Winter Camp Begins!

Happy New Year!

I have arrived safely at my residence at Halla College, where the Winter Camp will take place. Sorry no fancy shmancy pictures yet.. I don't have wifi.... but I do have a gigantic desktop computer, so at least I have internet. I know some people will be upset that I can't put up any food pictures for awhile, you'll just have to wait, people.

My residence is FAR less posh than Kate and Linda's... the school was built in the 60s and I don't think much has been updated in the residences since then (except for the 1990s computers, of course!) It is also COLD! Kate and Linda could control their heat in their room... not this little mouse! They also had an ensuite bathroom, while I've got a communal one... and I haven't quite located a shower yet... so hopefully I can bathe at some point! The hallway where my room is is very dark and really resembles anything you may have seen in a Russian spy movie.

Despite my whining, I'm safe and happy... I'm sure it will make for some funny stories... It's seriously so cold typing right now though!!

That's all for now... the first question I asked the Director of the camp was how to get food... so she is coming to meet me to show me where the cafeteria is in a few minutes... again sorry (Martha)... there will be no pictures.

Seogwipo

Ventured off the Compound toward Seogwipo, which is on the very south side of the island. One of the guys that Kate and Linda work with has lived in Korea for a few years and offered to call me a taxi to the compound, in return for getting him instant coffee and cookies while I was out!

The taxi driver dropped me off in town, and I found another information booth where I inquired about how to take a bus back to the compound (the taxi had been about $19 which seems crazy compared to the cheapness of everything else!) she wrote the name of the bus I needed to take in Korean, as well as the name of the stop I needed to transfer at. Then she suggested that I take a bus to downtown Seogwipo, but since I had been sitting on planes & lying around the compound for days, I figured I could use the walk. It turned out to be about 5k (whoops!) but it was very scenic & nice out... By the end I was just wearing my cardigan.

The city was really nice! It had a main street with good shopping, a pretty harbor (see above) and a cool market. Kate and I have both noticed that it doesn't seem really 'Asian' here... Of course I have nothing to compare it to, but she said when she went to Thailand it was much crazier... I think it's partly because Jeju is an island... It definitely has an island feel, but so many of the areas could be in Canadian cities if signs were in English. Similar shops, transportation, etc.

I also found a World Cup soccer stadium... I travel with the Dobos' for two weeks and suddenly find myself taking pictures of a soccer stadium! (I also got one of a really nice turf pitch at a school...) haha

That's all for now!

Happy New Year!

Jeju-si

After getting clean and rested at my hotel, I decided to get my bearings. The hotel supplied me with an English map (which has since saved my butt numerous times!) and agreed to keep my big luggage. I got a quick taste of the city, but my main mission of the day was to track down Kate! I made my way to the main bus terminal and a very nice lady who spoke limited English at the information booth told me what bus to take, but it seems as though there isn't one that goes right to 'the Compound', as Kate calls it. After getting that info, I was starving & had been putting off eating Korean food by surviving on my Jewish Bread rations from home. I found a tiny restaurant (pictured above) in the terminal... the whole menu was in Korean, but it seemed like all the 80 year old Korean men in there were eating the same thing, so I just pointed to that! It ended up being soup with noodles which was pretty safe... It had quite a fishy taste, but did the trick!

Then I boarded the bus to find Kate... I ended up missing my stop, but when the bus got to the end of the line, I knew the town we were in wasn't too far from 'the Compound'. I found a cab to drive me, snuck through a side gate & into their residence building! They were pretty surprised & happy to see me when they came back because they had ventured out a few nights before, and despite the fact that they kind of knew where they were going, it had taken them like 3 hrs to get back!!

They had been hoarding food in anticipation of my arrival, so I had a PB& Jam sandwich ans random Korean sweet breads waiting for me. I try to stay in their room (which randomly has 3 beds) while I'm in the compound & sneak out to sightsee during the day! They have told two of the people they work with that I'm here and they refer to me as the little mouse!

That's all for now...

I Can See Russia From My Window!

My flight out of Vancouver was delayed over an hour -- apparently they had some issue with cargo... either had to repack it properly or we had the wrong stuff... not quite sure! The flight itself was really good -- I was fed well... which is the main thing! We got lunch and dinner, plus Mr. Noodles as a disembarkation treat! I read a bit and watched one movie, but I was really surprised that I wasn't bored at all... I was also able to sleep a bit more, so that helped!

In terms of scenery, I saw some very cold, barren landscapes, including what I think was the Bering Strait, and the edge of Russia (see picture). It was also pretty cool to follow the sun -- it was never night time!

Everything went smoothly again with baggage claim and customs at the Incheon Airport, and I found my way pretty easily to Gimpo by subway. Most signs and announcements were in Korean and English, so that made it very easy!

Right now, I'm at December Hotel in Jeju City. I got an email from Kate (who is already working at her camp) and she said that they aren't allowed off the 'compound' after 10pm, which meant they couldn't come get me at the airport. It actually worked out for the best because I was really tired, and this hotel is awesome! I'm typing this from the random desktop computer that they have here for my use... along with a mini fridge, tv, kettle, etc. My mission for today is to explore Jeju City a bit and then catch a bus to Daejung-eup, which is where Kate's camp is!

Vancouver, British Columbia

I made it safely to Vancouver! Baggage & security were really fast in Toronto & here... The longest line I have waited in so far was at Tim Horton's! 

I was able to sleep quite a bit on the flight & in the airport once I landed and I have been keeping myself occupied... I haven't really felt like I was putting in time yet!

The long distances between arrivals/baggage/security/gates have been giving my legs a good workout... This airport is really nice though... As you can see from the picture, there is some sort of pond/river feature in the International Departures concourse.

That's all for now... Just thought I'd send a quick update before my marathon flight to Korea! The airport says my flight is on time, but dad says its going to be delayed 30 minutes... So I guess it's delayed 30 minutes!

Korea!

After taking part in the holiday festivities in Canada this weekend, I will be flying to South Korea to work at an English Camp on Cheju Island. From my research into Cheju Island, I have found that it is often called the Hawaii, Disneyland & Paris of Korea. Apparently it is an Asian honeymoon destination. Unfortunately, I will be there in the winter, so I don't think I'll be able to experience the beaches, but apparently there are quite a few sights to see in winter, too!

My Itinerary:
December 26: Toronto-Vancouver
December 27/28: Vancouver-Seoul-Cheju
January 1-15: Working at Winter Camp
January 16: Cheju-Seoul-Toronto

Cambridge, UK

I've been slacking on my blogging a bit I think... But I disembarked from the ship on July 11th with Beth in tow... We took a train from Tilbury to Cambridge & spent two nights there... One in a very tiny room in some sort of old train building, and the second at a Travelodge. Cambridge has lots of pretty school campuses and gardens... Kind of like TCS.. Next stop will be Oxford... Then staying with Beth's family in Twickingham... Which is apparently a suburb of London... Before taking a flight on the 19th to Dublin... And a quick Scotland tour before returning to London to take my flight home on the 25th!

Nürnberg, Germany

Following my boat cruise up the Rhine, I took a train from Frankfurt to Nürnberg. I ended up with a good hotel room... They had to give me a double room because they were out of singles... But I didn't mind!!

Nürnberg is also a city that has a walled old district. It was pretty much leveled after WWII, but they rebuilt it as it had been. As some of you may also know, Nürnberg was the home to the Nazi war crimes trial after the war.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest so I spent some time in various stores trying to stay dry. The weather cleared up a bit in the afternoon, though, so I took an I'll fated bike trip to the former location of Nazi Party rallies. They have basically converted the area back into green space but there are plaques up.

To make a long story short, there was a van parked in the bike lane on my way back... And instead of going around it into traffic (which I thought was dangerous) I went around it onto the sidewalk... And took a little tumble... I'm a-ok but I'm sure I gave some of the local motorists a chuckle because I rolled pretty good!

After my second evening in Nuremberg, I took my final train of the journey to Berlin where I stayed at a cheap hotel where I somehow weaseled free internet, breakfast and airport shuttle (only the shuttle was supposed to be free!) after that, I border a flight from Berlin to Stockholm, Sweden where I will stay until the Prinsendam comes back to pick me up.

Köln, Germany & Luxembourg City, Luxembourg & Rhine River

I'm a bit behind on my updating because my hotmail account is causing me trouble... I finally found a work around, though and consequently if you want to reach me, the best email to use is amandajex@me.com

Leaving off from my last blog, I took a night train from Munich to Amsterdam. I had to wait until 10:45pm to take the train and was VERY excited to find out that the Eagles were playing on an outdoor stage about 10 minutes from the train station!! When I arrived to my sleeping compartment on the train, there were people causing a ruckus... Apparently my room mate had a dog with her... But she was assigned to the top bunk!! I didn't really care, so I took the top... The lady and the dog were both very quiet room mates. Ha ha

The next day, I did a whirlwind tour of Amsterdam... Since accommodations were very expensive... I met up with my former home (the Prinsendam was docked that day) and headed to Köln in time for a decent priced sleep. (the picture below is the Köln cathedral)

Next stop on the whirlwind itinerary was Luxembourg City... And it just happened to be a heatwave -- 36 degrees!! Luxembourg is also a very hilly city but it had a very nice old town section and shopping district.

Up next was the small town of Kobkenz, which is situated at the intersection of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers. I tried my hand at couch surfing again -- I stayed with two nice girls about my age and actually had a double bed and my own room to myself. The next day I took a scenic boat trip up the Rhine... Lots of small villages and fortresses on cliffs along the way.

Munich, Germany

I arrived in Munich yesterday afternoon... I was very happy to realize that the nearest subway stop to my hotel was super close! I was less excited to find out that all the grocery and convenience stores nearby were closed...

Today, I took the u bahn (subway) downtown to the main square 'Marienplatz' and watched the glockspiel (some figurines in the town hall clock tower do a dance at 11am...)

Then I checked out the famous market... Many stalls... Kind of like the waterfront festival booths, but only food!! One place only sells olives.. Lots of cheese, sausage, flowers, pretzels, etc.

Then I took a walk in the englischer garten... Which brought be to a bier garten.. As you can see, yummy sausage and sauerkraut... Only a half liter of beer this time!! Some musicians in liederhausen (sp?) appear to be setting up in a pagoda near by... Stay tuned...!

Seefeld, Austria

We spent the last three days in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria... About 45 minutes outside of Innsbruck. Our hotel was right up in the mountains which was pretty cool... The town itself was another skiing village... Summer is clearly the low season. We have had lots of rain, though... I'm sure being in the mountains doesn't help!

The first day we were there, we drove to Dachau, a former Concentration Camp/ labour camp. It was actually the very first camp built in 1933 (before WWII started) and was originally used for political prisoners who opposed Hitler. Later, it was the model for all the other camps that were built.

After that we stopped in Munich very briefly-- had a gelato and walked around a bit... I will see more of Munich later.

The next day we just stayed around our hotel... Again the weather wasn't great but we explored the town a bit. Today, we drove to Fussen, Germany and hiked -- seriously hiked... Like climbing over rocks and trees... To see King Ludwig's famous castle... I will admit that the views were beautiful once we got to the top.

Right now, I'm on a train headed from Fussen to Munich... Said a very hurried goodbye to the dobos' because my train was leaving any minute! I know that I've gone off the itinerary slightly... So for those who are interested, I will update the itinerary to be more accurate.

Salzburg & Kirchberg in Tirol, Austria

The last two nights, we stayed just outside of Salzburg. The weather wasn't great... So we didn't get to do too much Von Trapp impersonating... We spent one day just over the border to Germany, in Birchtesgaden... This area was home to many prominent Nazis during the war, including Hitler's Eagle's Nest (which we did not go see...) Derek and the boys enjoyed a tour of a salt mine, Lisa climbed a mountain... And I took cover from a rain storm in a cafe with strudel & cappuccino to keep me warm! I did do some exploring once the rain subsided!!

Today, we drove from Salzburg to Kirchberg, which is a very small village in the alps... In the winter this area is very big for skiing. We are staying at a really nice all inclusive hotel that a guy Derek knows owns... I have my own room, robe & balcony, as well as unlimited eats, so I'm sucking up the above-backpacker-budget-pricetag!

Itinerary

As per Grandma Jex's request, here is an updated itinerary for the rest of my trip:

June 17 - Hungary
June 18&19 - Salzburg, austria
June 20 - Austria
June 21 & 22 - Innsbruck, Austria
June 23 - Seefeld, Austria
June 24 & 25 - Munich, Germany
June 26 - night train from Munich-Amsterdam
June 27 - amsterdam, the Netherlands
June 28 - Luxembourg
June 29 - Koblenz, Germany
June 30 - Mainz, Germany
July 1 - Nuremberg, Germany
July 2 - Berlin, Germany
July 3 - 6 - Stockholm, Sweden
July 6-11th - back on the ship
July 11-25th - united kingdom

Budapest, Hungary

After a very quick and easy Easyjet flight from Berlin to Budapest, I was picked up by Derek and Kavan at the Budapest airport... they had lots of long stories to regale me with... mostly one of them... ha ha 

We have an awesome apartment here, right in the theatre district of Budapest. Apparently a young man lives here, but rents it out whenever he can to make some extra money. It has 3 living spaces, a kitchen and bathroom, so I have my own little nook which is just right for me!! It's in a very old building... lots of stairs, but very quaint.

Yesterday, we went for a walk after dinner and saw parliament and some other noteable historical points and today we biked and went for a swim in the baths. I'm sure the Dobos' blog will be much more witty and informative, so I will defer to them for travel updates from now on!

Look who I found!! (Hero's Square, Budapest)

the laundry on the line is ours

the entrance to our apt. is he furthest door to the left in the yellow section

Pictures!

A Coruna, Spain

Azores, Portugal

Bordeaux, France

St. Malo

St. Malo -- HIGH TIDE

St. Malo -- LOW TIDE

I finally have both a computer, and a wireless internet connection capable of uploading some photos from my trip so far... so here they are!!

Berlin, Germany

Reichstag -- German parliament

Berliner Dom

Brandenburg Gate

Ceceilienhof -- site of the Potsdam conference where the British, American and Soviet leaders met to discuss what to do with Germany at the end of WWII. They eventually decided to break the country up into sectors which would be governed by their respective countries. Berlin was also divided up, and eventually it was the Soviets who put up the wall to separate East Germany/Berlin from the West.

Sanssouci palace

Ceceilienhof again

sanssouci again

Terror museum... the wall you can see is a remaining section of the Berlin Wall

Berlin, Germany
After I got off the ship in Hamburg, I stayed at a hotel for the night and took the train to Berlin in the morning. I spent the day walking around -- saw the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, etc. Before heading to Uncle Derek's friend Detlef's house.
Detlef and his wife Conny were awesome, inviting me to eat sausages and beer for dinner with them and Detlef took me to Potsdam which is about half an hour by car from their house -- and the site of the Potsdam conference where the heads of the victorious countries in WWII met to discuss how to divide Germany up. (I had to get a historical tidbit on there somewhere!)
today, I left Detlef & Conny's and went on a tour of a bomb shelter which was actually very large... Before heading to my next museum (about life in the former East Germany)... I was looking for lunch and stumbled upon a Czech Beer Festival... What's a girl to do but order a beer and plate of goulash?
Loving Germany so far... Will be heading to meet up with the Dobos' in Budapest Sunday!
Hope everyone back home is well... Perhaps show some sign of life since no one ever comments... Except my mom...

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

A rainy day today in Amsterdam... My main goals were to find an ATM and some free & fast wireless Internet... Within 15 minutes of walking around I had accidentally stumbled upon some scantily clad women and a coffee shop that smelled suspiciously like marijuana... (I didn't stick around long enough to see if they had wifi!). The main par

Brest & St. Malo, France

When we arrived in Brest, we realized that it was some major holiday (something about being 40 days after Easter?) so there wasn't much open. We took a shuttle bus from the ship that drove past a castle and dropped us off in town, where we somewhat unsuccessfully tried to find wifi before heading back to the ship. Due to a shortage of time and the holiday, I didn't get the best impression of Brest.

The next day, we visited St.Malo. This was a tender port so I had to wait a little while to get off the ship. The tender dropped us off right outside the old town. It reminded me q lot of Quebec city -- walled city with cobblestone streets, etc. I even found a place called the Maison du Quebec!! The coolest part was when I went out in the morning, I walked around the top of the wall and took lots of pictures of the ocean because it was beautiful... When I returned to the same spot several hours later, the tide had gone out so much that some of the islands I had seen before were no longer islands!! Someone told me that the tide falls approximately 9meters at low tide! Lots of the sailboats were even beached! I also had a yummy crepe, so overall a good day in St. Malo!!

The picture is high tide -- later the swimming area was in he middle of sand and looked more like a pool!

A Coruna, Spain

Had a beautiful day today!! Walked around the old town and followed a path by the ocean... Walked on the beach but the sand was basically finely ground shells so it hurt my feet! Nice weather-- about 16 degrees...

That's all for now! Happy Birthday to mom and 'little' Colleen!

Azores & Lisbon Portugal!

We are finally on land! Everyone is very excited to be able to get off the ship after a long ocean crossing. All things considered the conditions were amazing... But did get worse a couple days ago... I even felt slightly queasy which hasn't happened before.

In Azores, we just wandered around the town, beth did some shopping... And we climbed to the top of a hill which had a good lookout point.

Last night we got into Lisbon at 6:30pm (we sailed under this bridge which was cool)... Lots of the crew met up in the downtown area for drinks. Apparently in Portugal you can smoke indoors and drink outdoors!

Today, we took a sightseeing bus around Lisbon... Didn't have headsets so I'm not too sure what we saw, but I got lots of good pictures!

That's all for now... I have to get dresses for Beth's next event -- "A Little Something" a food and wine pairing event... Yesterday it was wine and foie gras.

At Sea: Day Three

We're on our third sea day... No idea really where we are, I'm sure you probably know better than I... If not...

Nothing very exciting to report on-- the seas are smooth and the weather is actually nice -- it was like 19 degrees yesterday and felt like it! I've gotten back into the swing of going to funny "Beth" events like fruit and vegetable carving and how to make cinnamon rolls... Speaking of which... I better run and learn how to make Dutch pancakes!! Mmm

Ps. Last night was formal and many of the ladies were wearing slacks with nice tops... JJ

Book I found in MV...

I thought it was cute!!

Martha's Vineyard

Despite the forecast for 100% chance of rain it's not so bad today -- just overcast. Took a tender boat to shore today-- Beth had to stay on board as IPM (safety) so I decided to take a little tour. One of the gentlemen on the tender boat said he was hoping to have a lobster roll, so clearly I have made it my new mission also!!

Everything on the ship is great! I'm going to post this before the wifi cuts out!

Step 1: getting out of Toronto!

I'm currently at the airport, waiting for my second flight of the day. The first one was cancelled due to aircraft maintenance, so now I'm scheduled to leave at 8am... Guess I didn't need to wake up at 4:30 after all!! On the bright side, I am getting my money's worth of premium snacks and lounging in a comfy chair, so I'm not too hardly done by! Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here... Literally!

Euro Adventure Part II

After being home for about a month, I am off on the second part of my European adventure. I am flying into the slightly less exotic New York City on May 17 and will be joining the m/s Prinsendam again!! This time, I will be visiting Portugal, France, Belgium and Germany before going off on my own, backpack in hand, to Berlin. I will eventually meet up with my uncle Derek & fam in Hungary. I am posting my rough plans below.. Hopefully I will be able to find Internet to update my blog somewhat regularly!

Amanda

May 17 - NYC
18 - Martha's Vineyard
19 - 25 - @ Sea
26 - Lisbon, Portugal
27 - Lisbon Portugal 
28 - Leixoes, Portugal
29 - A Coruna, Spain 
30 - @ Sea
31 - Bordeaux, France
June 1 - Bordeaux, France
2 - Brest, France
3 - St. Malo, France
4 - Cherbourg, France
5 - Brussels, Belgium
6 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands
7 - Hamburg, Germany
8 - Hamburg, Germany
9-12 - Berlin, Germany
12 - Budapest, Hungary
13 - 16 - Debrecen, Hungary
17-27...???

Mediterranean Adventure: Venice, Italy

I received very good advice from one of the passengers on the ship who said that she had arrived to Venice by air, and by rail, but that arriving to Venice by water was a unique experience and to make sure that I was awake for sail in.  I took her advice, even though I had to wake up at 6am! I was very happy I did, it was a gorgeous sail in, especially with the sun rising, and just catching my first glimpse of the city.

We were in Venice over night, so had lots of time to explore! We took a water bus down the grand canal to St. Mark's square, and just wandered around. We also had a great recommendation for a small restaurant for an authentic dinner, which was amazing!  The second day, I had to make my way to the train station in Venice and start my journey home...

Sail in to Venice

Gondola man!

Grand Canal

Mediterranean Adventure: Kotor, Montenegro!

While I was planning for my trip, this port was one of the ones that I was the most excited for. I had seen beautiful pictures on the internet, and knew that it was the southernmost fjord in Europe. This port did not disappoint! When we arrived in Kotor, we climbed to the top of a fortress (over 1000 steps!) and met two men who lived high up in the mountains who gave us some sort of red berry juice and fresh mountain water.  Later, we toured around the old town and had a delicious 'family style' lunch of calamari, pizza and tomatoes/mozzarella/olives to snack on. The sail out of Kotor was also phenomenal and I took about a zillion pictures!

The red flag at the top is the fortress we climbed to

Sail away

Sailing past all the little villages

Mediterranean Adventure: Sicily: Lipari & Siracusa!

After the hectic pace of trying to see the sights of Rome and Pisa, the two towns in Sicily: Lipari and Siracusa, were a nice change of pace.  Lipari was a tender port, and we ended up getting in late, so we only had time for a quick beer and walk around the little town. It was a beautiful port, with lots of old buildings and a church at the top of a hill that I took lots of pictures from.

Sicily, especially, Siracusa, is apparently home to the Italian dessert, Cannoli. I will remember this vacation by my complete overconsumption of said dessert. Siracusa was a very nice little town. We were there on a Sunday and ended up discovering a farmer's market with delicious cheese, bread, olives, etc. After snacking on our first cannolli of the day, we got a little bit lost and ended up taking a taxi back to the ship. After lunch, I discovered the more picturesque area of town.

CANNOLI!

Siracusa old town (view from ship)

Siracusa (note the ship poking its nose into the street!)

Mediterranean Adventure: Pisa & Rome, Italy!

The first port we went to in Italy was La Spezia, which was only about an hour away from Pisa. We were able to take the train to the Pisa station and walk through the historical streets directly to the tower. I was surprised because at the end of an unassuming street with restaurants and shops, we were immediately at the base of the tower. I was expecting to see it looming in the distance. It was a beautiful day, and we stopped for the traditional tourist 'holding up the tower' pictures, before returning to La Spezia for a quick Pizza lunch, and back to the ship.

The next Italian port was Civitavecchia, which is about an hour's train ride from Rome! It cost us 9 euro, return trip and included our metro transfers! We took the train to Rome Termini, and took the subway two stops to Colosseo. Again, when we exited the subway, the Colosseum was right there! We spent the full day walking around Rome and were able to see the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, St. Peter's Basilica (from a distance) and many other piazzas.  We managed to find time for a mid-morning cappuccino break (apparently a faux pas in Italy) and a late pizza lunch.

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Colosseum