Student Athlete Studying Abroad

So Croatia. Beautiful country.  I met up with a friend who is studying in Freiburg this year so I wasn’t traveling alone anymore.  It was helpful because I know a little Czech but have no experience with Croatian, Bosnian or other balkan language.  My friend though has learned Croatian and visited the country before.  That, I think is the one upside of traveling with someone else.  

We did the Free Spirit Zagreb tour.  Great tour guide who was very knowledgeable in the history of Zagreb.  Zagreb used to be two separate towns until 1834.

The very famous St. Marks church on one hill.  This town is were all the government buildings are.

A look over to the other ‘hill’.  Controlled by the church the buildings on the main street are still owned by the catholic church. It was very interesting seeing how alive the church still is.  There were monks and nuns walking around doing normal things.  My only experience of devoted life has been visiting my mom’s friend who is a nun in an abbey/farm outside of Boulder, CO.  

And this is the rest of Zagreb.  Everything outside of the old city walls has grown up since the unification of the cities in 1834.

Here is the national theatre.  We had to get our culture on so we went to some museums.

This is the Mimara.  We didn’t go here because we didn’t feel like interpreting art. So . . .

We went to the Tesla museum of technology.  I loved it.  My friend maybe not so much.  I love looking at engines, card, spacecraft.

There was even a demonstration of the Tesla coils and Columbus egg.  The presenter was speaking Croatian so I didn’t get much, but watching electricity work is fun.

I eventually caved and visited the museum of Broken relationships.  There is now one in Hollywood.  If I were to visit that one I should at least take the opportunity to visit the original one.  Very interesting but a bit too hyped.

Last thing my friend and I did was find the restaurant KavaTava.  It was so good.  The main thing on their menu was pancakes that were drenched in chocolate instead of syrup.  The placemats had maps of the best places to kiss in Zagreb and alone the side was ‘kiss me’ written in different languages.  Being the polyglots that we are we tried to figure out, without using the internet, which languages were used.  Very instagram worthy and the food and service were good.

Outer layers:

The one thing I did not bring though, as I was headed out the door of my apartment I made a decision to leave it, was was my umbrella.  It was cold and wet at least one day in each city I was in and I wish I had brought it.

My raincoat has officially lost all waterproof-ness and just acts a windbreaker.  When it snows it doesn't collect as much water as when it rains so I was actually wishing for snow instead of rain.  The scarf was from my trip to Scotland and I really love the color.  The gloves are just thing running gloves.  Sometimes I can use my phone without taking them off but most of the time I just have to slide them off.  The sweater is a plain zip up from Adidas, it has the track team logo from my university on it.  The beanie was a secret Santa gift last year and I love the color.  I’ve been seeing both the maroon colored beanies and bright green jackets all over Europe so it doesn’t make me feel like I stick out too much.

Everything kept me pretty warm and at least a little dry until the raincoat started leaking in Budapest after two hours of constant rain.  This is what I had been wearing all winter in Konstanz.  I did not wash any of these items while on the road.

Outfits/Undergarments:

On my travel days I would wear the jeans because they were the bulkiest.  I also brought a pair of Nike running capris in case I got a warmer day, they also worked fine with the long wool socks I brought.  I also had a pair of long running tights from the north face and a pair of basic black long underwear tights.  They were mainly for sleeping but also as a second layer under my jeans on the cold days.

I brought four shirts and a tank top for sleeping in.  The green long sleeved shirt is made of a heavier cotton than the others so I did not wash it while on the road.  All the other shirts I washed at least twice.  

I brought a bathing suit because I wanted to go to the thermal baths in Budapest and it was small and light.  I had a regular bra that I wore almost all the time and a red sports bra.  I think when I was originally packing I was thinking of bringing my grey or black sports bra but packed this one instead.  It was stupid because I could only wear one of my shirts comfortably with it.  I had 5 or 6 pairs of underwear and 5-6 pairs of ankle socks.

I was able to wash my underwear enough so that I never felt like I was running out, but the socks went way quicker.  If I were to do it again I would probably pack more crew cut socks.

Everyday items:

This is my purse and the shoes I wore.  I used these everyday.  I only brought these shoes and a pair of slippers for the hostels.  I don’t think these are proper hiking boots but they work.  The purse I got from target.  Love it; it fits almost anything I need for a day.  Any combo of my phone, wallet, camera, beanie, collapsable backpack, passport, secret stash of gummy bears and chocolate.

My toiletries:

Two types of shampoo and bodywash because I need an dandruff shampoo because I get flair ups sometimes.  The other one is just a random combo of different shampoos.  Same thing with the body wash, one is just the last parts of larger bottles and the other one was a travel size I found in dm and really liked the smell of.  A back up travel size toothpaste because I knew at some point on the trip I would be flying and would have to throw away my larger toothpaste.

Stick deodorant from America because German deodorant does nothing against sweat.  I’m sorry but it’s the truth, they just don’t get the need for antiperspirants.  My toothbrush, which I realized I don’t have to pack in my toiletries bag because it doesn’t need to go through airport scanners separately. Revolutionary.  I also brought my retainer.  I wasn’t 100 percent sure I should but I didn’t loose it so no harm in the end for taking care of my teeth.

Extras:

Here are all the extra things that I brought.  Not shown is a tupperware box that I packed my lunch for my first day in.  Subsequently it then held different snacks that I bought and were too delicate to hold in their original bags.

The collapsible backpack fit in my purse and I carried it around a couple times with me but it was uncomfortable to wear so I just stopped using it.  The small hand towel and lock were a must.  Most hostels don’t have free towels or you have to rent a lock.  Always bring your own. I had a small container to carry all my foreign coins and the pick container was where I kept my phone charger, iPod Shuffle and earbuds.

I was sick at the very end of my trip and I packed some DayQuil and cough drops just in case along with tea and wet wipes.  I didn’t know if I was going to go to England so I brought an adapter just in case.  And lastly I had my keepcup for when I wanted some Starbucks or tea at the hostel.  My sunglasses were great on the really sunny days.

Paper:

This is all of the paper stuff I ended up with.  I am still studying for a biology test so I brought my notebook and flashcards.  I had a small journal for random notes and drawings and another one with an agenda with my itineraries written out in case my phone died and I needed to know where to go.

I had two folders with printed information and one larger notepad that ended up only having one sheet of paper.  I tried to be as paperless as possible but I was also keep track of finances between me and my travel partner.  Everything else I bought or got for free.  I bought postcards and got a map from each city.  I am also collecting ticket stubs to create a huge collage at the end of my year abroad.

I had booked a FlixBus to Bratislava and stayed at an amazing hostel.  If you ever travel to Bratislava I highly suggest Wild Elephants Hostel.  The way it is run and the staff make it feel like a giant family that you are welcomed into.  Lots of art on the walls and an energetic puppy.  The pub crawl was really awesome because not only did they take us to many different bars across Bratislava but they made a point of telling us what we should order to make sure we sampled all the national specialities.

I have to say I love Tatratea.  I wish it was more available in the US and when I was flying back to Germany at the end of my trip I could only find one store at the airport that was selling it.  I will definitely have to look for it before I go home and see if I can bring a bottle.

To get to the other side of the country there are three trains you take.  The first one is literally titled “fast” (rýchly) and it travels the width of the country to Košice.  I got to see the Tatra mountains covered in snow.  They rise out of the landscape very similar to the Rockies.  

You get off at a stop where the platforms are just raised strips of concrete between the tracks.  It was like something out of the early 20th century.

I got on another train that took me to Prešov.

There I got on an even smaller train to take me north to the last stop on the line. 

Bardejov.

From what I was able to gather from the town museum and my own quick research was it was an important town until the peasant revolts and fighting hurt it’s economy.

It was the farthest northern point of the Hungarian empire making it a major trading post.  It has been around since the roman times and the old town is still surrounded by a wall and towers.

It was cold and wet while I was there and it was definitely off-season.  I spent most of my days there combing through all five of the town cemeteries looking for family graves.  I found family members at every single cemetery, even the one up at the calvary chapel.  Since I had hiked up the hill I decided to continue hiking along the ridge and came across a field where I had a Sound of Music moment.  

I want to go back when it’s warmer.  I was able to visit gravesites but I didn’t feel confident enough to look for my living relatives.  So I left to go back to Bratislava without having talked with any living family members.

It was a very spiritual journey because my great-grandfather did possibly the same exact journey back in 1908 when he came to America.  I have so much more respect for him after following in his footsteps.  

Many people would talk to me in Slovak because of how I looked and I was answering their greetings with Dobry den.  It was probably very similar, in fact exactly like American born Chinese that go back to visit family and are completely unaware how little of the language they know.

I had one full day in Bratislava so I made sure to see all the big attractions.  I walked around the city (literally) five times but I got to start off my day with some pastries and tea on the banks of the Danube River.

It must have been the gorgeous weather that made me fall in love with the city, or maybe it was in my blood to love Slovakia, but out of all the cities I visited this break Bratislava was the best.  That is just my opinion because in talking with others they didn’t seem to have the same love that I did for it.  Their loss.

Bratislava was similar to the Bay Area in that there were hills that were residential and descended down to the old town and the waterfront.  So many people were out because of the good weather.  I saw many children and dogs and tourists taking pictures and tours.  Even with the amount of tourists the old town still felt somewhat real, like there wasn't as much touristy stuff as Prague.

A random photo shoot:

Memorial for the murdered journalist and his wife:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/world/europe/slovakia-journalist-murder.html

Saturday flea market in the market hall:

and the famous Man at Work sculpture:

Clothing:

I tried to buy the cheapest things because I am not expecting to fall in love with these items and want to take them back to America with me.  They just need to last through the year.  From H&M I bought the navy blue and striped tshirts, a two-pack of black tights, a 5-pack of ankle socks (the Adidas socks I brought from America will be thrown out when I leave), basic black leather belt, grey crewneck sweater and a halloween skeleton sweater.  The skeleton sweater was an impulse purchase because I ended up not going out on halloween, but I do wear it to the metal shows I’ve gone to.  From E-spirit I bought two basic tank tops: they were buy one get one free.  I got white and teal because you can’t go wrong with a good base layer.  The tank I brought has been downgraded to a sleep shirt because it is so worn out.  At Zara I bought a pair of black jeans.  They are a little more high-waisted than I like and some of the design features are annoying but it is good to have pants that fit and aren’t my ripped jeans.  From a store called Pimkel I bought a lilac sleep tee and a black skater skirt.  Not pictured is my scarf that I bought in Scotland.  I was never a scarf girl before but it has been super valuable to have.

Household:

Because I was living without my bedding for two months I had to go and buy some things.  I got a cheep sleeping bag from a sporting goods store.  I now have two sleeping bags because my package came with one.  At Aldi I bought a 2-pack of simple hand towels.  From NanuNana I bought a pair of slippers and recently picked up the compact day pack.  It seems to be water-proof and is super compact.  I’m excited to bring it on my travels.  Because I had a friend staying with me I needed to have another pillow so I just went out to a local store and bought a small pillow.  I can also use it with the other pillow I have to fill out the weirdly large pillowcases this country likes.  I bought my large cup from DM, I might want to bring it back with me, it is so cheerful.  I bought Luther’s 95 theses for my Reformation trip and I also bought the keep-cup from the student housing because I didn’t have a travel mug.

I put off buying winter boots for a while but right before the first snowfall I decided I needed to bite the bullet and get a pair.  I was looking for something that could double as a hiking boot but could still be worn as everyday wear.  I went to Deichmann during a sale and found the Landrover brand had shoes that appealed to me and were within a good price range.  I bought the shoes on sale and it would have been less than 40 euros but the sales lady convinced me to also buy the shoe protecter spray.  She said that the shoes weren’t waterproof on their own.  I bought it knowing that I wasn’t going to use up the whole can on just those shoes and I could use it on other things that I have.

Electronics:

From previous students I learned that I needed to buy a wifi router.  For reasons my dad had me buy the Apple airport.  Apart from train tickets and my package this was the most expensive thing I have bought.  No complaints, all my electronics are Apple and I’m taking it back for my dad to use.  The package from the outgoing student also included adapters.  I already had an adapter for my laptop charger, and I was charging my phone through my laptop but I wanted to have a wall plug.  I was in the checkout line at Kaufland and I saw this 3 in 1 usb set and it had what I wanted.  I just use the wall plug because I haven’t been in a car and only my camera has an A/V connection.  I had brought along my wireless apple mouse that I like to use sometimes and the batteries were dying so I bought a pack of AA batteries.  

This is what goes in there whenever I go out to the gym or cheer practice (sans spike bag).  I also bring my water bottle and phone but I carry those separately most of the time.  The lacrosse ball is if I need to roll out my feet or anything else.  I wear different shoes to and from the gym.  I want to keep these shoes as clean as possible because there is no place to clean your shoes before going in.  I also take out my recording journal from my backpack and bring that with me.

This little bag is actually where I store my sunglasses but it keeps all of these small things from getting lost in my bag.  I take my chapstick, keys, ID and a gym card out of my backpack and wallet.  The pen is for the weight room and logging my lifts.

This is my spike bag.  As I am not training for track right now I don’t bring it with me.  Next semester though I will be needing it.  The bag is something I made my freshman year of high school out of an old T-shirt and drawstring bag I didn’t like.  The spikes are the 2015 model of Adizero TJ/PV spikes.  I also have a spike key and a little bag of extra spikes.  They are a mix of 3/16th needles and pyramids.

I got the backpack every year and I bring all of them up with me to HSU, but I needed to narrow down what I brought to Germany, so I only have this one.  Multiple good features about the max air: this style has the water bottle pockets (the invite pack from 2012 doesn’t), it has the padded shoulder straps, pretty waterproof, three separate sections, across-chest strap, and a laptop pocket in the main section. The best thing about this year’s model is that it is slightly smaller than the ones from 2012, 2013 and 2014.  That was the main reason I brought this one.  The other is that it is waterproof.  It fits me better as a shorter person.  

This is what I have in the small front embroidered pocket.  These are things I would need to be able to grab quickly.  My student ID doubles as my bus pass.  I keep my phone in this pocket so I know where it is.  I can reach this pocket without taking my backpack off so my keys are in it as well.  I gotta show some Cali pride so my agenda has skyline of LA drawn on it and my keychain is the state flag.  The other thing on my keychain is my senior block from band camp.  Each year we got a block we had to carry around at camp.  It taught us about responsibility.  As seniors we got the smallest ones, not because we had less responsibilities, but because we were more responsible.  I kept mine to help remind me everyday of responsibilities I have to myself, the community and the world.  I also have a chapstick and a flash drive as well as some sticky notes.  The last thing is my agenda.  I don’t use it that much.  I got it for free and I don’t like the layout, but it’s there just in case.

The second pocket doesn’t normally hold much.  If I have a scarf or hat that I take off in school I put it in this pocket.  What is always in there is my small first aide kit.  I got it at Davis Picnic Day a few years ago.  Always good to have a first aide kit.  There are pens that are for backup or if I don’t want to take my pencil case out.  If I bring my computer with me to school I also take the wireless mouse and that fits perfectly in the larger pocket.  I also have my workout journal.  I log what I do each day to keep a record and to give me ideas for future workouts.

The main section holds all the school supplies.  Sometimes I will have only one notebook in my backpack depending on what class I’m going to.  The composition notebook is for Genetics and it is a continuation of my biology notes from last semester.  I have a similar one filled with chemistry notes and since it came in a pack of three the last one will be for physics next year.  The orange pad has removable sheets that are hole-punched.  I use it for my anatomy and traumatology notes.  They then get put into the green binder.  The plain lined pad is where I take my Genetics notes during lecture and the tutorial.  I then go back and take more detailed notes of the lecture slides in the composition book.  The spiral-bound book is for Czech and any other paper needs.  Right now I am using the m&m bag as my pencil case, but previously I had the argyle case.

This is the other side of the backpack.  What I started doing last year was have some things clipped to the front of the pack.  I found it very useful (especially walking back to my dorm in the dark, in the forest) to have a keychain light on the straps.  I also have a small carabiner that has hair ties on it.  It is useful when I want to tie up my hair in the middle of the day and it keeps the hair ties in one place and not on my wrist.