning bus trip until we arrive in Salzbourg, home of The Sound of Music. One of our facilitators, Jackie, showed off her experience by being our actual tour guide because Rob had not seen the movie. Truth be told, I can't remember the movie so most of the "this area was in the film in the scene where..." was totally lost on me. But hey, still an amazing city.
Once we were let lose into the city, I joined a group who climbed the highest and steepest hill in all of Salzbourg to reach the Salt Castle. The castle was absolutely incredible, we could see all of Salzbourg and it was just massive. Although, I think the most impressive part of the castle was the walk up. If you want to lose weight and get fit, try walking it. It actually hurts. A lot. I am going to regret that in the morning. Once we returned to normal altitude, our group grabbed some food at a little market stall. Hot tip I should have shared with you earlier: Market style food stalls (like ones set up on streets) are a great place to get a cheap lunch with the same awesome food quality. There were many laughs as our delegation continued to stumble our way through native languages.
On the bus trip to Munich our tours for the next day were drawn. The two tours were the concentration camp Dachau and Mad King Ludwig's castle, Neuschwanstein. I have loved Neuschwanstien since I first saw a picture of it in year 5 (2004) and I have been hoping to get lucky and get into that tour. Lady Luck smiled upon me today and I will be getting up bright and early tomorrow to go see Neuschwanstien. There will be many pictures I promise you - not to mention souvenirs.
When we arrived at the hotel we met some very interesting people. After last night's drunken Slovenians trying to chat up one of the girls in our delegation, we had thought we had seen it all. We were wrong. These guys looked and acted tough. Most of us have a fear of being out in the corridors alone because of our neighbours. I think the whole group were very happy to get out of the hotel.
For dinner we visited the legendary Hofbrauhaus, home of the one-litre beers. I don't drink, so whilst many of the others (mostly the boys) were attempting to out perform each other by drinking those beers, I had a very average meal. I think the beer is why it is so legendary, as are the traditional German outfits worn by waitresses and some customers. I have since discovered I do not like drunk people, even those slightly tipsy, who are rowdy. It is almost a fear of them. I am so glad no one in my room tonight decided to drink. Until tomorrow....
Day 9: Munich - Neuschwanstein
Hi again! I didn't write last night. I have a killer cold that has my sinuses clogged up. Last night I felt so bad I couldn't think straight and just crawled into bed and slept. Still, don't feel too crash hot now, but I need to write sooner rather than later.
SO it turns out, I did regret walking up that hill. Not only was I really sore this morning but when we arrive at Neuschwantstein we had to walk up another really big hill to get to it. That hurt, a lot more than yesterday and I'm not sure whether I'm sore from being sick or from climbing hills. Probably a bit of both.
Neuschwanstein is a beautiful place, picturesque to say the least. There we snow on the mountains and the air was so clean. A waterfall flowed through the forest and it was just captivating, this white castle in such a landscape. It looked like it actually belonged there. There aren't may pictures of Neuschwanstein itself as photos of the interior were prohibited. I think the saddest part of the castle is that it was never finished, as Ludwig died after spending only 10 days in the bed chambers inside Neuschwanstein.
When we returned, we enjoyed some free time around Munich. Unfortunately, my friend in Munich, Christina, was busy when we had the free time so I was unable to meet up with her. Despite this disappointment I did have a lot of fun. For dinner some people went back to the Hofbrauhaus but I went with another group to an amazing bistro/cafe. When I got home I crawled into bed and slept. Good times.
Day 10: Strasbourg
aToday was a terrifying, hilarious and overall interesting day. It all started in the lift when I was hit on, along with Jackie and one of the other girls in the delegation by two drunk German men. It was very scary and I can assure you I was exceptionally pleased to get out of that hotel this morning. My fear of drunks has definitely been confirmed.
The bus trip was a productive one indeed. We all worked on our resolutions for the actual THIMUN conference and received an amazing lecture from Jules, another of our facilitators, on the European Union. Today marked the beginning of our educational part of the tour with a meeting with the staff of on of the UK delegates on the Parliament of the European Union. It was an incredibly interesting lecture and the next thing we knew we were in France.
Strasbourg is a lovely city, very quiet. However, I feel so out of place as everyone else in the delegation speaks a little french whilst I am totally in the dark. Not to mention my fashion sense has been called into question. No offence to the French Fashion culture, but who cares what I wear, provided it isn't overly revealing and serves the purpose of keeping me warm, what does it matter if I wear a designer coat or polar fleece?
We met with the staff this evening over dinner. It was interesting to hear some interesting anti-EU policies and some very humorous remarks. We debated policy and belief and it was all extremely intellectual and engaging. A lot of fun indeed.
Well it is late, I should be going now. Lovely to chat. Geneva tomorrow :D
Elyse
However, there is much sadness hanging over this blog post. My laptop has begun to show its age and refuses to connect to wi-fi. It is the second casualty in the trip, following my Ipod wiping itself of all 784 songs on the third day. As such, unless my laptop decides to fix itself (trust me, I have tried everything, it does not pick up the wi-fi I am on right now and I am sitting right next to it.) I will have to rely upon the good will and spare time of other delegates to borrow a laptop off them. Blog posts may become more like this one, unfortunately.
Day 8: Salzboug and Munich
It was sad to be leaving Vienna after only such a short stay. So much to see, so little time. We were all exhausted and slept our way through most of the morning bus trip until we arrive in Salzbourg, home of The Sound of Music. One of our facilitators, Jackie, showed off her experience by being our actual tour guide because Rob had not seen the movie. Truth be told, I can't remember the movie so most of the "this area was in the film in the scene where..." was totally lost on me. But hey, still an amazing city.
Once we were let lose into the city, I joined a group who climbed the highest and steepest hill in all of Salzbourg to reach the Salt Castle. The castle was absolutely incredible, we could see all of Salzbourg and it was just massive. Although, I think the most impressive part of the castle was the walk up. If you want to lose weight and get fit, try walking it. It actually hurts. A lot. I am going to regret that in the morning. Once we returned to normal altitude, our group grabbed some food at a little market stall. Hot tip I should have shared with you earlier: Market style food stalls (like ones set up on streets) are a great place to get a cheap lunch with the same awesome food quality. There were many laughs as our delegation continued to stumble our way through native languages.
On the bus trip to Munich our tours for the next day were drawn. The two tours were the concentration camp Dachau and Mad King Ludwig's castle, Neuschwanstein. I have loved Neuschwanstien since I first saw a picture of it in year 5 (2004) and I have been hoping to get lucky and get into that tour. Lady Luck smiled upon me today and I will be getting up bright and early tomorrow to go see Neuschwanstien. There will be many pictures I promise you - not to mention souvenirs.
When we arrived at the hotel we met some very interesting people. After last night's drunken Slovenians trying to chat up one of the girls in our delegation, we had thought we had seen it all. We were wrong. These guys looked and acted tough. Most of us have a fear of being out in the corridors alone because of our neighbours. I think the whole group were very happy to get out of the hotel.
For dinner we visited the legendary Hofbrauhaus, home of the one-litre beers. I don't drink, so whilst many of the others (mostly the boys) were attempting to out perform each other by drinking those beers, I had a very average meal. I think the beer is why it is so legendary, as are the traditional German outfits worn by waitresses and some customers. I have since discovered I do not like drunk people, even those slightly tipsy, who are rowdy. It is almost a fear of them. I am so glad no one in my room tonight decided to drink. Until tomorrow....
Day 9: Munich - Neuschwanstein
Hi again! I didn't write last night. I have a killer cold that has my sinuses clogged up. Last night I felt so bad I couldn't think straight and just crawled into bed and slept. Still, don't feel too crash hot now, but I need to write sooner rather than later.
SO it turns out, I did regret walking up that hill. Not only was I really sore this morning but when we arrive at Neuschwantstein we had to walk up another really big hill to get to it. That hurt, a lot more than yesterday and I'm not sure whether I'm sore from being sick or from climbing hills. Probably a bit of both.
Neuschwanstein is a beautiful place, picturesque to say the least. There we snow on the mountains and the air was so clean. A waterfall flowed through the forest and it was just captivating, this white castle in such a landscape. It looked like it actually belonged there. There aren't may pictures of Neuschwanstein itself as photos of the interior were prohibited. I think the saddest part of the castle is that it was never finished, as Ludwig died after spending only 10 days in the bed chambers inside Neuschwanstein.
When we returned, we enjoyed some free time around Munich. Unfortunately, my friend in Munich, Christina, was busy when we had the free time so I was unable to meet up with her. Despite this disappointment I did have a lot of fun. For dinner some people went back to the Hofbrauhaus but I went with another group to an amazing bistro/cafe. When I got home I crawled into bed and slept. Good times.
Day 10: Strasbourg
aToday was a terrifying, hilarious and overall interesting day. It all started in the lift when I was hit on, along with Jackie and one of the other girls in the delegation by two drunk German men. It was very scary and I can assure you I was exceptionally pleased to get out of that hotel this morning. My fear of drunks has definitely been confirmed.
The bus trip was a productive one indeed. We all worked on our resolutions for the actual THIMUN conference and received an amazing lecture from Jules, another of our facilitators, on the European Union. Today marked the beginning of our educational part of the tour with a meeting with the staff of on of the UK delegates on the Parliament of the European Union. It was an incredibly interesting lecture and the next thing we knew we were in France.
Strasbourg is a lovely city, very quiet. However, I feel so out of place as everyone else in the delegation speaks a little french whilst I am totally in the dark. Not to mention my fashion sense has been called into question. No offence to the French Fashion culture, but who cares what I wear, provided it isn't overly revealing and serves the purpose of keeping me warm, what does it matter if I wear a designer coat or polar fleece?
We met with the staff this evening over dinner. It was interesting to hear some interesting anti-EU policies and some very humorous remarks. We debated policy and belief and it was all extremely intellectual and engaging. A lot of fun indeed.
Well it is late, I should be going now. Lovely to chat. Geneva tomorrow :D
Elyse
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Day 7: Vienna
So it is really late and I'm in a Wombat's Hostel so i am downstairs. My camera is upstairs so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow at least, when we are in Munich. It is great to be back in German speaking territory. I felt so ignorant in Eastern Europe as all the languages are of slavic descent so it is almost impossible to guess pronounciation of any of their words. At least I know a little german and as it is a latin langauge, guessing is much much easier.
Vienna is described as very much like what Berlin would have looked like had it not been bombed out in World War II. It is a very beautiful city. My favourite building is their house of Parliament, which is much more understated than the Hungarian one, but I believe it is more effective. Standing out the front is a statue of Athena which looks absolutely amazing.
Today we also went to the Summer Palace of the Hapsburgs. It is absolutely massive and it would take forever to see everything. We only walked around the outside, but the grounds were truely stunning. Overall, today was a lovely day, despite the fact it rained constantly, although it was only a light drizzle rather than pouring.
I also purchased a new coat, which was exceptionally cheap (about $55 Australian Dollars) for the quality and style. I bought this mostly because I needed a warm formal coat to wear to the orchestra tonight. That concert was a wonderful performance with excellent music. Overall, very good entertainment.
Tomorrow we leave bright and early to travel to Munich, stopping to see whether the hills really are alive with the sound of music in Salsburg. Cannot wait!
Elyse
Vienna is described as very much like what Berlin would have looked like had it not been bombed out in World War II. It is a very beautiful city. My favourite building is their house of Parliament, which is much more understated than the Hungarian one, but I believe it is more effective. Standing out the front is a statue of Athena which looks absolutely amazing.
Today we also went to the Summer Palace of the Hapsburgs. It is absolutely massive and it would take forever to see everything. We only walked around the outside, but the grounds were truely stunning. Overall, today was a lovely day, despite the fact it rained constantly, although it was only a light drizzle rather than pouring.
I also purchased a new coat, which was exceptionally cheap (about $55 Australian Dollars) for the quality and style. I bought this mostly because I needed a warm formal coat to wear to the orchestra tonight. That concert was a wonderful performance with excellent music. Overall, very good entertainment.
Tomorrow we leave bright and early to travel to Munich, stopping to see whether the hills really are alive with the sound of music in Salsburg. Cannot wait!
Elyse
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Day 6: Photos and Budapest
Okay, I've been promising pictures for two days now. Here they are.
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| Catholic Church near Prague Main Square |
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| Prague's Clock Tower |
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| Close-up of the Clock (lower clock) |
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| Close-up of clock (upper clock) |
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| Statue in Prague's Main Square |
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| Russian Orthodox Church at Prague's Main Square |
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| View across the Vitava River (I think) |
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| On the Charles Bridge |
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| Extravagent Prague Castle - Seat of the President of the Czech Republic |
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| Prague Castle - the largest castle in the world |
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| St Vitus Cathedral - sorry about sideways |
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| Inside of St Vitus Cathedral |
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| A building (can't remember which one) in foggy Bratislavia |
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| The Statue at Heroes' Square |
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| More of the Statue |
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| And a little more. |
Day 6 found us in Buda and Pest, making it the wonderous city of Budapest. The original plan for today was to visit the museum of terror, however, through a cruel act of fate, the museum was closed for maintainence for our time in Budapest. Very quickly our plans were changed to spend some more time exploring the city on our own. We broke off into groups to go shopping and explore Budapest. I found a gorgeous scarf that was very cheap and could not help myself. Since when have I been an impluse buyer?
We regrouped to enjoy a tour of the Hungarian Parliament. It was finished in 1902, so you might expect it is similar to the Australian Parliament House. You would be wrong. The place is absolutely massive and nothing was too expensive. 40 kilograms of gold leaf are used throughout the entire building, although you would not expect that the weight would be so small. The entire place seems to be covered in gold! It really is beautiful. I have photos of this place but they are still on my camera. They will come when the next batch of photos comes through.
Dinner tonight was obscenely large and I ended up feeling a little sick afterwards. Although that wasn't from overeating but from too many deep fried onion pieces. Not to worry though, the steak was good. We also celebrated our second delegation birthday in two days, with Sophie turning 16 today (Ananya was 17 yesterday.) Happy Birthday to both girls.
Tomorrow we leave for Vienna. It will be nice to be back in German-speaking territory. These last couple of days have been hard because the languages all derive from Slavic rather than Latin, making guesses at pronounciation and translation impossible. We are also going to see an 8 piece orchestra tomorrow. Very exciting.
Until next time
~ Elyse
At
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Day 5: Bratislava and Budapest
Today was a driving day. We woke up bright and early, leaving Prague by 7:30am for Budapest. The road trip mostly involved singing along to CDs that had been brought full of music, sleeping and watching Cool Runnings. Overall a full, rich bus trip. One of the great moments on the bus was the announcement of winners of "hats", which are ridiculous items of headgear that must be worn in public. These hats are awarded for many categories. Today was Culturally Insensitive Award and the Legend Award. Fortunately I recieved neither. They are mighty embarassing items of headgear and I look horrible in a hat anyway.
Bratislava is a beautiful place. We stopped there, the captial of Slovakia, for lunch. We didn't have a lot of time there so our tour was short, although I did get to pose with a statue of Napoleon whilst others took pictures. A couple from our delegation accidently crashed a funeral, much to their own embarassment. The place was really beautiful. A lot of Eastern Europe is, particuarly in smaller countries that weren't ravaged by the World Wars.
I think I should have mentioned our tour guide, Rob, by now. He's an English geek whose loves include maps, flagpoles and Star Wars. Whenever he is leading us on a tour he carries a blue light saber which he sometimes balances on his foot if we're taking photos. Today he challenged me to be able to balance the lightsaber for at least 10 seconds. I have accepted such a challenge and by the end of the tour i will achieve this. All in the name of having fun of course.
After we left Bratislava, we headed towards Budapest, a wonderful country with an awesome history. I love the Huns and this is the area where they came from. The castles and other old buildings I have yet to visit, but tomorrow we are going on an excellent tour. I cannot wait.
I know I said I would put up photos tonight, but time again has run away from me. Tomorrow morning perhaps.
Until another day
~ Elyse
Bratislava is a beautiful place. We stopped there, the captial of Slovakia, for lunch. We didn't have a lot of time there so our tour was short, although I did get to pose with a statue of Napoleon whilst others took pictures. A couple from our delegation accidently crashed a funeral, much to their own embarassment. The place was really beautiful. A lot of Eastern Europe is, particuarly in smaller countries that weren't ravaged by the World Wars.
I think I should have mentioned our tour guide, Rob, by now. He's an English geek whose loves include maps, flagpoles and Star Wars. Whenever he is leading us on a tour he carries a blue light saber which he sometimes balances on his foot if we're taking photos. Today he challenged me to be able to balance the lightsaber for at least 10 seconds. I have accepted such a challenge and by the end of the tour i will achieve this. All in the name of having fun of course.
After we left Bratislava, we headed towards Budapest, a wonderful country with an awesome history. I love the Huns and this is the area where they came from. The castles and other old buildings I have yet to visit, but tomorrow we are going on an excellent tour. I cannot wait.
I know I said I would put up photos tonight, but time again has run away from me. Tomorrow morning perhaps.
Until another day
~ Elyse
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day 4: Prague
Just another short blog post, it has ben a big day and I am very tired. We have been out touring Prague all day and just haven't stopped.
We started the day with a walking tour where we saw the museum and some wonderful churches. We also crossed the Charles Bridge and attempted a social experiment, trying to subliminally encourage people to rub leaves on one of the statues on the bridge. It was a pretty chilly day so after stopping by the John Lennon wall the group headed towards a cafe to have a hot chocolate, which I decided to skip because lunch was very close.
After drinking out hot chocolates, we headed up the mountain to the Presidential Palace and the nearby Church. This was truely stunning and I have managed to take a few pictures of the glorious church which i will share tomorrow. We experienced the changing of the guard, up really close and personal (one of the soldiers came right up into my face. Thrilling and exciting experience there.) After this we were let lose on the city to find some food.
For lunch I had a wonderful hot white chocolate and a huge pancake with cooked apple and whipped cream. It was still unbelievably cheap. I love Prague so much. Our group was then let lose on the city to do as we pleaseed until 5pm. I went shopping and managed to grab a few bargins. At 5pm we regrouped and had amazing ice creams before heading off to dinner.
Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Budapest. I am sad to be leaving Prague, but the trip must continue. Until next time
~ Elyse
We started the day with a walking tour where we saw the museum and some wonderful churches. We also crossed the Charles Bridge and attempted a social experiment, trying to subliminally encourage people to rub leaves on one of the statues on the bridge. It was a pretty chilly day so after stopping by the John Lennon wall the group headed towards a cafe to have a hot chocolate, which I decided to skip because lunch was very close.
After drinking out hot chocolates, we headed up the mountain to the Presidential Palace and the nearby Church. This was truely stunning and I have managed to take a few pictures of the glorious church which i will share tomorrow. We experienced the changing of the guard, up really close and personal (one of the soldiers came right up into my face. Thrilling and exciting experience there.) After this we were let lose on the city to find some food.
For lunch I had a wonderful hot white chocolate and a huge pancake with cooked apple and whipped cream. It was still unbelievably cheap. I love Prague so much. Our group was then let lose on the city to do as we pleaseed until 5pm. I went shopping and managed to grab a few bargins. At 5pm we regrouped and had amazing ice creams before heading off to dinner.
Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Budapest. I am sad to be leaving Prague, but the trip must continue. Until next time
~ Elyse
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Day 3: Berlin Pictures, Dresden and Prague
Dear Mother:
Not coming home, moving to the Czech Republic.....
But seriously. Prague is amazing. I think the whole delegation is going to marry the city (my roomie (Sarah) has already planned her honeymoon here.) Prague has the advantage of being relatively unharmed during the World Wars. But more on this amazing city later.
Firstly, I have pictures from Berlin yesterday to show off to the world. These are from yesterday and would have been posted in my blog if it hadn't been so late.
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| Chillin' at the wall |
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| Some very interesting art on the wall |
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| Church in Berlin |
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| A stunning fountain I saw on my walk back to the hostel |
I must give a special mention to the Frauenkirche. I have mentioned it on all the postcards I am sending at the moment. This church was rebuilt about 5 years ago as close to the original as possible. Now when Dresden was bombed, people fled inside the castle. The fires caused the inside air to heat up to over 1000 degrees and the church basically exploded and thousands of people perished. On the outside it is amazing to behold, but the interior took my breath away.
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| sorry picture is sidewatys, but my laptop takes forever to rotate images |
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| The interior - picture courtesy of http://www.europeupclose.com/ |
After we left Dresden, we headed for Prague. Prague is an amazing city, particuarly at night. It has had the good fortune of being left relatively untouched during the wars as the Czechs offered little resistance to the Nazis. As such, there are buildings here that are 800 years old, or even older. I haven't been here long, but it has been amazing. Thjings are so cheap her in Prague and there is a definate shopping spree on the horizon tomorrow. So excited. Here are some pictures of what I have seen, and fallen in love with, whilst in Prague.
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| A church, at night. Does not do it justice |
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| Oh, and a starbucks |
~Elyse
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