That's The Belgian Ghetto, You Must Never Go There Simba...

So last week I went to Brussels, Belgium.

Why Brussels you may ask. Well I had no choice in the matter. In a bid to remain friends and not kill each other we decided to leave the choice of what our destination would be up to to fate, or to be more specifically German Wings.

Now obviously with great deals comes great inconvenience, in our case this was a 6 hour wait in a deserted Stuttgart airport. Though the journey from Konstanz to Stuttgart gave us some interesting stories. Including running into a harmonica playing gentleman who claimed to be Jesus of Nazareth and a train so cold that we only warmed up when we went out into the snow, to say that we were glad to see that the flight was boarding would be one hell of an understatement.

So there we are, a group of college students in a new city. No rules. No time constraints, so what's the first thing we do? Nap of course. Go hard or go home, that's my motto. As we were quite sleep deprived during our initial arrival we didn't pay much attention to our surroundings, including 2 oncoming trams. Apparently turning the traffic lights off outside one of the primary train stations in a major European City at rush hour is perfectly acceptable. Who knew. Upon awakening we decided to go see a bit of the city. Think grand architecture, Gothic designs and cobbled streets. Think again. Unfortunately we wandered in the wrong direction. Into what we affectionately referred to as 'war torn Chechnya'. Make of that what you will. The real highlight of my day was dinner in The Hard Rock cafe. Yes, the highlight of my day was food. What of it.

We ate too much and couldn't flee the camera.

'Visits for individuals cancelled until
further notice. Pre-booked
groups only' 

The next day was devoted to sightseeing, and chocolate. I can't stress the importance of the chocolate enough. (Food featured heavily throughout the 3 days) We got to the pretty side of Brussels. Finally. My god was it pretty though. This was the Gothic, cobbled part we're used to seeing pictures of.
Being the wild party animal that I am the thing I was most excited to see was the European Parliament and see it I did. From the outside.
This sign offered a more crushing blow than a punch to the gut ever could. The only thing that could soothe my broken heart? The residence of the Belgian Royal family of course.

I think we can all agree that national symbols are important you want people to look at it and instantly think of everything good and essentially badass about your country. Well where we have the Harp Belgium has....a urinating child. (Mannequin Pis) An odd choice I'm sure you'll agree but we wanted to see it nonetheless. Brussels had other plans. This is what it actually looks like:

 This is what we got to see:

It has been dressed up from 9am to 6pm on the 27th of February only to celebrate the 169th anniversary of the independence of the Dominican Republic. Please don't get me wrong, this is an important event that deserves to be marked but it was a tad disappointing to not see the little guy how he usually looks. Still at least I got a unique picture right?
The final stop on our tourist tour of Brussels was the Atomium. Built in the image of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times it's quite impressive to say the least.

So Brussels basics:

• Very pretty city depending on where you go.
• Be careful. We were followed while walking in a group so stay aware of what and who is around you.
• Watch yourself in the underground. We managed to catch a guy with his hand in one of our bags while trying to maneuver our way around.
• Belgian Chocolate is delicious.
• Belgian Waffles too apparently, if you're into that sort of thing.
• Hard Rock Cafe is beyond delicious. I still think about that burger sometimes...
• It's acceptable to spell Stuttgart 'Stuttugart' if you've been sitting sleep deprived in an airport for 4 hours.

All in all I enjoyed the trip. Brussels not so much. (Based on my personal experience) Would I go back to Brussels? Unfortunately not. Have I been turned off of Blind Bookings? I'll tell you after Milan.

1 Semester Down...

 So last Friday marked the end of Semester 1 here in Konstanz. We will soon be saying hello to a whole host of new faces and for now have been saying see you soon to some old ones. With everybody feeling a little odd about the whole situation I decided to recall just a handful of the best moments from the last 5 months and because no words could do them justice here's the choice of the many many photos that have been taken.

Ho Narro: The Insanity Of Konstanz

OK so in a bid to avoid while taking a break from studying,  of which there was a lot of, I asked a few people what they thought 'Fastnacht' was, and of course no one had any clue. So I being the academic that I am did some research.
Fastnacht is defined as:
'the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and western Austria. The festival starts on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, known as Schmotziger Donnerstag or Fettdonnerstag and continues until the following Tuesday. Fastnacht is also known as Fasching or Karnival' 
(Interesting facts also include: Fastnacht is a way of scaring off Winter and welcoming in Spring and the reason for all the mask wearing is to hide your identity from God during the shenanigans and tomfoolery)
This is:
1) A fair assessment
2) No where near enough information if you plan on surviving 6 days of insanity

So dear readers, this is where you thank me once again as I (hopefully) give you all the tools you need to experience, enjoy and come out the other side of Fastnacht.

It began late Wednesday evening. I, in my innocence, was wandering through town not really paying attention to my surroundings when a family of trolls walks around the corner. Life rarely offers a proper Hollywood style double take moment but I can assure you this was one. That was the moment I realized that this was a much bigger deal than I had previously thought.
The Wednesday night parade consisted of a long procession of everything that has ever appeared in your nightmares followed by a delightful Hellfire. Yeah, it wasn't exactly your average Wednesday evening..

The following day was the big one. 'Schmotziger Dunstig' otherwise know as the day Konstanz goes f*cking insane. I wasn't aware how insane until I was woken at 7am by a brass band casually meandering down the street. It was going to be an odd one, I mean it's not everyday you get on the bus with John Lennon, Elvis, a panda, 3 trolls and a family of cows. We went for a stroll around town which led to exclamations such as 'hey look a giraffe holding baby Elmo' and 'is that a group of mushrooms playing the drums?'. I think it's pretty clear that only pictures can do this day of insanity the justice it deserves.

Now if everyday was like 'Schmotziger Dunstig' then everyone in Konstanz between the ages of 16 and 80 would be on the list for a liver transplant so a few days of respite are more than welcome. The next big day is Sunday which I guess can be considered the most family friendly day of the festivities.
This is the day of The Parade. No, not a parade. The Parade. Now when you guys think of a parade you probably think of the 40 minutes spent freezing to death on St. Patrick's Day. That would be laughed at and scorned by the people of Konstanz. The Karnival Parade is where all laws and rules are thrown out the window. No seriously, kids are encouraged to take sweets from any and everyone, girls are literally lifted from the crowd, thrown into a cage and carried off, men are shut into a coffin and dragged down the street and women have straw shoved up their dresses by people in masks. All in the name of good fun of course.

Finally we come to the final day of the celebrations. Now with it being Shrove Tuesday I had to once again struggle through the usual ridicule associated with not liking pancakes (I know, I know) and then it was off into town not quite knowing what to expect. In hindsight there couldn't possibly be a better way to close the madness than by burning effigys at various points throughout the city, right?

To say that Fastnacht was a surreal experience would be one of the biggest understatements I've ever come across. It is quite difficult to properly express how amazing it really is and if any of you have free time at the beginning of Lent you know where you need to go.
As for me, I think it would be the ideal location for an ERASMUS reunion.

 

(All photos are as usual stolen from courtesy of Rhys)

I Ran Out Of Witty Post Titles...

So what have I been up to over the past week?
Well as next week is the last week of the Winter semester it's exam season in Konstanz. The library is full, the University is a buzzing hive of activity and I've found myself in the pub 4 out of the last 5 days.... and I wonder why I haven't ever been offered student of the year.

Now I do actually have a reason for neglecting my academic life (Not that I wouldn't have neglected it anyway, it's just nice to have a reason) and no, it's not a budding alcohol problem. I had a visitor! The lovely Miss Rachel Hanly traveled all the way from Cork just to visit little ole me. I was incredibly excited for 2 reasons:
1. I hadn't seen her in a month and couldn't wait to see her.
2. I got to prove to everyone here that I actually do have friends at home and am not in fact on temporary release from some type of institution.

It's odd showing someone around Konstanz. It's a little like seeing it again for the first time. Walking down by the lake with the sun glinting on the water and the Alps clearly visible in the background (yes I forgot my camera.) makes me realize that I take the beauty of this place for granted or worse ignore it completely in favor of cute animals on the internet.

So you're in Germany for the first time. You're looking forward to experiencing all the cultural delights this new land has to offer. What do you do? Well when the person you're visiting is me you spend the entirety of Saturday in an Irish pub watching rugby. Sorry Rachey, but rugby is bigger than both of us. I had no choice!
I'm going to attempt to describe yesterday with the help of my trusty bulletpoints.

• Rugby can be enjoyed even if you have no idea whats going on.
• The more people you cram around a small T.V the better the banter you will have.
• You will eat ALOT during the course of 2 matches.
• If you meet a former All Ireland GAA finalist in a pub they will be able to tell you where you're from within 12 miles.
• If there's a question of whose fans are louder, Rugby and Bundesliga, rugby wins. Hands down.

As to the result? Well out of respect for my Welsh counterparts I won't focus on that....all I will say is Éire Abú and roll on next week.

A Few Words Of Advice In A Time Of Crisis

So I innocently logged on to check the news at home as I do every morning and was horrified to find Ireland in the grips of a major crisis. No, not the financial crisis, this is much more terrifying. Much more sinister. It snowed.
Now for the last few days everyone at home has been watching with bated breath as our dear neighbors in Britain struggled to cope with this major upheaval in their lives. Well now dear friends it's your turn.

But Claire, I hear you cry, you deal not with our struggles. Well friend, I myself find myself in a similar position of fear and uncertainty. Why, as I gaze out my window the powdery white menace creeps ever closer.
It was that fear that pushed me into imparting these tips upon you so that if I become overwhelmed by the enemy you may escape and go on to live a full and enriched life.

• Stock up: Canned food is your new best friends. You have no idea when you'll be able to reach civilization once more.
• Hibernate: It may be the easiest way to ride out the storm
• Say goodbye to your loved ones
• If the unthinkable happens and you must leave the house. Layer. Set 16 layers as a minimum and work from there

  If you have managed to read this far then I will attempt to alleviate your fear,
if living in Germany has thought me one thing it's that a fall of snow doesn't have to end life as we know it.

A Gift From Me To You

So in a bid to be you know, kind and nice (I never said I could do it well) I've decided to introduce both of my regular readers to a few other Konstanz based blogs. Can't say I didn't make all your Christmas wishes come true.

Orla
Alice
Rhys
Phoebe

Now hopefully you won't notice when I'm being a lazy s*ite and haven't updated for a month. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas Everyone

So it's been month since my last Blog post and I know you've all been craving an update from Planet ERASMUS.
In the last month I've traveled, partied, and just generally had the craic. However I will be recounting these exploits in bullet-point format for 2 reasons.
1. Bullet-points get more views
2. I'm so lazy that even typing a small block of text eludes me.

So this is what I've learned:

• Zurich, though beautiful, will require you to take out a small loan to stay there for more than 5 hours.
• If you go out the night before a trip only 1/3 of participants will get up on time and will ultimately have to make a mad dash for the bus.
• Contrary to my previous opinion, Starbucks is awesome. (Starbucks English breakfast tea to be more specific.)
• I may never get the Alpaca I so desperately want.
• The German punctuality stereotype doesn't apply when it comes to rail travel.
• Rice isn't all that bad.
• A 2 liter bottle of wine deserves to be hugged.
• If you're at an international meeting of minds in a Greek bar be prepared to drop €100.
• Wine and hats go hand in hand.
• The Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt is pretty amazing and, most importantly, full of delicious food.
• The view from Nürnberg Castle is well worth the climb. 
• If it comes to a showdown between an DSLR camera and cobblestones the cobblestones will win. Every time.
• The combination of standing for an hour on a train and drunk people will make Rhys a little homicidal. 
• German in a Welsh accent can and will reduce me to tears.
• Drunk people are insanely entertaining at long as you don't engage them directly.
• After travelling for 8 hours there is no place nicer to be than your own bed.

Only a week after travelling to Nürnberg I traveled home. I guess I'm just a sucker for punishment as it was the single most stress-filled tear inducing trip I have ever taken. However as I sit in my bedroom on Christmas Eve typing this very blog post I know for a fact I would do it all over again to get home.

I wish each and every one of you a safe and Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year for a whole host of new shenanigans.