DU Abroad

This week started our fall break, or “reading week.” I decided to use my time to explore the UK even more and head up to Edinburgh, Scotland, with 5 of my friends! With luck, one of my great friends also lives in Edinburgh so I was delighted to catch up with her and hang out. The trip up there lasted about 9 hours, as we had decided to take an overnight bus from London.

Pros: the bus was very cheap (compared to the train and/or plane) and hypothetically you would be sleeping for most of it.

Cons: Something could go wrong, and you’re delayed a while and then can’t go to sleep.

We all started off with high spirits and headed towards the Victoria coach station Friday night, excited to start this little trip to Scotland! Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. As we got further away from London and towards Heathrow (which is an hour away), a guy on the bus made us aware that he was not completely in his right mind. He was singing, and mindlessly talking when people were trying to sleep. So, at midnight the bus had to pull over and have help from the police in the area, who promptly took him off the bus and spoke to those who were around him. While the incident was calm and handled well, we were about an hour behind the schedule, and we still had 8 hours on the road to complete. Next, was the fact that neither me or any of my friends could fall asleep for more than an hour at a time. I was so exhausted when we finally arrived in Edinburgh! The bright side? I got to see the Scottish countryside during sunrise!

While we were all tired and wanting to take naps, we wanted to hike Arthur’s seat more! So, we separated for some breakfast, where I went and met my friend and dropped off my suitcase at her apartment. And then, off we were to hike Arthur’s seat! Truly, an easy hike up, and it was quite a warm sunny day! However, the wind at the top was so insane, I stumbled and felt like I was getting pushed! It was so much fun to experience the wind, the view, and being with my friend in Scotland!

This trip truly was wonderful, with amazing memories and people. I got to hold an owl, which was so surreal, and explore the Edinburg castle, as well as try the surrounding cafes. We also walked around Dean Village, which was a charming little village that reminded me of Germany and Austria. It was similar to the countryside of England, where it was very silent and a peaceful place to walk around. My friends left 2 days before me, as I wanted to spend as much time with my other friend and in Edinburg as possible! While my friend went to her classes, I walked around more and explored on my own! It was so much fun to explore and go where I wanted to, on a whim. I ended up sitting at a park, journaling, while having a wonderful view of the castle. I also got over my shyness of asking someone to take a photo of me.

However, as the trip came to an end, I smiled at all my memories and the beautiful city, said a “see you later” to my friend, and headed back to London, but this time on the train. I always wanted to take the train from Edinburgh to London (or vise-versa) and it was so much fun to travel like this. I got a window seat, and looking at the beautiful countryside, the sea, and listening to my music made the 4 hours fly by. Alas, there was also something wrong with the train, so about 3 hours in, we had to make a train-switch, which by all means was easy and fast. It shows how things could go wrong in travel, but to make the most of it because it turns out to be wonderful. I still had an amazing trip in both Edinburgh and the train regardless.

Now, here I am after a jam-packed past few days, recounting all of this with a smile on my face. Not to mention Halloween! After Scotland, I celebrated Halloween with my friends. During the day, I walked around a beautiful park, with orange leaves littering the ground, kids dressed up as Harry Potter running around, and swans swimming in the lake. I picked up a delicious chai and chocolate croissant and enjoyed my time walking around, journaling (again) while sitting up against a tree and watching the people walk by. It was such an amazing day enjoying the nature hidden in a city and with my own self. At night, I rejoined my friends and had a fun time dressing up and hanging out with them. By all accounts, I had a wonderful past week, with some incidents, but it all makes for a wonderful story!

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At this time last year, I was heavily considering conducting my study abroad experience in Amsterdam. The city has always fascinated me, especially because it is a landmark in terms of art and culture. At the end of the day, I felt I had more of a connection to Ireland, but that decision has never diminished my desire to visit Amsterdam.

Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to finally cross it off my bucket list last weekend. My friend and I flew out of Cork Airport on a 6 AM flight and landed in Amsterdam just after 10. The transportation system was extremely easy to navigate- we hopped on a train to the city centre and were there in about 10 minutes. From there, we set off to find our hotel so that we could drop our bags off before starting our exploration of the city. “Hotel” is a generous term. We stayed on a boat, which was docked in one of Amsterdam’s numerous canals. While it wasn’t the greatest accommodation, I think it made the experience a little more authentic. It was definitely an adventure within itself.

I will admit our first stop was a bit of a tourist attraction, but it was a very cool experience. We visited one of Amsterdam’s Strooperies, where the famous Stroopwaffles are made right in front of you. If you’ve ever had one of the packaged ones before, nothing compares to the real thing.

We had booked tickets for the Van Gogh museum prior to leaving for Amsterdam, so we explored the city for a while before heading over to the museum district. It was a surreal experience to see such famous works of art up close and in person, when I had only ever seen them in pictures, on screens. I couldn’t believe I was looking at such pivotal moments in art history. It’s difficult for me to articulate the feeling accurately. You learn about these works of art, you see them and study them, but it’s easy to forget that they’re out there in the world, accessible to you. It’s easy to take for granted the experience of seeing them in person, when we can conjure their images with a quick Google search. The museum had an extensive collection of Van Gogh’s work on display, including small features from other pivotal artists of the time. It was such an incredible experience, and ended up being one of my favorite parts of our trip.

The next day we took a tour of Amsterdam’s modern art museum, which featured works from several popular contemporary artists like Andy Warhol. We also searched the city for a chance to try its famous “Holland Fries,” which are regular French fries, but served with a sauce of your choice. Because Amsterdam is a tourist city, there aren’t a lot of traditional Dutch cuisine options, so it was important for us to find at least something that was important to Dutch culture food-wise.

We also went on a canal cruise, which was such a fun experience. It was amazing to see the city from a different perspective. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a few history lessons about some of the famous bridges and landmarks, and of Amsterdam itself. It was really meaningful to me to come away from the experience having learned a lot about the city, its culture, and the people who live there.

We unfortunately did not have time to tour the Anne Frank House, but we made it a point to at least stop by. It looks like an ordinary house upon passing glance, but I could almost feel the gravity of it the longer I looked. I wish we could have spent more than a short weekend in Amsterdam in order to see it properly, but I was glad that I could at least lay eyes on it.

I haven’t been to many places- domestically or abroad- but Amsterdam was definitely near the top of my list. The city was so beautiful- its canals and architecture definitely being the highlights, and I also loved learning about its history and culture in both the past and present. Two days isn’t enough to see how much the city has to offer, but I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to even spend that amount of time in such a lovely place.