Snapshots of an Irish Adventure

New Blog

2009-12-20T18:48:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone, I decided to attempt an everyday-life blog.

http://mattreeveblog.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you are interested.

-Matt

Done

2009-12-19T22:38:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone. I am sorry about not updating my blog for the last month or so of my study abroad experience. I can make the excuse that I was soooo busy but I just got lazy in my posting of entries and pictures. I hope that you all enjoyed what I did post on here and it provided some entertainment for those of you who read it.
All in all my trip to Ireland was an excellent experience and was very enjoyable. I learned a lot about Ireland and a lot about myself and am very glad I did it. It is good to be back home though and I am, surprisingly, looking forward to going back to school, starting classes and track, and getting back into the swing of things. For now I am going to enjoy my time off and take it easy.
I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best Wishes,
Matt

Wow, Sorry About That...

2009-11-16T05:03:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the radio silence over the bast 2 weeks or so since my excursion to Northern Ireland. To be honest, as that was our last excursion, there hasn't been much happening around here other than class and daily activities. Pat and Thomas' parents have visited in this time frame and it sounds like there are more families coming this week. I know I am excited to see Mom and Dad and I know they are looking forward to seeing me! Should be exiting to see everyone!

Most recently 15 of us traveled down to Cork for an over night trip to visit the city. It was a good 2 days and night. We left after class last Thursday and arrived in the afternoon. We spent some time exploring Cork and enjoying the night life on Thursday. On Friday we made our way to Blarney Castle and the grounds surrounding it. It was a beautiful morning with frost on the ground and lots of castle adventuring to be had. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the morning and fresh air. We also climbed to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss the famed Blarney Stone. I felt like a giant climbing up to the top of the castle. All the doorways were made for people at least 6 inches shorter than me and with shoulders not quite as broad as mine. It was interesting. I had fun though and I did kiss the Blarney stone, despite stories from Gramma of people "taking a leak on it" (they had 2 guys there to help you and one had disinfectant spray and paper towels to clean it). After Blarney Castle we explored Cork for the afternoon and caught a bus back to Galway around 6.

Other than Cork, there hasn't been much happening. The workload for classes has picked up considerably. I have a paper due Wednesday, another due next week, a documentation project due on Thanksgiving, and another paper due the next week, busy busy. I am off to Stockholm on Thursday and very excited for it! I am hoping to see some snow on the ground, but I will be ok if there isn't any.

My time in Ireland is dwindling, I am down to a month left...Crazy how fast time goes, especially when you think of it as I am almost halfway through my Junior year of college...Ahh jeez....haha
Well I better get back on track this morning, there is work to be done!
I WILL get pictures up soon (Mom) I promise!!!
Hope all is well!

Northern Ireland

2009-11-02T08:29:00.005-06:00

Hey everyone, it has been hard to find the motivation to blog lately due to less free time to do things of the blogging/posting picture sort, especially when the Internet can be rather slow around these parts. Regardless, this past weekend we traveled up to Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland. We spent a lot of time on the bus and it made for a pretty tired and bus-weary students when we arrived in the North.

Our first stop was in Derry where we spent the afternoon and evening of the 29th and the morning of the 30th seeing the city and learning about the interesting and vivid details of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The first sight we saw in Derry was the ancient wall of the city, built in the 1600's to protect the city. We took a walking tour of the ancient wall and then went down to the Bogside neighborhood of Derry where Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre took place in 1972. We took a short tour of the neighborhood and then on Friday morning we took a tour of the Bloody Sunday Historical Center, which was very interesting and moving. The man that gave us the tour had participated in the civil rights march on Bloody Sunday and his brother was one of the 17 who were murdered by the British forces that day, it was pretty deep and a moving situation to actually talk to him and hear his stories.

After we left Derry, we made a stop at Bushmills Distillery, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, and we were given a tour. It was very interesting and of course, we all enjoyed it! After Bushmills we took a bus ride out to what is called "Giant's Causeway". Giant's Causeway is an impressive geological site that consists of thousands of hexagonal stones that go into the ocean, it is kind of hard to visualize so I took pictures and will post them for you to see! It was very rainy and windy at the time, but it was still a really cool site to visit, crazy how the Earth works!

From Derry we moved to Belfast. In Belfast we took a bus tour of the city, seeing many things. We saw the dry docks where the Titanic was built and the enormous cranes used for shipbuilding that dominate the Belfast skyline. We moved on and saw 2 of the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods that saw the most violence during the Northern Ireland conflict. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was seeing all of the murals that people had painted on walls and side s of buildings commemorating the conflict, the lives lost, the battles won, the pride taken, and such things. The murals were usually very pointed and quite intricately done. After the tours of the neighborhoods we went and saw the Northern Ireland government building and the town hall.
After our tour was over, a good number of us went to the St. Michael's market in the city center. The market was amazing! There was live music, fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh meat and fish, fresh baked goods, coffees, and teas. There were people selling hand made crafts and trinkets and there were plants and fresh flowers intermixed amongst all of this, it was pretty extravagant and very cool. The food was good, I had lots of free samples and lots of great free smells as well as a delicious sandwich. It was all in all a great day! That night was Halloween night and many of us in the group dressed up and went out. I was a ghost and I felt pretty cool because lots of locals enjoyed my costume! I think almost everyone in the group dressed up for Halloween, we had togas, lumberjacks, Jamaicans, fairies, witches, and several other great costumes and overall, it was a great night!

Sunday was a long day that consisted of about 6-7 hours on the bus. We made a stop in the town of Strokestown and visited the Strokestown Famine Museum and the Strokestown Manor and Gardens. Over all the Manor was gorgeous and the weather had just cleared up so the sunset in the gardens were pretty amazing despite most of the flowers and what not being done blooming for the year. We arrived back at the PLH pretty late, had a late dinner of meatloaf and watched the Vikings beat the Packers and then went to bed. We had a long day and a long weekend with lots of bus riding and sight seeing. Northern Ireland was our last group excursion and it was a good one! It was a great time and a good place to visit, I would really recommend it!

I hope all is well back home, I can't believe it is already November! Time is winding down and before I know it Mom and Dad will be here for Thanksgiving and shortly after that I will be home in Minnesota! Things are moving fast! Here are some pictures of Northern Ireland, I will update my Picasa page when I get the chance! Enjoy!

St. Columb's Catholic Church in Derry

A mural on the side of an appartment building in Derry promoting peace.

Me at Giant's Causeway. Notice the hexagonal rocks.

A mural on the side of a house in Protestant East Belfast.

Back In Ireland

2009-10-26T07:46:00.003-05:00

London was great but it feels real good to be back in Ireland. I spent a busy 6 days in London, seeing the sights and enjoying my fall break abroad. It is really good to be back at the PLH though, to sleep in a bed, to eat Pat's home cooked food, to take cold showers, and to be back with the people I have gotten used to being around for 2 months!

We had a long day yesterday as we didn't actually go to bed on Saturday night. We went to a concert in London on Saturday night, arrived back at the London flat around 12-1 Saturday night and left the flat for the bus station at 4:15 am. We were supposed to take the 5:10 am bus to Stansted Airport but missed it and ended up taking the 6:10 bus, which left us kind of rushed to get through the airport and to our gate in time for check in. Luckily I had been through Stansted before and it wasn't too hard to make it through and onto our plane. We took off out of England at around 8:30 and arrived in Shannon at around 10. We hung out at the Shannon airport for about an hour and hoped on a bus to Galway around 11. Eventually we arrived back at the PLH around 1-1:30, tired from travel but happy to be 'home'. We all did nothing for the rest of the day, it was great! Pat made hamburgers and onion rings and we feasted, then watched a movie. That meal tasted soooooo good and the fact that we did nothing was also a pretty good feeling, it was the perfect way to end the day.

The amount of daylight is getting shorter and shorter here now, we have lost an hour due to daylight savings, so we have to make the best of the sunlight while we can. I am in class at the moment, so I probably shouldn't be blogging but oh well, life goes on...haha
I posted some new pictures of London on my Picasa album, so check them out!

Happy Monday! Back to the grind!

London Times

2009-10-22T07:15:00.002-05:00

Hey everybody! Still in London, still alive, and having a good time.

London is a very happening place we have found out, especially when you know people to help you out a little. We went to a sports cafe and watched Liverpool play Lyon, a French club team, on Tuesday night and last night we went to our first concert. The concert was, well, lets say interesting... It was an experience if anything else and I made the best of the experience while I could. This morning we left our hostel and moved ourselves into the flats of our friends and classmates from the London study abroad program. So far it has been great, these guys know where everything is and know how to have a good time so the next few days should prove to be a good time.
We went and got Subway for lunch and it was delicious AND cheap and on our way back we took a detour and saw a rare car dealership that had Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's, Aston Martin's, Indy car's, and others, it was really cool. Tonight we are going to go out and about and see what is happening in London, should be a good time.

I don't think I have any other news so I hope all is well, no new pictures yet, but there should be some more soon. Have a great day!

London and MCS? I think yes!

2009-10-20T06:26:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone! We made it to London safe and sound albeit tired and cranky. Travel once again took all energy out of me and my traveling cohorts and by the time we got to our hostel we just needed to crash. So we did.
We arrived in London-Stansted airport early Monday morning and took a bus into the heart of London at Victoria station. From the station we made our way through London, past Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, through Hyde park, and into South Kensington. We found our hostel and then went and explored a bit. Pat conveniently booked a hostel that is located about 4 blocks from the flats where the London CSBSJU students are staying. We meandered on over to their flat and hung out for a bit before our lack of sleep got to us and we had to return to our hostel for nap and rest time. Travel stresses me out I have found so before nap time I was pretty crazed, but after some sleep I felt better.

After we had woken up and reorientated ourselves we went out to eat with some of Pat's friends from the London trip and then we went to a Fulham v. Hull City soccer match which was lots of fun, Fulham won 2-0. Following the game we had some hot chocolate at the flats and then proceeded to sleepily make our way back to our hostel and crash. And crash we did! We slept in this morning and are just now, at 12:30, thinking about going out and doing something.

It is time for lunch though so I have got to get a move on, but in parting I am going to leave you with this: Disappear-Motion City Soundtrack

MCS is one of my all time favorite bands and this is their new single. It has a different sound than previous MCS songs, but it is definitely MCS and is definitely AWESOME! Just thought I'd share that, have a great day, more updates to come!

Buckingham Palace

Monument to Prince Albert in Hyde Park

Fulham v. Hull City

Break Time

2009-10-17T07:23:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Friday, marked the beginning of our Mid-Term Break. To think that this break is already upon us is crazy, but it is definitely a welcome break and should prove to be exciting. We went to visit the Cliffs of Moher on Thursday, but because of heavy fog, we could not really see the cliffs so well, so we pretty much had a 4 hour bus ride through the countryside.
After the cliffs, people started disappearing for their break trips. We dropped several people off in Galway on our way back to the PLH, they were off to London. Yesterday 2 of my cottage mates, Ben and Ross, left with two others for Italy. My friend Kyle was off to London as well yesterday. This morning bright and early at 9:30 a large group of people left for the airport to fly to Barcelona and a cruise! Ooooo, Ahhhh!
So right now it is pretty quiet at the PLH, there are a few of us left, just hanging out for the time being. Some people leave today, some tomorrow, others are just going to be staying here and enjoying the peace and quiet. I am off to Shannon airport tomorrow and our flight leaves for London early Monday morning!

Pat McLoone, Khris Grant, and myself are off to London, as I said, Monday morning. We will be there for 6 days, Monday-Sunday and plan on taking in as much as we can in that time! We are going to 2 concerts and more or less plan on exploring the city and seeing all that we can! It should be a good change of scenery and pace going from rural Ireland to one of the biggest cities in the world, an adventure for sure.

The weather here is amazing right now and it is kinda sad that we have to leave the great weather, but I am sure it will be following us like it has seemed to do all fall. Today is Johnnie-Tommie back home and I am hoping that those of you attending get the same weather we are getting right now! Cheer hard for me and make sure to have some fun! Go Johnnies!

Hope all is well, I will update again when I can! Take it easy!

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

2009-10-12T05:53:00.001-05:00

I have been sprinkling my blog with pictures from my most recent adventures, but I have finally updated my Picasa album, so check it out, enjoy, and email me if you have questions on anything!
Enjoy!

...And I didn't even see it all...

2009-10-11T15:33:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we traveled to Dublin and it was a blast! The obvious highlight was Pat and I going to the Ireland v. Italy World Cup Qualifying soccer match, but we did other things too...

The game was sooooo awesome! It was at Croke Park in Dublin which is just massive. We were 2 of about 78,000 people in attendance at the game and it was crazy!

Those seats in front of us filled up pretty quick by kick off.

I will give you some background on the game for those of you who do not know why it was such a big deal. First of, Italy was the world cup champion in 2006, beating France in the final. They are perennially a good team and make it to the World Cup most all of the time. Ireland was definitely the underdog in this game, they have a decent soccer team, but being such a small country population wise doesn't leave a very big pool to choose from meaning that playing Italy and tying or beating them is huge. Next, the match was a World Cup Qualifier game and Ireland needed to score some points to have a better chance to qualify and stay ahead of Bulgaria in keeping second place. The whole qualifying situation is complicated, so if you wanna check it out, go here. Last, sports in Ireland are huge, as I have described before, it is the tribal thing so needless to say the game was a big deal.

We arrived early thinking it started at 7, when it really started at 8. We passed through at least 4 security checkpoints and ticket checks before even entering the stadium and as I walked through the tunnel into the stands, the hairs on my arms stood up and I got chills because of the immensity of the stadium and the already electric feel in the air. The game was awesome to watch. Ireland scored within the first ten minutes and the stadium went wild, fans, including myself, were dancing in the aisles, chanting "IRELAND!", and celebrating immensely, but not too much later Italy tied it up and the stadium want silent, except for the Italian fans.

The best photo I could get of the Irish players celebrating their first goal.

After those 2 goals there was a long, long break in the scoring, but the game was still very exciting, we were up and down, cheering, holding our breath, and feeling very Irish along with the rest of the nation! Eventually late in the second period Ireland scored on a corner kick to go up 2-1 and again, the 78,000+ went wild! Italy scored once more and tied the game up for good in the 89th minute and the crowd was silent, it was demoralizing to be so close to victory. The refs added 2 minutes but it proved insignificant and the game ended in a draw. Although a draw was disappointing, it was also a good thing for Ireland because it secured them a spot in the playoffs.
All in all the game was definitely the highlight, it was worth every second we spent all day searching for tickets and trying to find someone to buy the Ireland v. Montenegro tickets we had to buy ( you could not buy just the tickets for the Italy match, you Had to buy them as a package and the Montenegro game is on Wednesday), but we sold the Montenegro tickets, got some Irish colors and headed to the game. Although we missed the Guinness Brewery and the National Art Gallery (containing 2 Picasso's), both of which I wanted to see, going to that game has been one of the best experiences of the trip by far!!! It was awesome, plus there is talk of going back to Dublin again later in the trip. I still can't get over how amazing the game was and hearing 78,000 people cheer at once! I am still saying wow!

Another highlight of Dublin was Newgrange, a 5,000 year old burial passage just outside of Dublin. This burial passage is a huge mound of stone and earth, decorated with ancient art and topped off with grass. The actual burial chamber is quite small compared to what the outside looks like. We were lucky enough to be able to go into the tomb and witness the inside and it really was breathtaking, I was IN a FIVE THOUSAND YEAR OLD burial chamber, it blew my mind... The very interesting thing about Newgrange is that during the Winter Solstice, due to the specific way the tomb was built, as the sun rises over the horizon, natural light floods into the chamber from a small, square opening above the entrance of the tomb. Scientists say this occurrence is far to precise to be a coincidence. We were shown a fake version of the solstice event, but you can apply for a lottery to see the real thing on December 21st, they choose 20 people every year out of over 20,000 people... Your odds don't seem so great, add onto that the fact the clouds covering the sun will ruin the event, it is by all means a lottery! Newgrange was a big highlight though, despite the wind and rain, it was very cool and rather mind blowing being at a 5,000 year old monument, I am 20....I was in a tomb built before the pyramids... Wow...

Newgrange from a distance

Other things I saw in and around Dublin were Clonmacnoise, an ancient monastery founded and built by Saint Ciarán in 545 AD, we stopped at the sight of Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland and saw the immense Papal Cross they erected for the event, and before we left stopped to visit Kilmainham Gaol, a prison in Dublin famous for being where the political prisoners from many Irish rebellions, especially the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916 that lead to the Irish Civil War.

Overall Dublin was amazing, the best excursion yet! Like I said, because I went to the game I missed a few things, but I am ok with that because the game was extraordinary and I plan on going back anyway! What a great weekend! I am dragging this on, but I had an excellent time in Dublin. This week is our last week of class before Fall Break, which is crazily upon us already.... Thursday we are taking a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and then on Monday Pat McLoone, Khris Grant, and myself are off to London for the week! Should be another fun adventure, maybe a little expensive, but well worth it!

I hope all is well back home in the snow! I'd like to see some pictures of that, snow before Halloween? Brings me back to that one snowy Halloween as a clown in my youth....
I well leave you with some more pictures and hopefully update you again before London!

The cemetary and Celtic crosses at Clonmacnoise

Pat and I excited before the game.

The famous East Wing of Kilmainham Gaol. Political prisoners were kept here and it has been in over 100 movies including the Italian job.

Gone to Dublin

2009-10-08T12:10:00.002-05:00

So we are finally in a big city again and man does it feel great! We are in Dublin for the weekend, we left at 8:30 this morning, and are staying until Sunday morning and we are all stoked for it!
We stopped at a monastic site on the way to Dublin that Saint Ciarán had set up in ancient times, the name escapes me at the moment. Anyway, we stayed up late last night watching the Twins despite having to leave at 8 am. I ended up going to bed at 3:45 am and getting right around 4 hours of sleep. I am running on empty right now, but Pat is making steak and potato soup and it sounds sooooo good!
Anyway, I went and checked out a Dublin bike shop after we got here and I was really impressed with the large selection of REALLY nice frames they had, it was really cool. I talked to one of the employees for a bit and he likes Surly bikes a lot and that makes me happy because Surly is a MPLS company, it was really cool, he also swore by Park Tool tools which is also an MN company! Sorry, I miss my bikes a lot.

Anyway, we are going to explore Dublin tonight and have fun! I will update you after the weekend and let you know how awesome Dublin is. Have a good one

Back From County Kerry

2009-10-04T12:19:00.003-05:00

This weekend we traveled to County Kerry, the village of Portmagee, and the city of Killarney which is all located in the southwest of Ireland. County Kerry is the home of the 2009 All-Ireland Gaelic Football champions and is sometimes known as the place where you can find 100 different shades of green in the landscape. In a testament to that saying, as we traveled across the countryside we saw many, many beautiful scenes in the landscape. From forests, to mountains, to cliffs on the oceans, to islands just off the coast. All around County Kerry was gorgeous!
We stayed 2 nights in the "quaint fishing village" of Portmagee where, on Friday, we had a basic photography class with a relative of our director. The photo session was very interesting and informative. We learned some basics about cameras and photography, took some pictures, and had a basic critique session, it was a good experience. As Portmagee was very quaint our Friday not was moderately uneventful.

This was one of my photos from the photo session, the photographer said it was great!

On Saturday we boarded the bus in the rain and ventured to Killarney, a much bigger place than Portmagee with stores, food, restaurants, pubs, clubs, and people! On our way to Killarney we made a photography stop at a scenic overlook in Killarney National Park which, despite the rain, was very impressive! We made our way into Killarney for lunch after our stop and then we proceeded on to our guided tour of the Muckross House which is a huge mansion built in 1843. The house is famous for its size, gardens, and placement in what is now Killarney National Park. Queen Victoria visited and stayed in the house in 1861. I forgot my camera at this point of the excursion due to grogginess, but take my word for it, it was pretty amazing!

We were given free reign of Killarney for the evning and we spent some time in the pubs listening to traditinal music and other live music for awhile, some people extended their evenings to the clubs as well! This morning we left Killarney bright an early and ventured to the County Kerry Museum where we learned of the history and past of County Kerry! Yahoo! Yay! WOOOO! It was exciting to say the least. We ate lunch after the museum and set out for home. We made a stop in Galway for groceries and brought home some pretty amazing deals and delicious meals for the week. Tonight we are having hamburgers, homemade fries, and baked beans which are being cooked at this very moment and It is rumored that later in the week Alfredo and meatloaf may or may not be on the menu!

We are all planning on staying up late tonight and cheering for those darned Twins as they attempt to make the playoffs! Also, congrats to SJU football for finally beating Bethel since I have been a Johnnie...It had been a sad 2 years losing to Bethel, but they finally pulled one off, although it was a little too close for comfort... I hope everyone at SJU had a great homecoming weekend and celebrated the win lots! Cheer hard for those Twins tonight, you know we will be!

Hope all is well, I will have some pics up in my album tonight or tomorrow so check them out, I will leave you with these teasers for now. Enjoy!!!

Hello Again

2009-10-01T13:22:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! I am still alive and kicking, but I have been busy with school and slightly under the weather with a cold that has been passed around our small campus. With school work increasing, it has been harder to find time to post blog entries in quick succession as I have in the past, but I will continue to post when I can!

As I said in my last post, we climbed Croagh Patrick last Saturday which was a challenging and fun adventure. The path was rocky and steep in some parts and as we ascended, we encountered clouds, mist, and wind, plus more rocks and steep climbs. Despite the obstacles faced, the majority of our group made it to the top of the mountain, 3 of the guys even did it barefoot! I made it up in just over an hour, which I thought was pretty impressive... By the time I had made it to the top I was completely soaked with a mix of sweat and misty rain from the clouds, but I made it despite my condition at the end! Woo!
The path down was a bit more treacherous due to the fact that we had to find individual footings and rocks that were set in the ground so we didn't end up falling all the way down. The hike down took a bit longer but we all ended up just fine and back in the sun, dry and warm when we reached the bottom. All around it was a great morning, I felt very accomplished for having climbed a mountain at 9 in the morning! This is me at the top:

We returned to the PLH late Saturday afternoon and had a nice relaxing evening. Sunday I woke up with a cold which spread through our group within the week. Sunday I also got to spend some time with Eric and Anna again which was great! It was sooo nice to see someone familiar from home. We went on a little drive, stopped and had some coffee in Spiddal and then I did some homework and they went and explored a little more. Later we had them out for dinner with myself and our 4 cottage mates. Pat cooked up a delicious tuna casserole, I made a salad, and we had some garlic bread too. It was a great home cooked meal and it was fun to have Eric and Anna around to talk to, spend some time with, and bitch a little bit about some things we have been having problems with. It was very good to see family members and have some fun with them too.

This week was pretty mild, I got a lot of sleep in an effort to get healthy again and for the most part it is working. We had the most homework yet this week but overall this week was very relaxing. This weekend we are off to The Ring of Kerry in the South West of Ireland. We have been kind of uninformed about what we are doing this weekend so we are rather skeptical of the goings on. We arrived in the town, I mean the village, I mean the few houses called Portmagee today and were surprised by the quaintness of it all. Tomorrow we have a photography class of sorts with a FREEish lunch. I am rather excited to ask questions of some professional photographers but I, as everyone is, am kind of wondering what we are actually doing here as this village consists of pretty much nothing. I think there is kind of some dissent in the ranks due to not knowing what is going on sometimes but overall I think things are going well!

It is dinner time so I have to get a move on, but I promise I will update this blog more often, as much as I can! Hope all is well at home and go Twins!
Matt

Long Time No Post/Family!

2009-09-25T15:50:00.002-05:00

Hello world, it has been awhile since I have posted and I apologize, but give me a break, I'm in Ireland you know! Anyway, I have been keeping busy with class and excursions as well as cooking, doing dishes, sleeping, and well, having an amazing time!
This week was pretty low key for the most part, after returning from our adventure in Connemara. Class has been going well and for the most part has been interesting, although 3 hour lectures get rather long... Regardless of the class, religion, history, archaeology, it all is history so I am definitely getting my fill of history for the year, or next few years.
In a very gracious gesture, Professor Davis, our director, canceled our excursion and class on Thursday giving us a free day to relax, finish work before our trip to Westport, and enjoy ourselves. Possibly the most exciting part of Thursday though was the arrival of my backpack! Oh and Eric and Anna showed up and surprised me at the PLH! It was so awesome to see them and it will be awesome to see them again on Sunday! Thursday happened to be Arthur's day here in Ireland, celebrating the 250th birthday of Guinness beer, so there was lots going on in Galway. All 28 of us, 29 including Allison, our assistant director, went into Galway to celebrate. Eric and Anna met up with myself and my 4 cottage mates at the Spanish arches, went and ate some fish and chips, and proceeded to have a great night with some Guinness and lots of fun. It was awesome to have them out with my friends, I think everyone enjoyed themselves! I am very excited to see them again on Sunday before they head out for Dingle!

As for the rest of the weekend, we are in the town of Westport, in County Mayo, north of County Galway. Today we visited the Ballintubber Abbey, the only Abbey built by an Irish king still in use today, it was built in 1216. We learned much about the abbey, how it was built, how it was destroyed during the reformation, and how it was rebuilt and restored to it's current state. After Ballintubber Abbey we ventured farther into County Mayo to Foxford and the Foxford Woolen Mills, a working wollen mill that makes beautiful blankets, scarves, sweaters, tweed coats, and other wollen products. It was a very cool place and it was really cool seeing how all the mechanized looms and weaving machines worked and spun out these amazing, beautiful woollen products. After Foxford we visited a cultural center, which ended up being the sight of a man and his family's home and where this man had grown up in a small, 3 room cottage where 3 generations of his family lived together in the cottage. We learned about daily life and migrant workers like his father, who he did not know until he was 14 years old, due to being a migrant worker himself. We learned about the history and past culture of County Mayo and the west of Ireland. It was a very interesting and educational tour that lasted for a good 2 hours. At the end of it all we had homemade tea and scones with the man and his wife, it was excellent!

We arrived in Westport around 6 this evening and made dinner here in the hostel and have been more or less bumming around most of the evening. We have a busy day tomorrow starting at 8:30 when we leave to climb the famed Croagh Patrick. Croagh Patrick is the 3rd highest mountain in Ireland and is most famously known as a pilgrammage sight because of St. Patrick making a pilgrimage from Ballintubber Abbey to the peak of Croagh Patrick. As St. Patrick did this pilgrimage barefoot, many people attempt the pilgrimage barefoot also, as Pat will attempt tomorrow! I am excited for the history behind this hike and to climb the 3rd highest mountain in Ireland, it should be challenging and fun! We have several other stops after Croagh Patrick but as it is late and I am tired I don't remember them at the moment, I will update you tomorrow, Sunday, or in the future of the other experiences that tomorrow will bring. Along with the entry, I hope to have some more photos to share with everyone of Westport, Croagh Patrick, and various other things!

I hope all is well and that the rain isn't too horrible for all of you back home, I need to get some rest! Night!

They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!

2009-09-19T11:13:00.007-05:00

I spent the last two days in Middle Earth, no lie.
On Friday morning we departed the PLH for Connemara, a region of west Ireland known for its rocky and mountainous terrain. We headed for the small town of Clifden for Clifden Arts Week and a poetry reading by world renowned Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney, but before all of that we stopped at a place called Mamean.
Mamean was a place within the mountains that St. Patrick supposedly visited. There is a small chapel there and amongst the rocks there are 12 Gaelic crosses marking the stations of the cross. At Mamean we were given some free time to wander and explore. Some climbed to the top of the said mountain, up into the clouds. Others like myself explored the rocky outcroppings and took a look at the small lake and stream that were to be seen.
In my exploring, I climbed to the top of an outcropping that was situated directly in the middle of a sort of valley between two mountains, it was here, standing on this outcropping that I felt like I was in Middle Earth, following the trail of the orcs through Rohan. Let the outpouring of nerdiness begin. Those of you familiar with Lord of the Rings will know the scene in The Two Towers that I am talking about, those of you who don't, I am sorry, read up!

Anyway, standing on this outcropping in Connemara, I felt like Aragorn, following the trail of the Orcs who, at the time, were taking the Hobbits, Merry and Pippen to the tower of Isengard where the White Wizard Sauroman was building an army. I honestly felt like my favorite, Lord of the rings character, standing on that rocky outcropping, following the trail, and being just downright awesome. I am awesome, a huge nerd, I know.

Now as the trip into Connemara progressed I kept thinking of Lord of the Rings and making references about it to my friends who, also being nerds, joined in to my pleasure. Eventually we learned why we felt like we had this feeling of being in Middle Earth, because we were.
It ends up that J.R.R. Tolkien, the amazing author of Lord of the Rings, was a guest lecturer at the National University of Galway-Ireland and spent quite a bit of time on Ireland's west coast, specifically Connemara. Tolkien drew a large amount of influence from the region in writing The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The rocky terrain, the green fields, the mountains, all of these features you see in Connemara are the same ones you imagine and see in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien also drew from the Gaelic language itself in naming places and people of Middle Earth. All of this knowledge really made me excited because Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are some of the best books/stories ever in my opinion.

If you wonder where all of this knowledge comes from, it comes from our extraordinary bus driver, Allen. Allen is absolutely amazing in the amount of information he has. He seems to know everything about everything we pass on the road and he knows everything about every place we go. He has been a fisherman, a farmer, a bus driver, and has had several other careers that we haven't heard yet, all around this man is the best bus driver ever, providing us with a constant stream of knowledge and information that never seems to get old, and is always interesting.

The rest of our time in Connemara was relaxing and enjoyable. We went to the poetry reading in a beautiful little church in Clifden and enjoyed a very enthusiastic reading of poetry! Woo! I am not too big into poetry and honestly wasn't expecting much, but how can you not feel privileged to listen to a Nobel Prize Winner in Literature read his poetry, it was definitely an experience.
After listening to poetry we regrouped and dispersed out into the town where we settled in numerous local pubs to listen to traditional music and enjoy a pint or two, a very fantastic evening to say the least.
This morning was low key, as was the rest of the day. We woke up and left our hostel. Some of the group went to Connemara national park and hiked, some of us, including myself explored the little town of Clifden. We went to a coffee house, had some delicious coffee and crepe like pancakes with cheese and ham inside, very delicious!
We regrouped around 12:30 and left for the PLH. We made a stop at Aughnanure Castle which was a small tower fortress that was interesting. We were all a little dazed so it seemed we didn't take it in as well as we should have, but oh well. We returned to the PLH safe and sound and have had some downtime to ourselves and now we are about to enjoy another amazing stew, prepared by Pat. Mmmmmmm!

So far, so good in this wild country called Ireland! Hope things are well at home!
Enjoy your weekend!

Breathe Deep

2009-09-17T05:44:00.006-05:00

As I walked outside this morning for my seminar this morning I took a deep breath and instantly just felt refreshed. Have you ever felt like that before?
I think it may have been the fresh Irish air flowing into my lungs as I awoke from a dream filled sleep that gave me such refreshment, but there are other times when I have felt that instantly refreshed feeling too. It has come with certain songs or music I listen to, which some of you may relate to, or it will come when I am in a certain place at a certain time, or during a certain physical or mental activity. It is just this feeling of pure enjoyment, relaxation, and refreshment and it is really just awesome.
The reason I bring this up is because after a somewhat stressful, but most enjoyable, travel period before arriving in Ireland, these moments of refreshment and relaxation come as such a normal thing in everyday life here and it is nice. I hope I can take with me this relaxed feeling as I move about in Ireland and eventually back home at SJU and Minnesota in general.

Anyway, today marked the end of our first week of class and it absolutely flew by! All of my classes seem interesting and will pose a different view of learning in Ireland that I am excited for. Last night we took a trip into Galway to National University of Ireland-Galway and participated in a round table discussion of sorts with some faculty and a few grad students about what made an Irish person Irish.
The discussion was very interesting and in short, we talked a lot about being a tribe and how from the most basic level to the country level, there was this feeling of tribes. The people you know from the pubs, from your athletic endeavors, your family all constitute a different tribe. It goes from a sense of tribe within a family to a national sense of tribe around, say, the national soccer or rugby team. This is a very interesting concept to me because it doesn't leave anyone out, even a stranger is welcome to become part of a tribe for a night or an event. For example, one of the speakers referenced the regulars at a pub as a tribe. He said that on a certain night, you could go in as an individual or small group of 2 or 3 and mingle with the locals. He specifically said that we should do this, go in and strike up a conversation and make it known that you want to be a part of something and you will become part of the tribe, even if it is just for the night. This is a very prevalent concept as we have found in our experiences. We were in the pub in Spiddal the other night and the local Gaelic Football team had just won the regional championship and they were celebrating and we just happened to be there, amongst the celebrations. It happened that the giant trophy they had was filled with a mix of whiskey and Irish cider and was being passed around for everyone to drink out of, whether you were a part of the community, the team or not and if you did not drink you were offending them. For that period of time, we were part of the tribe.
We discussed numerous other bits of information that make an Irish person Irish, but the idea of tribes was the most interesting and stuck with me the most.

As I said today marks the start of the weekend and we are off to Connemara (check out the link) tomorrow morning bright and early at 9:15 am our time or 3:15 am your time! Now from what I know Connemara is not a county or a province of Ireland it is an area. We were told that it is an area like we would describe the Iron Range back home in Minnesota as an area, it isn't necessarily marked, but you know you are there when you are there. We will be staying at what looks to be a very nice hostel in Clifd en called Brookside Hostel on Friday night and returning to the PLH late Saturday afternoon. It should prove to be a very interesting weekend and I am excited for it! I will write about it and inform everyone of the details in coming posts.

For now I need to get some homework done and then probably a little exploring and a run! There is also word of a small party like event tonight to celebrate our first week, so we will see what happens!
I hope all is well back in the states and I will leave you with some pictures of the PLH and our view of Galway Bay, enjoy!

A view of our cottage and my laundry

The Park Lodge Hotel from the front, very nice.

A view across the bay from the rocks.

Looking across the bay

Clouds?!

2009-09-15T11:15:00.004-05:00

As the second day of classes started this morning, we were greeted with our first actual cloudy day in Ireland, which is pretty crazy considering we are in Ireland. It was actually nice though, it was comfortably cool and it felt like a fall day back home in Minnesota.
We had our first Senior Seminar class today and it seems like it will be a good compliment to the other classes I am taking as we are going to build off of those other classes within seminar. The other class I had today was Gaelic Archaeology & Culture which was great! The professor is a lot of fun and very entertaining, I have a feeling this class will be like no other class I have ever taken.

After class today I decided to make a solo trek into Spiddal to stop at the post office and drop off a letter and more or less explore and enjoy the Minnesota like fall weather. The village of Spiddal is a small town right on the coast. They have a Texaco gas station, a church, some small shops, houses, and 3-4 pubs. Also in Spiddal is really nice beach where we took a swim in Galway bay from a few days back. The other attraction to Spiddal besides the gas station/convenience store, pubs, etc. is a McDonald's esque restaurant know as Super Macs. Now I have not eaten at Super Macs yet but I am interested to see what they have and if what I have heard from former Galway dwellers is true, maybe I will check it out in the coming days.
After the casserole on Sunday night and the delicious soup we had yesterday, I don't know what we will have for dinner tonight, but I have a feeling it will be good old pasta, but hey, it is food right?!

I have no new pictures again today but I am going to make another trip down to the rocks on the ocean to watch the sun go down so I will take my camera and try and showcase Galway Bay a little for you. As for now I am off to read some history but if the sight of Thomas asleep on the floor with the history text in front of him is any indicator, I may be taking a nap...
Enjoy your days back in Minnesota, I have heard that the weather is gorgeous! Enjoy!
Regards,
Matt

Beautiful.

Watching Gaelic football on Inishmore.

Class and Such

2009-09-14T12:24:00.003-05:00

Today marked the first day of class in Ireland. Boo. Just kidding it wasn't so bad. Today most of us had 2 classes, Irish History and Contemporary Irish Catholicism which were three hours long each. Both classes seem like they will be interesting and our professor for Irish Catholicism seems like a very fun lady to say the least. I am excited to see what classes tomorrow bring, we all have our required senior seminar class at 9 and then I have Gaelic Archaeology and Culture from 11 until 2.

Yesterday we went on a short day trip to W.B. Yeats' house and Coole Park where he went to get inspiration and write at the residence of his good friend, the Lady Gregory. Yeats' house was very interesting even though it was closed and we couldn't go inside. He bought the house because it merged the royalty of a castle with the meagerness of a cottage. The house itself was a classic Norman tower with an attached cottage, I forgot my camera but it was really cool, take my word for it!
After seeing his house, we went to Coole park which used to be the estate of the Gregory family. Coole park was amazing, it was a very beautiful wooded area with lots of exotic trees and a very beautiful lake. The professor for the literature class guided us through the two spots and said that we had only touched the surface of Coole park, so I think it would be very cool to go back and check it out again sometime.
After our adventures in Coole park we made a stop at the grocery store to stock up on food and drink and it was definitely worth it because tonight our cottage mate Pat cooked up some amazing soup that has put the 5 of us in a food induced coma. It was absolutly delicious and we are trying to make our way down to the beach shortly but we are struggling.

Anyway, like I said I believe we off to the rocks to watch the sun go down, relax, and wear off some food. I added some more pictures to the album, "Ireland, First Impressions", so check them out and enjoy!
I hope all is well at home and school is going well for those of you in classes!

We Came Expecting Rain

2009-09-12T12:54:00.007-05:00

We came to Ireland expecting rainy, damp weather with only glimpses of the sun and we are here with no signs of rain yet, knock on wood! It has been absolutely gorgeous for our first 2 days here in Ireland, warm sun, clear skies, and excellent temperatures. Yesterday we awoke early in the morning to an amazing breakfast cooked for us by Geraldine Foyle, one of the siblings that runs the Park Lodge. The breakfast consisted of fresh fruit, fresh bread, scrambled eggs, fresh cheese, fresh juice, amazing coffee, sausage, yogurt, and bacon. After all of those free hostel breakfasts this breakfast was absolutely, in all ways, amazing. After our breakfast we had a short orientation from Jane Marie Foyle, the other sister that kind of runs the show here at PLH. She just told us a few housekeeping details and then proceeded to tall our director not to work us too hard this semester, which we all enjoyed and appreciated.
With our short orientation complete we made our first trip into Galway City. Galway City is amazing. It is a city of about eighty to ninty thousand people but does not seem that big. Galway boarders the ocean and has a decently sized river that runs through it. Galway has a very large student population and we have been told that it is a very intelectual city.

We were dropped off in Galway at a place called the Spanish Arches which is a park area where the river runs into the bay and where there are 2 arches that are some of the oldest structures in the city. We were given about three hours to explore what we could in the city and we made our way up through the pedestrian street and shopping area which is full of pubs, shops, and businesses. The pubs seemed the most frequented, even at noon. From the pedestrian street we made our way around the city and explored a bit. We went to the university in Galway and just walked around to get an idea of what it was like. It is a nice quiet campus with lots of trees, old and new buildings, and of course, students. From the university we followed the river back to the Spanish Arches and relaxed for a bit in the park before heading back to the PLH.
In the evening my roommates, Ross Terhaar, Ben Bauer, Pat McCloone, and Jimmy Backes, and myself made some pasta for dinner and got a little more situated in cottage #1. We figuered that cottage #1 is a rather boring name so we renamed it Numero Uno, creative, huh?
We spent the early hours of the evening relaxing, orienting ourselves, and battling 5 young girls who were attacking us with frogs. We eventually made a truce by offering a bag of Swedish Fish and in return they doubled their attack. Needless to say the children eventually gave up due to a strong defensive stand on our part.
After our battle, the majority of our whole group got together and went down to the ocean side and watched the sunset and the tide come in for a bit. It was very beautiful and wish that all of you could have been there to see it! It was also a very good community experience for our group, it was our first time as a big group without a director, a "superior" guiding presence. It was nice.

This morning we took our first real Irish adventure to the Aran Islands, specifically Inishmore, the largest of the 3 islands located in Galway Bay. We had a short 30 minute bus ride and a similar ferry ride out to the island. Once in the island we were set loose to do as we wanted. A large contingent of us rented bikes to tour around the island which was quicker and more efficient way than walking. While touring the island we stopped to watch a Gaelic football match which was very entertaining. I would like to try playing sometime, but it seems like a lot of rules and things to learn, I better start soon! After stopping to watch the match we made our way to Dun Aengus, an ancient fort built in the 2nd century B.C. on a 300 foot cliff. The area was amazing, the rolling hills and rocky walls seemed to stretch forever and then there was the ocean. The view from the top of the cliffs was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out in front of us to the horizon and the cliffs dropped down to the water 300 feet below. It was a very impressive to say the least.
We left Dun Aengus and biked back to our ferry for the ride back to the mainland and as soon as my butt hit the seat on the ferry I was asleep.
Overall Ireland has been excellent so far, we have had lots of fun and experiences and many more to come. At the moment while I write this there is a wedding reception at the hotel and I have become a conversation piece for a group of 14 year old boys because of my American roots, it is interesting to talk to these kids and see how their lives are similar to kids back home, we think things are different but really, things are pretty similar. I am also becoming tired from a long day of fresh air and walking. I have a nice Irish sunburn because, like I said, I was expecting rain, not the beautiful weather we have. I am grateful for the weather because it really is absolutely gorgeous.

I took a huge amount of pictures today but am having uploading problems them onto picasa so when I get them up, I will let you know. In the meantime, here are a few of the highlights.
Have a great evening everyone!
Matt

A view from the fort, looking down the coast

A view of our kitchen. It is small.

The dining room

An Irish road, very narrow!

Ireland!

2009-09-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

I made it! I made it to Ireland in one piece and I am super excited!
The travel today was long and a little hectic, but we made it to the Park Lodge Hotel and it is great! We arrived in Galway City around 7:30 and got to the hotel at about 8:30 and everything is amazing! We arrived on a beautiful day, just in time to see the sunset and our cab driver even pointed a few things out to us!
We are going into Galway tomorrow to buy groceries and just kind of see the town and explore which I am very excited for. All in all traveling ahead wad a lot of fun, seeing Munich and Prague was great, but being in Ireland is making me ecstatic right now! Sorry for the short post today but I am spent and I need some sleep and to mingle with my cottagemates.
I will get pictures up when I can!
Take care!
Matt

So Close I Can Taste It!

2009-09-09T09:17:00.005-05:00

Within 24 hours or so I will be in Ireland, it is so close I can almost taste it! I really can't taste it....but Thomas' uncle directed us to a bar/brewery called U Fleku where they had a very good dark beer in comparison to Guiness so maybe I can kind of taste it....

Last night was a relaxing time as we meandered along the Vltava river, which I now know the name of, that runs through Prague. We crossed a bridge that led us to an island in the Vltava and we relaxed and took in the view of the castle and the beautiful, well lit National Theatre.

The National Theatre at night.

After making our little adventure to the island in the river Vltava and seeing the National Theatre we spent a good half hour searching for this amazing U Fleku bar/restaurant/brewery that Thomas said we just HAD to go to. After searching and asking and searching some more we finally found it and it was definitely worth the wait. Their dark brew was delicious and the atmosphere was amazing! They had 2 guys playing polka-ish songs on an acordian and a baritone to which the majority Czech patrons would sing and clap along with. Some even got up and danced around their tables with friends and spouses. There was one man who maybe had a few too many of those very good beers who was parading around and leading songs and being very entertaining! All in all it was a good time, worth the walk.

Thomas and I at U Fleku

Today was a low key day as well. We woke up late and barely caught our second to last FREE breakfast and then we headed out into the town to do some exploring, see some churches and see if we could find that awesome AC Sparta Praha soccer jersey that I like so much. Long story short we found them and I bought one, the one I bought even has a player's name on the back. I looked him up and he looks like a pretty awesome dude named Tomas Repka, #2, and a defender. Here is his link and here is the link to AC Sparta's site, check them out!

Anyway, like I said we are headed for Ireland tomorrow morning and I am beyond excited! Thomas says I am going to love it and I know I will! I look forward to the laid back nature of the Emerald Island and I am hoping to learn a lot, bring back some good memories, and have some fun in there too! To get into the Irish spirit a little bit I have been listening to some musicians that hale from Ireland, Damien Rice and The Swell Season, who actually consist of a Irish man and a Czech woman so it works even better! Check out the song "Volcano" by Damien Rice and "When Your Mind's Made Up" by The Swell Season, two very good songs! As most of you probably know I love music so expect to hera about it once in awhile, also in other music news, Minnesota musician Mason Jennings has a great new album out titled "Blood of Man". Like I said, a great album from a great musician.

Anyway, not many new pictures today but there will be plenty come Ireland! I hope all is well and that school is too brutal yet for those of you in class!
Wishing you the best!
Matt

The Amazing Prague Castle

2009-09-08T10:05:00.007-05:00

The church of St. Vitus within the Prague Castle

Today was a good day. We slept in until about 10 o'clock so we could still get our free breakfast and then we made our way out into the world. Yesterday was a sad day as I broke my camera as I slept on it, but this morning we made our way to the nearest electronics store and I bought a new one. What would I do without a camera? Honestly?! Thanks to my parents for helping out a little too, they are amazing! We also dealt with Thomas' camera issue by purchasing a new battery at the same store!
After taking care of our camera issues we made the short, but majorly uphill, walk to the Prague Castle. The Prague castle is huge and gorgeous with lots of buildings within it's walls. The main attraction though was the magnificent St. Vitus Catholic Church. This Gothic architectural feat is amazing both inside and outside and is just enormous! The inside is a beautiful, cavernous area with breathtakingly tall ceilings and enormous, vibrant stained glass windows. There are many statues and interesting sculptures that also adorn the inside of the St. Vitus Church and overall the church is really just breathtaking!

Inside the church

Beyond the church, the rest of Prague Castle was very amazing too. The first thing we saw as we entered the actually castle itself was the enormous common room with it's tall ceiling, giant windows, and interesting design patterns. From the main banquet room we made our way out onto a balcony that over looked the King's gardens and from there you could see the entire city of Prague and let me tell you, it was spectacular!
We moved from the balcony into the Basilica of St. George which was very old and very pretty also. The next stop after the main area of the castle was a history tour of the castle showcasing the different eras the castle had been through from it's first banquet, through the Renaissance, through communism, and the castle's current use and as the office of the Czech President.
Overall the castle was a very, very worthwhile tour. We learned lots of history about Prague, the country, and the Prague Castle. We saw lots of beautiful architecture within the castle, the church, and the other buildings, we toured the art gallery inside the castle with many, many extraordinary and beautiful paintings, sculptures, and ornate pieces of furniture, we saw the guard towers and what is known as "the Black Tower" where the kept the prisoners. All in all the tour was a great experience and way to see lots of beautiful things!

Tonight will probably be low key again, nap for a bit, go out for awhile and explore, and come back, relax, and go to bed! Thomas' uncle told us of a certain bar we need to go to and enjoy the original Budweiser beer here in it's home so we will do that and see how that is.
Tomorrow will be our last day in Prague before we catch our 11:10 flight to Dublin on Thursday! As I have said numerous times I am very excited to arrive in Ireland and enjoy what I hope and know will be an amazing place. But in the time we have been here in Prague, I have come to really enjoy the city and it's extraordinary beauty and fun atmosphere.

I hope all is well at home and that you enjoyed your day off yesterday! Take it easy and take in some of Minnesota for me!
Matt

The main banquet hall of Prague Castle

A view of Prague from the castle balcony

Playground equipment in Prague is AWESOME! There are 4 or 5 of these guys in various sizes.

Bohemian Beauty

2009-09-07T10:24:00.006-05:00

Prague is a very gorgeous city.

Today we woke up fairly early and ate our FREE breakfast, which we were pretty excited about because it was free, and then we went on a FREE walking tour of the city of Prague! So we haven't spent much money today which is a good thing!
Anyway, the free walking tour was excellent once again and we saw and learned lots about the city of Prague. Since Prague was kept pretty clear of WWII's path of destruction it has some very beautiful old buildings in the Gothic, Baroque, and Cubist styles of architecture, along with others. All of these buildings are gorgeous buildings with lots of history behind them.
We passed by the Estate Theater where, in his later days, Mozart performed and which is the only theater that Mozart played in still standing completely.
We saw the Catholic and Hussite churches that dominate the skyline with their gorgeous steeples. We passed by the building where Czechoslovakia declared its first independence way back when. We saw the Charles Bridge built by King Charles IV starting in 1357 and the very magnificent Prague Castle which is enormous. You could fit around 7 football fields within it's walls! The view we got of the castle from across the river was by far the most amazing view I have had yet and was amazing, the castle is huge!

The city of Prague is a very old and beautiful city. It is, like any city, a little grimy in places but also very unique and different form lots of other European cities. We were told before we left that Prague was going to be cheaper than the rest of Europe, which seems kinda of true, but it also seems pretty equal in prices to the U.S. at the moment. Here in Prague they have a futbol team called FC Sparta and I am torn at the moment to whether I want to buy a jersey or not, they are very cool, but kinda spendy, we will see I guess!

Anyway, we are going to a garden on the top of the hill in town this evening because we have been told it has a magnificent view of the city at night. Hopefully this is true!
It is nap time for me though, I need to catch up on my sleep soon, which is part of why I am looking forward to the relaxation that Ireland will bring.

Hope everyone is enjoying a labor free day off and that all is well!
Enjoy the fall season for me when it comes, it is my favorite as some may know!
Matt

On the train to Prague

The Charles Bridge which has been around since the 15th century.

A view of the castle from across the river, I couldn't get the whole thing in the frame.

Photos

2009-09-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! I have a Picasa web album with all my pics from Europe on it. Sometimes it takes some time to upload them and sometimes I filter some out so be patient, but enjoy! Just click on the link to the right named "My Europe Photos!"
Matt

Moving On

2009-09-06T15:25:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! We have moved on! Yes, this morning marked the end of our time in Munich for now and we took a train to Prague in the Czech Republic. As I said we traveled by train this time and it was a very good experience. The train ride took about 7 hours and it was very relaxing and a very good way to see the beautiful German and Czech country sides. The countryside consists of rolling hills, big ones, pine trees, corn fields, other kinds of fields, and lots of pretty colors. We passed many a German village with their white buildings that had reddish orange roofs. Once we passed into The Czech Republic the scenery started to change and things started looking a little more rough. Lots and lots of green still, but more rock outcroppings and the villages started to show more color. It was a very nice train ride, relaxing and beautiful plus I took a few catnaps and got some time to think about the past week.
Tonight we have been taking it fairly easy, we got here at about 7 o'clock or noonish back home. Tomorrow we plan on taking a free walking tour and then going out at night to take some awesome pictures of the castles and landmarks lit up at night!

Overall Munich was a fun city. We learned how to spend money more wisely and more importantly we learned how to deal with Europe. We saw 6 people from SJU in Munich too which was bizarre. Three guys from our Galway program randomly ran into us on the street near our hostel, we met up with the aforementioned Tom and Brian, and then last night our friend Nick Kroll, who is studying in Salzburg, made his way up to Munich to see us and we went out and had a little fun even though it was a dead night. Along with meeting up with people we knew in Munich we met and talked to quite a few good people in our hostel too! People form all over the place just doing the same things we are, it was a very good experince!

Europe has been awesome so far! We have one awesome city down and many more to go, Prague seems like a great city in which to spend 3ish days! Lots of beautiful old buildings, a beautiful area in general to explore! I am still very very excited to get to the west coast of Ireland where things will be laid back. I am excited for classes too, my mind is starting to feel a bit mushy, it needs some stimulus!

Anyway, I feel as if I am starting to ramble a bit so hopefully after tomorrow I have lots to say about Prague! No new pictures today, but I am making progress on my Picasa site so check it out!
Have a great Labor Day!
Matt

Dachau

2009-09-05T09:30:00.009-05:00

Today we woke up to beautiful weather. Clear blue skies with lots of sun and the perfect temperature of about 65 degrees. We have pretty much figured out our amended travel plans now, as we have decided to cut out Vienna and that is a huge relief, we still have to buy train tickets to Prague, but we figured out how to do that now so everything is kind of coming together! Travel is stressful, even more so when you don't plan the greatest. :)

Anyway, like I said we woke up today to beautiful weather and also to our friends Tom and Brian parting ways with us for now. It was great to spend a few days with them in Munich, we had plenty of great times between the 5 of us! After we woke up and got going we decided to go see Dachau, the Nazi concentration camp near Munich. We took a 20-ish minute train ride and then a 10-ish minute bus ride to get there which took us out of the city and into the very beautiful German country side. We arrived at Dachau not know what to really expect and it ended up being a pretty sobering experince.

It was free admission and we guided ourselves around which was a good way to go. Dachau was built in 1933 as a prison for political opposition of the Nazi party and eventually came to be a concentration camp. When Dachau was liberated they knocked down the majority of the prisoner and troop barracks that housed the prisoners and troops. There were 34 prisoner barracks meant to house about 200 prisoners each, but with thee stagering number of prisoners entering the camp near the end of the war, the barracks were housing 2,000+ people per barrack, 10x the amount of people meant to live in them... As we walked into the camp through the entrance gate, the infamous Nazi phrase, "Arbeit Macht Fre" or "Work makes you free", in english, was emblazoned on the gate. I could not help to think of how bizarre it was that not even a lifetime ago, people were being murder on the plot of land I was walking on today. It was a very sobering thought in the least. I think the hardest part of the visit and tour was seeing the creamatorium and gas chambers... The flow of people led us through the actual gas chamber and it was really hard to walk through the room with thoughts of what had happened there, but that is why you go, to pay respect and gain knowledge of what happened so things like that don't happen again.
The thing that both Thomas and I commented on was the beauty of the place where all these terrible things happened. The lush green trees and grass alng with the flowers and surrounding town, it was hard to imagine such terrible, terrible things happening there. Although it was a sad place it felt like something that had to be done and I am very glad I went. Like I said, it makes you really think about things like that and think how lucky you really are, it raises the hair on my arms just thinking that I set foot in a place where approximately 206,200 people were murdered without a second thought. It was definitely a good place to see.

On a happier note, we went out to the Augstiener Brau beer hall last night for dinner and a beer. The food was amazing as was the beer! We got a sampler kind of meal that consisted of 1 dumpling, roast pork, 1/4 of a duck, and 1 pigs knuckle! Not to mention very, very good pretzels! It was very, very good but a litle pricey, so we are working on spending less money to nourish ourselves otherwise we will be broke in no time!

Speaking of food, it is time to go get some dinner here in Munich as most of you at home are maybe just waking up and preparing for a relaxing saturday or a Johnnie football game! I hope all is well and that I didn't forget to tell you too much! OH! and I am trying to get a Picasa web album up for pictures so be patient!
Have a great weekend!
Matt

A flower growing in the remains of a prisoner barrack

Me at Dachau, smiling didn't seem appropriate

The entrance to Dachau. That stone road was only unearthed in 2004.

This is what the countryside looks like

We like Munich

2009-09-04T08:59:00.006-05:00

We ended up sleeping in a little today which turned out to feel very, very good after traveling so much and not sleeping in a bed for a long time. The hostel we are staying in is very nice, free internet, the rooms are very clean , free lockers, very, very helpful employees, it is great. I was so happy to have a bed to sleep in too, let me tell you!
Last night we went out for awhile and took some time to explore the area of Munich we are in, which is very nice. Today, after waking up, we went on a "free" walking tour, and by "free" I mean that we didn't have to pay for the tour, but a tip for the tour guide was recommended. Our tour guide ended up being really awesome and knowing a very large amount about Munich and its history, he also happened to be a singer who had recorded in, of all place, good old St. Cloud! Small world.
Anyway the tour took as all through the city center of Munich which is very nice. We learned that only 4 structures survived the bombings of WWII and that, regardless of the look, most of the buildings in Munich are only 50 or so years old, if not younger. The buildings look older than they are though because in the rebuilding process the city decided to rebuild in the old style, giving the city an older vibe.
The tour was very good though. We had a delicious sausage/bratwurst and, surprise to some people!, I am actually starting to like Mustard! Also, to the probable dismay of my mother, we have had some very good beer here in Bavaria too! but not too much, I promise!
We also learned about the culture of the city and how to act, what to do, where to go, tips on getting around and many other helpful things on getting around and saving money in Munich.
The tour guide knew his history very well too, we learned about Munich's history, the history of Bavaria (they only wear lederhosen in Bavaria and the people of Bavaria are very, very proud of their heritage!), the role of Munich in the 3rd Reich, and much more. It was well worth the tip we had to pay!

At the moment we are all enjoying a little downtime; napping, emailing, chatting, blogging, and all around just catching up a little. Tonight we plan on finding some more delicious sausage to eat and enjoy the evening again! I am working on uploading pictures and starting a web photo album, so you will see pictures soon, I might also throw some pictures on facebook...MAYBE.
Overall Munich has been an awesome city and we aren't sure when we are going to move on to Prague yet.
I will now leave you with a few photos for your viewing enjoyment! Take care!

The Bavarian Countryside from the bus window

Enjoying the hostel pub

St. Michael's Catholic church, one of the tallest buildings in Munich and one of only 4 structures to survive WWII bombing.

Munich

2009-09-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! We made it to Munich and are already enjoying it! We Left London at about 7 am this morning or 1 am Minnesota time and arrived in Germany around 9:45 our time, 3:45 Mn time. We then rode a bus through the beautiful German countryside for about an hour and a half, 2 hours before we arrived in Munich. From there we worked our way to the hostel we are staying at, Wombat's, where we met up with friends Tom Loonan and Brian Kahout who are traveling Europe before the start classes in Rome.

Our day has been spent meandering around Munich seeing things and enjoying our time! We went to the sight of the 1972 Olympics and saw the buildings and other facilities. After that we went and wandered around the higher end part of downtown Munich. At the moment we are planning on going out and seeing what we can find to do so I better get going! Have a great day everyone, sorry for the pressed post! I will post more in depth soon!
Hope all is well!
Matt

Off to Munich....Soon

2009-09-02T21:19:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, I am not sure when I will have internet again for the next 6-7 days....boo! hiss! I know, I know! So I figure I will get a post in now while I can.
It is currently 3:19 am here at Stansted airport on the outskirts of London. We have been here for awhile, waiting to check in to our flight to Munich which leaves at 6:55 am, London time.

After a long day that was rather stressful, sleep and nourishment deprived, and, well, long, the airport was actually a nice place to be. We grabbed some food and got some sleep. I bought some internet and got online and that was a nice boost of spirits to receive some emails from people back home and see someone smiling at you for once in the day on skype. Smiles did not seem to be afoot in London today.

On another note we have made a change of plans due to not wanting to spend large sums of money on multiple train rides, so we are not going to Vienna, but instead staying in Munich a little longer and making a day trip south to Salzburg where we may meet a few of or SJU brethren. Then we will be going to Prague, directly from Munich for a few days and then flying to Dublin. I am excited to get to Ireland, I long for the countryside and the rolling hills....cheesy I know, but the relaxing atmosphere of rural life is enticing at the moment.
Anyway, thanks much to those of you whom I talked to on skype, facebook, and thorough email today for making our Stansted airport stay go a little better and for brightening my day, you know who you are! ;)

Have a great week, I will update when I can, Stay posted!
-Matt

London

2009-09-02T12:27:00.003-05:00

We landed in London safe and sound around noon here, about 6:50-7 o'clock back home. We made it through customs really easily and progressed to hop on the underground. We discovered that an acquaintance from St. Ben's who is studying abroad in London was on our flight and so we helped her get her stuff to her flat in the city center, which turned out to be rather hectic, but we got it done.
From there we ran into a problem, that problem being that the airport we take of from for Munich happened to be 45 minutes north of the city center and we had to check in at 3 am, meaning we need to be there while the trains are still running. Long story short, we spent some money on train tickets and are now sitting in Stansted Airport in rural London until we can check in at 4 am! This isn't so bad as we get to catch up on some much needed sleep, get in contact with friends and family via the awesome pay-as-you-go airport internet, and of course update much frequented blogs!
Anyway, we are off to Munich, Germany at 6:55 am or 1 am-ish for those of you in Minnesota, hopefully, with an actual plan!
Hope all is well and Minnesota is still awesome!

The day is upon us.

2009-09-01T10:41:00.002-05:00

Well, it is Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 and I fly out of MSP at 9:25 tonight. Wow....Wow, wow wow! I am excited! After a fun and work filled summer that I really enjoyed, I am about to ship out and it feels strange and amazing at the same time! I am not going to lie, I am nervous, but it is definitely a good nervous! A slightly giddy feeling accompanies the nervousness too.

I am meeting Thomas and Jimmy at the Northwest Airlines check-in at at 7 o'clock pm and then we are off through security and into the airport... I am mostly packed and ready to go, I just have a few more things to load into my brother's giant backpack and I should be golden and ready to cruise.
I am only taking a 70 liter hiking pack (it is big) and an over the shoulder messenger style bag so I have packed light. The pack weighs in at around 35 pounds and the over the shoulder at about 15 so I guess I did pack fairly light. I'd take a picture of them but my camera is packed away, so I'll leave you with your imaginations!

Well I think it might be time for me to get out of bed and start getting ready, so have a great day everyone, I'll be thinking of you and missing you!
Bon Voyage! I'll be in touch!

I'm Alive!

2009-08-30T21:54:00.007-05:00

Still no Irish stuff to tell you about... But as I said in my last post I did participate in the Salsa 2-4 Fest mountain bike race this past Friday and Saturday with my brother Eric and friends Eric Braaten and Ted Isenberg!

The race went off well and as a team we came 1 lap away from our goal of 24 laps in 24 hours! If it wasn't for a lighting malfunction at 3 am we would have had it too! Oh well. Although competition was tough, as was the course, the whole experience was lots of fun! I found myself to be pretty well prepared for it fitness wise, although there is definitely lots of room for improvement on my part... I did feel better and better as the race went on and my fastest 2 laps actually were my last 2, in about 56 minutes a piece. For perspective though, the really, really good guys were consistently riding 36, 37, 38, 39, & 40 minute laps...Crazy!

Each lap was about 7.6 miles of climbs, downhill sections, rocky and rooted climbs and descents, many a switchback, and lots and lots of elevation change. Lots of elevation change is an understatement, as the majority of the course was climbing up, up, and more up. Check this link out to see the numbers and a fun little animation of the course distance and elevation change, "Reality Check".

Despite the nasty sounds of it, the course was a lot of fun to ride, I did my fair share of grunting and grimacing, but it really was fun and I'd ride it again.

Now, if you are a numbers person, here are a few.
-As a team we rode 23 laps in 24 hours.
-With each lap being about 7.6 miles, the 4 of us together rode about 174.8 miles in 24 hours.
-With almost an even 6 laps a piece, that is about 45-46 miles a piece.
-This is for fun, I slept for 3 of the 24 hours.

Overall, it was a very good time, I had a lot of fun and I think I can say the same for my teammates! As I said, I would consider doing it again!

I fly to London Tuesday night and I have barely started packing........I'll keep you updated, Enjoy the week!

Pre-Ireland Activities

2009-08-27T22:50:00.002-05:00

Well, with no Ireland or other European countries to ramble about yet, I guess I'll inform you of my other endeavor in the meantime.

I am signed up to compete in the Salsa 2-4 Fest, a 24 hour mountain bike race at Afton Alps tomorrow. Woo! I am not actually riding my bike for 24 hours like the hardcore guys, but I will be attempting to do 6 hours as part of a 4 man team. It should be a fun and interesting 24 hours starting at 5 pm tomorrow, August 28.
I am pretty nervous and rather excited for it and if all else fails, it is very likely that I will get to see some pretty awesome bikes in the process (I really, really like bikes). Sooo, that is that I guess...
I fly out in 4ish days...crazy!

Have a good evening!

I said i wasn't going to do this....

2009-08-27T18:19:00.008-05:00

Well, here goes nothing... I said I wasn't going to do a blog for my trip to Ireland, but I gave in. I figure it is easier to keep everyone updated this way.
Anyway, for all who don't know, I will be spending Fall 2009 in Ireland studying abroad in and around Galway County on the west coast of Ireland. More specifically I will be at the Park Lodge Hotel just outside of the village of Spiddal.
This is going to be an excellent experience and I am beyond excited for it! I fly out of MSP on September 1st with 2 good friends, Jimmy Backes and Thomas Joyce, and we are scheduled to land in London on September 2nd! From there we will travel to Munich, Vienna, and Prague, then from Prague we head to Dublin and across to Galway! We are supposed to report to Park Lodge on September 10th to meet with the other members of our group. I am very excited and very nervous for this adventure to begin, but for now I am just biding my time!
For everyone here in Minneosta and elsewhere, have an excellent fall and good luck with school and work and what not! Check in when you can, I'll keep you posted!