Chelsea Flower Show

On Friday evening, we were able to obtain a few Chelsea Flower Show tickets before it sold out completely. Since the BBC had limited availability for our students, Becky and I were lucky to be able to take a couple of flower enthusiasts to the famous landscape architecture and gardening exhibit. It really lived up to the hype. We had a very traditional English day of strolling through the gardens with champagne and ice cream. :-) Only the award winning artists are displayed at the show, so we saw some magnificent landscapes. The show is quite visitor friendly. Many of the designers took time to speak with us about their ideas and lives. Thankfully the weather cooperated, which is more than I can say for today.

Last night we did another traditional London activity. We went to a music club as a big group to take part in the night scene. We danced together and heard some great music along the way. My only gripe is that Bill Spangler dances better than I do.

From Kescemet, Szechkesvehervar & Tihanyi ... to London

As I write this, it is Saturday morning in London, which is the last stop on our journey. Unlike most of our other locations, this hotel has an excellent wireless internet connection in the lobby ... which is about the only positive thing I can say about it. ;^) Actually, that's not entirely true. The location is good and the staff are friendly. Beyond that, imagine a 1-star-rated hotel ... now subtract a couple of stars ... ;^) As it is, we will be spending very little time in our rooms anyway, and the hotel has the added benefit of encouraging us to get out and see London!

Just to back up a bit ...

We had a highly enjoyable and educational week in Hungary. Monday included lectures at Central European University on the European Union and Hungary's role in it. This was followed by a visit to the famous Szichenyi Spa, which is heated by natural thermal energy.

On Tuesday we boarded the bus for the 1 1/2 hour ride to Kesckemet, where we visited the Zwack distillery and learned how 'palinka' is made. Palinka is a fruit-based liquor and is highly popular in Hungary. It was less popular among our students ... most of the reviews included variations of 'blah!', 'yuck!' and 'ugh!'. After a refreshing tasting of palinka, we headed to a horse farm about 20 minutes from Kesckemet, where we were treated to a show performed by Hungarian cowboys, complete with whip cracking and incredible horse riding ... one guy rode five horses at once ... at full gallop. Later we had lunch, serenaded by a gypsy band playing traditional Hungarian folk music.

Wednesday was incredibly busy. In the morning we took another bus ride to Szechkesvehervar, which is the location of a large Alcoa plant as well as the European computer data center. Unfortunately, the manager of the data center, Duquesne graduate Bill Dorfner, was out of the country and not able to meet with us -- but the students were still able to tour through the production facility, dressed in hard hats, goggles and steel-toed shoes (photos below!). After leaving Alcoa we went to lunch, and later visited the famous Herend porcelain 'manufactory', where HIGHLY expensive porcelain is formed and painted by hand. Most of us politely walked through the gift shop without pulling out our wallets. Some of us decided that we would rather buy a car than a porcelain figurine. ;^) Next it was on to Lake Balaton, which is a resort lake that was highly popular during the communist era and is still popular today. Because our bus driver operated the bus ver-r-r-r-ry carefully (read: slowly), we didn't have much time at the lake -- just enough to get a taste of it. From the lake we drove directly to our 'farewell dinner' at a restaurant called Ladikcsarda, where we once again had a terrific dinner of Hungarian goulash and other menu items. We also were entertained by musicians and folk dancers. As you will see below, some of our students actually danced as well.

On Thursday we toured the Dreher beer facility, enjoyed a little free time, and then boarded the plane for Dublin. We spent Thursday night at the Bewley's hotel near the airport (a fantastic hotel, by the way, and only 89 euros per night ... the best deal of the entire trip).

On Friday morning we flew to London, checked into our 'hotel', ate a quick lunch, and then headed off to the studios of the BBC. The BBC was a big hit -- the students loved it. Later we just strolled around London, at ice cream, and some of us had dinner at the (original) Hard Rock Cafe.

The rest of the weekend is essentially free time. Individual plans include: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, seeing a play/musical, doing some shopping, and ... well, the list is endless. We plan to reconvene on Sunday evening for a 'farewell dinner', then arise on Monday morning to head for the airport for our return to Pittsburgh. I'll try to post one more blog before we leave!

Okay ... pictures! Here are several from Hungary (Horse farm, Alcoa, Herend, & Ladikscarda) and London (BBC and River Thames). Enjoy!

New experiences

This is a silly little post, yet it carries an important message. Included in this post are various photos of our students enjoying their very first espresso. :-) While espresso drinks are common back home, they are very prominent in Europe, as more Europeans drink espresso over drip coffee. While this is trivial, it just goes to show you that students experience new things while on Study Abroad. This is a just a minor representation of the opening up of their worlds.

Hungarian Rhapsody and Vienna Waltz

Sorry for the delay in posting a new entry! We have been on-the-go constantly since arriving in Budapest on Friday evening, so let me back up a bit.

On Friday afternoon we left beautiful sunny Dublin (no that is not a typo) for wondrous Budapest, arriving around 7PM. On the flight over we were surrounded by a group of young Irish women going to Budapest for a weekend 'hen party' (bachelorette party), and another group of young Irish men going to Budapest apparently for a weekend of general partying. With cheap airfares throughout Europe, this seems to be the 'in' thing to do. Luckily, it appeared that the two groups did not run into each other. ;^)

After checking into the hotel, we immediately headed for dinner at a charming and historic restaurant. As we dined we were serenaded by a traditional Hungarian gypsy band. From that point on, it was clear to everyone that we were no longer in Ireland ... that, along with the fact that all of the signs and billboards were completely incomprehensible!

First night dinner in Budapest

On Saturday morning we were given a tour of the magnificent Parliament building, which sits on the Danube River and is featured in almost all photographs of Budapest. Later in the morning, as the sun finally came out from behind the clouds, we boarded the bus for a comprehensive guided tour of Budapest. As you can see, we got some terrific photos.

Budapest, overlooking the Danube River

The rest of the day was devoted to general walking about, shopping and eating. Several of us sat in an outdoor cafe on the pedestrian 'Vaci Utca' (Vaci Street), and ate traditional Hungarian goulash along with traditional Hungarian pizzas ... well, the pizzas were perhaps a little less traditional .... but they did have paprika on them! I will tell you this: there is nothing more sublime that sitting on a pedestrian thoroughfare in an outdoor cafe on a beautiful day. It is the definitive 'European Experience'.

At the crack of dawn on Sunday morning (6AM), we caught the city bus to the train station, where we boarded the train for the 3-hour journey to Vienna.

Habsburg Palace, Vienna

We arrived in the incredible city of Vienna in mid-morning, and immediately boarded the subway to the center of town. There we were greeted by our guide Hebe ('Heebie'), a transplanted Scottish woman who has lived in Vienna for over 25 years. Hebe is a former schoolteacher, and I'll tell you, she was quite the taskmaster. We pounded the streets at a fast pace in the hot sun for the next 2 1/2 hours, seeing a number of famous sights in very short order: St. Stephen's Cathedral (340 steps to the top; several of us made the climb!), the Habsburg Palace, the Spanish Riding School (home of the Lippizaner Stallions), and a number of other spots, including several of Mozart's hangouts.

After Hebe released us from our death march ... I'm kidding ... she was a very good guide, and very informative ... Anyway, after our death march we stopped at an outdoor cafe right in the middle of the central Vienna for a bona fide Viennese lunch, which included wiener schnitzel, apple streudel, and sachertorte. After lunch we all scattered around Vienna, some visiting the St. Stephen's cathedral (and the 340 steps), others checking out the museums, and still others doing a little shopping ... although unfortunately most of the stores were closed on Sunday.
At about 7:30PM we took the subway back to the train station ('Westbaunhof'), and from there we caught the train back to Budapest. Incidentally the train was heading on to Bucharest Romania, so it would not have been a good idea to fall asleep and miss getting off the train!

We have a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow morning we head to Central European University for lectures, followed by a trip to the Szichenyi Spa in the afternoon (Budapest is very famous for its thermal springs and spas). Tomorrow evening we will experience a boat cruise on the beautiful blue Danube River. To be perfectly honest, the river is not particularly blue, but on a nice evening we can certainly imagine it as such.

More later!

Day at Dalkey

Yesterday, after our Intel lecture and plant tour, we strategically got off at the Tara Street stop back in Dublin due to the plethora of restaurants interspersed in the area (near Trinity College and Temple Bar area). We ate at O-bar on the corner of O’Connell Street. We had a wonderful meal there, but not traditionally Irish. More and more of the pubs in Dublin are serving non-traditionally fare these days, so the variety of cuisine in the city is quite interesting and diverse.

The group split into three, as we had the afternoon free to enjoy Ireland on our own. One group went directly to Dalkey—a ritzy resort town on the coast. Another group went back to the hotel to crash and sleep, and yet another wanted to go and shop around Dublin. I took a break and went back to the hotel to organize my luggage and regroup. Then, I took a group of students to Dalkey.

This seems to have been the students favorite experience so far. The village was quaint, quiet, and extremely well kept. The town has two castles—one of which overlooks Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea. There are also several private residences which resemble castles in style and size. (!) We climbed the rocks over by the harbor. Unfortunately, the group I led arrived at low tide, so the seals were not being fed by incoming fishing boats. Still, we saw the seals during rest time. Their heads were bobbing up and down as they waited for the new tide. Luckily the weather cooperated and the sun remained dominant. As we arrived later, we got some wonderful sunset shots of the island, sailboats, kayakers, and swimmers. It was a truly breathtaking scene and an unforgettable experience for the students. They truly had the time of their lives.

On our way back into town from the harbor, we talked with some local fishermen, who were also waiting for the tide to rise again. One of the men was getting married next week and going on his honeymoon to Las Vegas. We wished him the best luck. The other fisherman was telling us that Bono of U2 used to have a boat in the harbor. They had some stories. Let’s just say that the men were glad when Bono decided to no longer dock his boat there. :-)

Pittsburgh Pride

Photo above: Beautiful Dublin at dusk.

Photo above: Traditional Irish meal

Do you know how no matter where you are in the world you run into Steelers fans? Well, the Emerald Isle is not exempt from that rule.

By now you are well aware that I am the target of our students' fun. As Bill Spangler pointed out, my only ticket out of the dungeon at Bunratty Castle was the chant of the Black and Gold fans. (Even though I looked like I was having a good time down there, it was torture!) In addition to that, we have had other instances of Pittsburgh pride. At the Merry Ploughboys Pub, whenever the lead singer mentioned that we have some folks from Pittsburgh, our section went wild. The Australians and Swedish in the crowd were no match for our cheers. Last night, we went on our literary pub crawl. Despite the rain, we walked for several blocks around the city trying to gather information related to the places and performances for the end-of-tour quiz. On our tour was another group from Seattle. The final question (winner takes home a pub crawl t-shirt) came down to two players (one of our students) versus a woman from Seattle. Even though the woman took home the t-shirt, one of our students respectfully reminded her that things were a lot different in the Super Bowl. ;-)

To Dublin's Fair City

Just a quick update ... We've now spent an entire 24 hours in Dublin, and it's amazing how well the students have adapted so far. They seem to know the location of every pub both north and south of the Liffey (River). ;^)

After our final lecture yesterday in Galway, we ate lunch, packed, and boarded the bus for the 3 hour ride to Dublin -- or rather, to the Merry Ploughboys Pub just outside of Dublin. Wow, what a great time. We were treated to the Ploughboys, who sang very festive and often hilarious Irish songs, as well as a very talented group of Irish dancers. As you can see, everyone had a great time.

This morning (Wednesday) we had a very nice tour of Trinity College (founded in the late 1500s by Queen Elizabeth I and considered the premiere school in Ireland). The tour included the old library, the 'long room', and the Book of Kells. Later the group hopped on the bus for the short ride to the Guinness Storehouse, which provided an interesting story of the beer-making process, a magnificent 360-degree view of Dublin from the top floor, and, of course, a free pint of Guinness. For some reason we ended up spending much too much time at Guinness, which meant that there was little time left for anything else. Some of the group tried unsuccessfully to join a guided tour at the Jameson's Distillery. Others were more successful in their visit to the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail), which is where many Irish freedom fighters were imprisoned (and some executed) by the British.

Tomorrow we're off to Intel, which is about 30 minutes away by train. We'll spend the morning there, and then we'll head off to the coastal town of Dalkey, which is supposed to be very nice (and reportedly also the one-time, perhaps even current, home of Bono).

Friday we jet off to Budapest. This trip is going by quickly!