This will be my last post. This is a little sad for me because it is essentially the one "last" thing I've done that really means "this is the end". It also probably isn't helping that I'm listening to the new Coldplay album right now (You know how I know I'm gay?). So the bags are packed and sitting on my floor. Tonight we are going out for a few drinks and then saying our goodbyes (of course a kebap will officially end the night).
Its been a good one. I mean that very seriously. Thank you so much mom and dad for allowing me to do this for a semester. I owe you more than you know. It was good for me to get out of Champaign for a semester. But now I'm ready to get back home. I'm really gonna miss this place but its just been so long since I've had Papa Dels...
My final souvenir that I bought yesterday was an Austrian flag that I'll put up in my room. I feel connected to this country in a sense now, but as cool as it is over here, I can't imagine living in any other place but the United States of America. I'm gonna get a little patriotic for a minute here. This is due mostly cause I'm coming home, 4th of July is next week, and I miss home in general. Europe is cool, but I don't see how people say that America needs to be more like Europe. My program director loves it over here and he is always trying to tell me what Europe does that is so great. I gotta tell you I don't think it sounds that fantastic. Plus they don't even have ice or water fountains over here haha. Sure there are some perks in Europe that I like, but overall I think we do it right. I do wish we loved football (I guess I have to start calling it soccer now) as much as they do over here.
So ends another chapter in the life of Andrew Sweeney. Thanks for reading! I'll be home before the fireworks...
Prost!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
last class
I feel like these posts are getting less relevant each day. This weekend was more fanzone and taking care of logistical stuff before I peace outta here. Please forgive me if I'm ranting and not making sense but my mind is wandering tonight and I can't concentrate on my homework. I think Djavad is losing his mind by the way. He has been nose deep in a calc textbook all weekend and he will randomly turn on his Iranian music and dance around the room. Normally I would be uncomfortable with these actions but now I'm at the point where if he didn't do that I would be concerned. He leaves for Iran in late July so he's got his own bachelor pad after I leave next week.
I started my final class today. Its called Export Marketing Management. Its probably the most worthwhile class I've taken here so far and shouldn't be too bad. The teacher is from Greece and seems pretty cool.
I saw the movie "The Happening" tonight. I give it the official Andrew Sweeney thumbs down. I think Shyamalan is losing it like Djavad.
I've been in a perpetual state of stickiness these last two weeks. Europe doesn't believe in air conditioning. Among AC I'm also excited to get back to water fountains, food delivery, ice, the english language, cheeseburgers..... I could go all day.
To be fair I will miss a lot of things here so it will be a bittersweet departure, especially because I can start naming my "last" things like last night at Loco, last night at fanzone, last kebap....
Other than that it will be good to be back at home. Gotta go.
I started my final class today. Its called Export Marketing Management. Its probably the most worthwhile class I've taken here so far and shouldn't be too bad. The teacher is from Greece and seems pretty cool.
I saw the movie "The Happening" tonight. I give it the official Andrew Sweeney thumbs down. I think Shyamalan is losing it like Djavad.
I've been in a perpetual state of stickiness these last two weeks. Europe doesn't believe in air conditioning. Among AC I'm also excited to get back to water fountains, food delivery, ice, the english language, cheeseburgers..... I could go all day.
To be fair I will miss a lot of things here so it will be a bittersweet departure, especially because I can start naming my "last" things like last night at Loco, last night at fanzone, last kebap....
Other than that it will be good to be back at home. Gotta go.
Friday, June 20, 2008
unbelievable
I am in a less than happy mood tonight. I just cannot believe the game I just saw. Just when you think Turkey is going to be eliminated, they find a way. The car horns have been going off for twenty minutes and I don't think they will stop for another few hours. Someone told me today that there are 700,000 Turks living in Vienna and that they make up for 70% of Vienna's (or Austria's) immigrants. A lot of cars honking needless to say...
I'll be doing homework.
I'll be doing homework.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
European Top 5 Pt. 2
OK break time from homework.
3. BARCELONA
They kind of spoke Spanish here, but not really. The water was hardly drinkable. The public transportation there sucked. There was a beach but it was too cold to enjoy it (wow why is this even on the top 5?) Well, there was so much to do and a lot of really cool places we drank at. Amy's sister studied there last spring so we knew where we were going. We saw a fountain show, ventured through bustling market streets, ate paella and tapas, climbed a mountain, stormed a castle, saw the famous and unfinished Sagrada Familia, saw the Barcelona soccer team's gigantic Camp Nou stadium and so on and so forth. No museums. No tours. Just a lot of fun at our pace and our time. It was a good midway point in the spring break trip. I wanted to see more Spain and go to sunny Madrid but we spent too much time in France.
4. SALZBURG
I had to throw in something from good old Austria. Since Vienna is out of the running I choose Salzburg, the Disney World of Europe. Yes, I suffered the Sound of Music tour here. However, we had a really good group of people with us. There was a really cool fortress/castle thing was saw, that even had a torture chamber. The scenery was beautiful. The Augustiner Brauhaus was AWESOME and there I learned that "Ein muter Trunk Macht alte jung". Plus we saw the largest ice caves in the world. The trip lasted 5 days so we were able to take out time. All in all a very memorable trip.
5. BASKA
Sneaking in at the end of the Top 5 is the island town in Croatia. This was a fantastic trip. Our true Spring Break of 2008. A tiny town nestled at the southern tip of the island of Krk (possibly the largest island in the Adriatic, I'm not sure) was the perfect getaway from the stresses of one class a week. The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the sheep were roasting. It was peaceful and relaxing during the day, and then at night the party started. European rock bands, beer that tasted like it was from back home, and delicious lamb. I could have stayed there for another week, especially because of the exchange rate. I really need to stop thinking about these places because I'm getting a little melancholy that this semester is over.
Honorable Mentions:
Munich
Munich was fun because the town was basically founded on beer and that's really all you have to do there. I couldn't put two German cities in the top 5 because I wanted to spread it out and not show a bias towards Deutschland (even though there is one). The walking tour was guided by a newbie and he was terrible, so my experience is tainted a bit. I did get to reunite with old friends and I really enjoyed that.
Bratislava
Ok this one is mostly a joke but I went there three freaking times (not by choice) so the joke here is that I secretly love it. The poor city does get beat up on a lot (think the movies "Hostel" and "Eurotrip") Yes it is still getting itself together after the iron curtain went down, and yes, some of the buildings are falling apart, but hey, gotta love that exchange rate. Great food, great drinks, and a near-death experience I will never forget.
Graz
A very cool day trip to the capitol of Styria in Austria with one of my favorite museums and the best schnitzel I've ever had.
By principle I did not include anything about France but I did enjoy Nice and Paris. Not so much Avignon.
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."
-Michael Scott
3. BARCELONA
They kind of spoke Spanish here, but not really. The water was hardly drinkable. The public transportation there sucked. There was a beach but it was too cold to enjoy it (wow why is this even on the top 5?) Well, there was so much to do and a lot of really cool places we drank at. Amy's sister studied there last spring so we knew where we were going. We saw a fountain show, ventured through bustling market streets, ate paella and tapas, climbed a mountain, stormed a castle, saw the famous and unfinished Sagrada Familia, saw the Barcelona soccer team's gigantic Camp Nou stadium and so on and so forth. No museums. No tours. Just a lot of fun at our pace and our time. It was a good midway point in the spring break trip. I wanted to see more Spain and go to sunny Madrid but we spent too much time in France.
4. SALZBURG
I had to throw in something from good old Austria. Since Vienna is out of the running I choose Salzburg, the Disney World of Europe. Yes, I suffered the Sound of Music tour here. However, we had a really good group of people with us. There was a really cool fortress/castle thing was saw, that even had a torture chamber. The scenery was beautiful. The Augustiner Brauhaus was AWESOME and there I learned that "Ein muter Trunk Macht alte jung". Plus we saw the largest ice caves in the world. The trip lasted 5 days so we were able to take out time. All in all a very memorable trip.
5. BASKA
Sneaking in at the end of the Top 5 is the island town in Croatia. This was a fantastic trip. Our true Spring Break of 2008. A tiny town nestled at the southern tip of the island of Krk (possibly the largest island in the Adriatic, I'm not sure) was the perfect getaway from the stresses of one class a week. The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the sheep were roasting. It was peaceful and relaxing during the day, and then at night the party started. European rock bands, beer that tasted like it was from back home, and delicious lamb. I could have stayed there for another week, especially because of the exchange rate. I really need to stop thinking about these places because I'm getting a little melancholy that this semester is over.
Honorable Mentions:
Munich
Munich was fun because the town was basically founded on beer and that's really all you have to do there. I couldn't put two German cities in the top 5 because I wanted to spread it out and not show a bias towards Deutschland (even though there is one). The walking tour was guided by a newbie and he was terrible, so my experience is tainted a bit. I did get to reunite with old friends and I really enjoyed that.
Bratislava
Ok this one is mostly a joke but I went there three freaking times (not by choice) so the joke here is that I secretly love it. The poor city does get beat up on a lot (think the movies "Hostel" and "Eurotrip") Yes it is still getting itself together after the iron curtain went down, and yes, some of the buildings are falling apart, but hey, gotta love that exchange rate. Great food, great drinks, and a near-death experience I will never forget.
Graz
A very cool day trip to the capitol of Styria in Austria with one of my favorite museums and the best schnitzel I've ever had.
By principle I did not include anything about France but I did enjoy Nice and Paris. Not so much Avignon.
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."
-Michael Scott
European Top 5
OK so the semester if winding down and I'm sure everyone needs a break from me taking about EM 2008 so I will dedicate this post to my top 5 European cities. I've put much thought into this and have debated with people for countless hours about my choices. Excluded from this list is Vienna because I couldn't really allow it to compete with cities I've visited for only a couple of days. Plus I freaking live here and it holds a special place in my heart. While doing my power rankings I've deciding to use the following criteria that have no particular order or importance: sightseeing, public transportation, cost, amount of sweet stories I can tell people back home, knowledge/cultural experience gained, quality of food, quality of beer, and of course, nightlife.
1. BERLIN
Berlin was just....the best. I can't say enough about it. If I was doing a country ranking Germany would easily be up there. It could be that I just spent a lot of time there and saw old friends but that's not the case. I just love the German culture, and the people are uber friendly. I haven't slept in a more comfortable bed this entire semester than the ones in that hostel. I was so happy about it I almost went online and wrote a review. Basically the company that made that visit was called NewEurope. They do free walking tours (they only work on tips) and then they take you out at night on pub crawls. The tour was fantastic. The guy was hilarious. The pub crawl was one of the best nights out I've had here. I met the coolest people and had the most interesting conversations. The beer and brats were excellent. Ok I'll stop now. I've already talked about the city so you don't need to hear it again. One more final point I would like to make is that Berlin was near the end of my long two week spring break trip, so for me to be interested in anything by that time is saying something.
2. PRAGUE
Oh Eastern Bloc. I feel like I have betrayed Prague a little bit for not being number 1 because now that I'm writing my reasons down there's no way this guy deserves to be number 2. But, this is the real world and there are number 1's and number 2's. I would be the first to tell you. Just look at my trophy shelf. The trip to Prague was my first group trip out of Vienna besides ski week. I was at that time still really pumped about traveling. I was running around with my camera in one hand and a map in the other with my "Czech Me Out" t-shirt on. Just kidding. I do have that t-shirt but I was not wearing it. Oh, beginning of semester Andrew, there is so much I need to warn you about, and yet, I can't. Anyway, the Czech Republic has arguably the best beer in the world. The pilsner beer was invented in this country! Our famous Budweiser was stolen from this country! The sights in Prague were great. The famous castle was closed so I was a little bitter about that, but Prague had it all: sights, drinks, nightlife, and even Anti-American graffiti!
OK I've got my next two cities lined up but I haven't actually figured out which one I will throw in for number 5 so I'm actually going to do my homework now.
Prost!
1. BERLIN
Berlin was just....the best. I can't say enough about it. If I was doing a country ranking Germany would easily be up there. It could be that I just spent a lot of time there and saw old friends but that's not the case. I just love the German culture, and the people are uber friendly. I haven't slept in a more comfortable bed this entire semester than the ones in that hostel. I was so happy about it I almost went online and wrote a review. Basically the company that made that visit was called NewEurope. They do free walking tours (they only work on tips) and then they take you out at night on pub crawls. The tour was fantastic. The guy was hilarious. The pub crawl was one of the best nights out I've had here. I met the coolest people and had the most interesting conversations. The beer and brats were excellent. Ok I'll stop now. I've already talked about the city so you don't need to hear it again. One more final point I would like to make is that Berlin was near the end of my long two week spring break trip, so for me to be interested in anything by that time is saying something.
2. PRAGUE
Oh Eastern Bloc. I feel like I have betrayed Prague a little bit for not being number 1 because now that I'm writing my reasons down there's no way this guy deserves to be number 2. But, this is the real world and there are number 1's and number 2's. I would be the first to tell you. Just look at my trophy shelf. The trip to Prague was my first group trip out of Vienna besides ski week. I was at that time still really pumped about traveling. I was running around with my camera in one hand and a map in the other with my "Czech Me Out" t-shirt on. Just kidding. I do have that t-shirt but I was not wearing it. Oh, beginning of semester Andrew, there is so much I need to warn you about, and yet, I can't. Anyway, the Czech Republic has arguably the best beer in the world. The pilsner beer was invented in this country! Our famous Budweiser was stolen from this country! The sights in Prague were great. The famous castle was closed so I was a little bitter about that, but Prague had it all: sights, drinks, nightlife, and even Anti-American graffiti!
OK I've got my next two cities lined up but I haven't actually figured out which one I will throw in for number 5 so I'm actually going to do my homework now.
Prost!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Strategy Weekend
This last weekend I have been wrapping up my strategic management class. It was a lot of fun and only a little work so I'm real happy about that. We went to a tiny village called Nasswald (wet forest?) with a population of only 86 people. It was literally a one horse town. Seriously. There was a single horse standing around in the middle of the town. Anyway the hotel we stayed at had a big conference room that doubled as the presentation room and the viewing room for the soccer matches. We pretty much had the hotel to ourselves so they let us party until the wee hours of the morning. The bartender was even joining us. At around 1 am he came out with a full bottle of schnapps and turned up the music. The weekend was a success and he gave us all an "A" for basically showing up. I've got two more weeks of this vacation, I mean, semester. I have one more class to take that actually doesn't start for another week and only goes for 3 days. Those three days of export marketing management and I get to opt out of Accounting 301 for my Senior year. Booyah!
Tonight is do or die for Austria. I'll be in the Fanzone.
Prost!
Tonight is do or die for Austria. I'll be in the Fanzone.
Prost!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Immer Wieder Osterreich!
Hey it wasn't pretty, but we're still alive. I'm leaving for the weekend now goodbye.
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