Picture of the Day, St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Russia -- May, 2011

And we close off the month of March with St. Petersburg, once again. The spire in the Peter and Paul Fortress, across the river from the Winter Palace. I really love how the reflection of the sun on the spire in turn glistens off the water. The Russians really had something with their golden domes.....

Picture of the Day, Pompeii

Pompeii, Italy -- October, 2011

I just realized something "Picture of the Day, Pompeii" totally rhymes! Take that Dr. Seuss [I always mix up the e and u in that name! embarrassing.....]. Well, look at those crazy kids sitting around on some ruins. With there little scarves and carefree posture. And devilishly handsome good looks, if I do say so myself. Nothing like 2000 year old ruins to make for perfect photo opportunities....

Picture of the Day, Oxford

Oxford, England -- August, 2010

I spent an afternoon sitting under this tree in Oxford, writing Audra a postcard thanking her for telling me to take the train here from London.....a postcard that I failed to send from Oxford because I forgot to buy stamps. I think I eventually sent it from Estonia six months later :p hehe sorry about that 'Dra

Picture of the Day, Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia -- June, 2011

Muharrem, Rasmus, and Hugo walking on Pirita Beach, north of Tallinn. The water was extremely shallow; you could just keep walking and walking. I appreciated it because it made the chilly Baltic water a little be warmer :p

Spring, glorious Spring!

Picture of the Day, St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Russia -- May, 2011

Already shown a close up of St. Isaac's columns in an earlier PoD, but here's the full cathedral --- and the beautiful clear blue Russian sky!

Picture of the Day, Florence

Settignano, Florence, Italy -- August, 2011

My girls Gulchekhra and Adina during our group walk from Settignano to the nearby village of Fiesole, in the hills above Florence. An excellent jaunt to work up an appetite for our homemade pizza dinner at the villa that night.

an alarming morning

I won't attempt to explain why Rasmus was giving me a random piggyback ride on a Sunday morning, as I'm sure any explanation I could afford would not really be an explanation at all. All I can really say is I ended up standing on a chair - which happens on occasion, when the chair is available and I feel inclined to gain the higher ground - and this somehow resulted in the offer of a piggyback ride. And since such opportunities don't simply present themselves every day*, I swiftly accepted the offer by 'hopping on'.

So, there we were; bumbling around our tiny dorm room when all of a sudden, emanating from the ceiling came a migraine-inducing BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP.

I think now would be a good time to put forth my hypothesis that shock appears to instantaneously reduce my deductive reasoning skills to little more than post hoc ergo propter hoc illogic.**
All I could think was, oh my gods! I was getting a piggyback ride and then the alarm went off. It must have started beeping because I was getting a piggyback ride....because I got too close and to warn me to back off! oh no, oh no, oh no! For a full several seconds I was absolutely certain the alarm started because I had been receiving a piggyback ride moments before.

Now, you must be wondering what this  'moments before' nonsense is all about -- as surely, I was still receiving an enjoyable - albeit uncomfortably loud - piggyback ride, was I not? Unfortunately, the answer to this is a definite 'no' - a rather painful 'no' in fact. You see, I was not the only one shocked and stunned by the alarm. Rasmus, too, found such proximate and deafening bleering to be quite a jolt to the senses and momentarily forgot to hold on to the girlfriend who was forgetting to hold on to his back. And so, the fall....

Yes, I ended up with a slightly bruised behind, but I slowly came to the realization that we were not responsible for setting off the alarm and while the incessant beeping forced us to trudge outside until the fire department arrived to shut the thing up, at least the fire itself was a false alarm....and it wasn't caused by my piggyback ride.

* I am certain that I could ask for a ride whenever I wish and would be indulged, but there is something special about the offer

** Given that this is the only instance I can think of that I have been led to such illogical conclusions following a significant shock, one might suggest that I am committing another logical fallacy - cherry picking. But really, what's life without a little illogic?

Picture of the Day, Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark -- July, 2011

A lovely statue just across the way from the more popular Little Mermaid stature in the harbor. No idea what the name is, which is sad, cuz it's pretty, too!!! Just like you!

Picture of the Day, Berlin

Berlin, Germany -- July, 2011

Where Amber, Audra, and I got our kebabs -- look! It's the Brandenburg Gate in the distance! Not a bad lunch view :p

Picture of the Day, Rome

Rome, Italy -- October, 2011

What serendipity! Our one day in Rome just happened to be on a Sunday. The parents booked one of those tour buses that take you around to different tourist locations around the city, and we hopped on the first one that morning. We got off at the Colosseum and went inside for quite a while. And then, back on the bus to go to the next stop. But the bus skipped it. What? how rude! Oh well, we decided to just get off at the Vatican, since we obviously wanted to go there anyway. And there are sooo many people, everywhere! All just standing around in the warm sun. And then, what do you know -- THE POPE pops out for his weekly address. The POPE! He gave little speeches in several languages. It was a little like a rock concert -- 'for all you German speakers out there' [roars from the crowd]....'for all you Spanish speakers out there' [extreme roars from the crowd]....and, yes, there was an English address in there, too. I may not be Catholic, but, still, the Pope is probably the biggest celebrity I've ever seen in person.....kudos to Ken for getting the picture :)

Picture of the Day, Hamburg

Somewhere in Germany :p.....on a TRAIN -- July, 2011

Op, I looked it up, and my intuition was totally right. We were in Hamburg, on our way to Copenhagen. But you really can't blame me for questioning myself -- we were on a whole lot of trains during this trip. As usual, the sisters loved when I whipped out the camera. But really, these are important moments to capture, don't you think! For instance, I totally forgot about our Sudoku cards!! When we were in Munich, we went to the Deutsches Museum, but we didn't really have enough time to go in, so we just went to the gift shop. They had a ton of cool gadgets and gizmos and geeky odds and ends, and we found a deck of Sudoku cards -- each card had a Sudoku on it! I suck at Sudoku, so I didn't use many of them, but Amber and Audra are better than I am, and Amber especially got hooked, so whenever we had time to kill, like, say, on a train to Copenhagen, she would have at them. I think most of them got solved, too! Also, check out those earrings! We picked up more than a few pairs of cute, cheap earrings during our travels, including some that were a euro a pair! Woot!!!

Picture of the Day, Florence

Florence, Italy -- October, 2011

Woo!!! We made it! Look how glad we are that it was all downhill (or, more accurately, downstairs) from here! 400+ steps, I believe, to climb to the top of the Duomo's dome (hehe, say that five times fast). And we went at the perfect time, too. There was no line, so we basically just got to climb on up there at our own pace. And meander around at the top, instead of inching our way through crowds to catch the views. Ratz, shouldn't have used the word 'climb' up there......now I've got a Hannah Montana [or is it Miley Cyrus, I can never rememnt] song stuck in my head.....always gonna be another mountain, always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle....blah blah blah....it's the cliiiiiiimb............

and what a climb it was :p

Picture of the Day, Munich

Munich, Germany -- July, 2011

Picture of the Day, Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany -- July, 2011

Picture of the Day, Pompeii

Pompeii, Italy -- October, 2011

Picture of the Day, Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia -- June, 2011

We'd been dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'. It was an almost-end-of-the-semester party slash summer birthday bash for us DILL'ers. And the shenanigans were endless at Nafta 6 (four of my male classmates lived here, and the address was well-known as party central :p). This is Rasmus, me, Adina, Muharrem, Jing, Helen, and Ewelina showing our style :)

Picture of the Day, Venice

Venice, Italy -- October, 2011

A gondola ride in Venice? A bit cliche, perhaps, but there is a reason everyone does it. Not every day you can mosey down narrow avenues of a city in a boat. And luck was with us -- our ride was quiet and peaceful; we ran into very few other gondolas during the trip. Also, our 'driver' had heard of Nebraska -- from the name of the Springsteen album :o Talk about perfect [his favorite Springsteen songs were Thunder Road and The River, I believe].

Picture of the Day, Settignano/Florence

Settignano, outside Florence, Italy -- August, 2011

The days were hot, the nights were hoppin'. My classmates and I spent a week at summer school at a small villa in the hills above Florence last August (yeah, it was pretty rough :p). There was an excellent patio area out back, and we had a couple of fantastic nights of eating, singing, dancing, drinking (can you locate my drink of choice in the photo?). Here, Muharrem and Dydimus appear to be entertaining us with their moves :p Also, in the background is Frederico, our guardian angel for the semester in Italy -- working hard to make sure our laptops had power and the non-EU students didn't get kicked out of the country!

Picture of the Day, Munich

Munich, Germany -- July, 2011

We didn't know this at the tie, but this is the Landtag of Bavaria, where the unicameral [like Nebraska!] of the state of Bavaria in Germany meets. While Amber, Audra, and I were in Munich, we did a lot of walking around, looking at pretty things and buildings and bridges and such -- and this building definitely qualified ;P

Picture of the Day, Florence

Florence, Italy -- October, 2011

DUOMO! Look at this, celestial scene with glory and wings and clouds and gold. It was very beautiful, especially up close when we climbed up the dome in Florence's Duomo. But also when we got up close and personal with the mural, the outer edge drew a lot more attention, too:

Talk about terrifying :p The whole thing was crazy-detailed.....and *huge*....must have taken forever

Picture of the Day, Rome

Rome, Italy -- October, 2011

Okay, so I suppose this isn't the most inspiring picture of Rome, what with the massive greenish/yellow bus hogging most of the frame, and the rather ho-hum train station not doing much better in the distance -- but look at those lovely ladies!It was the end of a whirlwind week in Italy (and the end of week two for mom and Ken's European adventure), and just about time to send them off on their train to their plane to Ireland. The whole week was pretty surreal -- being with the 'rents in the flesh after more than nine months apart. Wow. Nine months.....that was a really freaking long time! Europe is just too far away from Nebraska, I say! Which reminds me of another family travel time -- on our vacation to California way back when, Amber and I sat in the back of the big van devising a travel machine that would go at near the speed of light. *sigh* if only our plans could have been realized. I could still go home every weekend like I used to do :p

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Pompeii, Italy -- October, 2011

There's a rock in my shoe! Actually, probably many, many little rocks. That's what happens when you go climbing over ruins. Luckily, there's a handsome European man to keep me company while I stand around on one foot attempting to avoid an overly dirty sock.

Picture of the Day, Pisa

Pisa, Italy -- July, 2011

Pisa was very lovely and peaceful in the mornings. I was out early each day I was there, enjoying the cool air and quiet streets. And walking along the river. The River Arno is one of the most well known in Italy, and flows through both Pisa and Florence. To the left is the Santa Maria della Spina, a small church, and to the right, Torre Guelfa in the distance. 

Picture of the Day, Bavaria

Bavaria, Germany -- July, 2011

On the road again.....well, on the train again would be more accurate, I suppose. This was the view from our window on the trip from Munich to Füssen. The whole landscape was beautiful, but it was especially nice to see the mountains slowly growing in the distance. And look at that blue sky! And that green grass! The only downside was that the train was pretty toasty, but, hey, at least there was plenty to distract us!

Picture of the Day, Tallinn

Solaris Cinema, Tallinn, Estonia -- February/March, 2011

Girls' Night, WOO!!!! One of the great things about Tallinn was the low cost of entertainment. At this movie theater, we could get tickets to any movie for under $5, including 3D movies in the evening! Awesome, eh? So we had several girls movie nights, complete with supper and candy and pop and popcorn and lots of different movies! I think this one was Sanctum, and we all felt very stylish in our 3D glasses.

Picture of the Day, London

London, England -- August, 2010

I believe this to be *the* phonebooth -- the one outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where in 200l, Amber made a phone call home after her high school group forgot her in the church's gift shop. As you can imagine, she was a bit panicked to be left alone in a foreign city. Luckily, at long last, they realized she was missing, and came back for her and all was well.

While I was in London in August 2010, I saw this phonebooth near the cathedral and couldn't resist. I gave Amber a quick ring and told her I was lost in London. I actually thought that she would get the joke, but, being a very good and caring sister, she started trying to help me figure out how to find my way back to familiar ground again. But when I told her I was outside a big cathedral, St. Paul's, she realized the joke, which I now see really wasn't that funny....but Bam was a good sport about it.

Picture of the Day, Vienna

Prunksaal (State Hall) Vienna, Austria -- October, 2011

During a European library conference in Vienna (the second conference I've ever been to in my life, and also, coincidentally, the second conference I attended in two weeks!), we were given the opportunity to take a tour of the beautiful State Hall. Housed in the Austrian National Library, the State Hall is part of the old imperial library. The statue is of Emperor Charles VI, who ordered the hall built in the 1720s (that's his statue there in the middle). There are about 200,000 old books in the library, and people are even allowed to check them out, which is pretty cool. We had a tour guide, who enthusiastically explained about the history of the hall, as well as the many layers of symbolism in the way the hall was constructed and in the paintings. She may have been a little too enthusiastic, because she just kept going and going and going......still, it was mostly interesting :p

Picture of the Day, Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany -- July, 2011

Nothing quite like taking a break from the tourist life to enjoy a good book in the sunshine! After many-a-day of hustle and bustle to and around European cities and more, we had a couple of hours to kill in Hamburg. So, we stopped by a bookstore, picked up some new bestsellers (because those were the only ones in English :p), and moseyed up to the the lake to enjoy the view and the rays. It was quiet and calm and quite lovely!

Picture of the Day, Oslo

Adina, Oslo, Norway -- August, 2010

Oslo was so beautiful when we first arrived here in August, 2010. We were told many many times how lucky we were that we had sunshine almost every day for weeks. We took full advantage by taking the ferries to the islands in the harbor.

Picture of the Day, Paris

Paris, France -- July 10, 2011

Well, look at that! It's the Eiffel Tower -- on my birthday!!

Picture of the Day, Rome

Rome, Italy -- October, 2011

Mom and I enjoyed the river cruise in Rome so much we ended up falling asleep. I don't know if this is pre- or post- nap, but I think that is the Castle of St. Angelo behind us, which is just down the street from the Vatican:


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Video of the Day, Copenhagen

Today. I don't feel like doing anything --- nothing at all!




Singing karaoke at Sam's Bar in the center of Copenhagen. Killer dance moves we've go there, eh?