The heart of Europe – Brussels

A little flashback to my time in school...

From April 3^rd - 8^th 2011, me and my class went on a trip to Brussels, the EU’s heart-city. In the morning of April 3^rd we started our journey in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. From Cologne on we took the train to Brussels. Later in the afternoon we finally were in Brussels and checked-in at our hotel vis-à-vis the train station. The hotel itself was quite clean and very comfortable, whereas the quarter itself wasn’t what would be called “worth seeing”. The next day we visited the Atomium, which is one of the city’s emblems and it was more than amazing! The view over the city was breathtaking. 

Afterwards we went to the European Commission, where we were told many interesting facts about the EU, some of which we had already learned and discussed before. We learned, for example, that the European Commission is responsible for the political independence and has the right to propose new EU legislation. 

Subsequently we went to see the Grand Place and the old parts of the city, which both were worth seeing.

There we made a stop to eat some “frites”, which are typical for Belgium. They tasted very good and I think I’ll eat them again someday. The Grand Place is enclosed by old buildings that are beautifully decorated with gold and statues. On Tuesday we were expected at the European Parliament, there we experienced that the members sit together by parties, not by country and that most plenary sessions are hold in Strasbourg. At the parliament we were told many things, but we had bad luck – all of the delegated were in Strasbourg at a conference. On the way there we saw the King’s palace, the town-hall and the Saint-Michelle cathedral of Brussels. Directly afterwards, we visited the EU-Representation Office of Carinthia, where we were told what exactly is done there. 


Afterwards we had the chance to visit the old town again, as well the Manneken Pis, which is really small,

and some more emblems of the city. What actually was funny was a statue of a women-pis, because it wasn’t even an emblem but much bigger than the original Manneken Pis. The next day we spent in Bruges, a city with a medieval atmosphere. There we did a Grachtentour, which was enjoyable a lot! The city itself is absolutely wonderful and we all would have liked to stay there for maybe one more day. Bruges is often called the “Venice from the north” and it is really worth the title. In the evening we returned to Brussels. As our trip slowly came to an end, we spent our last few hours in Brussels. Together with our teachers we ate at a snack bar before leaving. With the train we went back to Cologne, which was really impressive. Some of us also took photos of the city during our free-time. On Friday morning we went back to Klagenfurt, where we landed at about 12 a.m.and were all happy to be back in our home-sweet-home again. All in all, this journey was a good experience for all of us. Moreover, the class got to know each other much better, which strengthened us in holding together, whatever comes. Within this trip I must say, I didn't learn only about the EU but a lot more about what I could reach one day!

I definitely enjoyed this journey :)

La Côte d’Azur

I love to visit foreign countries! One of my favorite until now is France, I must say that the lovely Cote d’Azur blew me away in terms of the expectation I had before arriving. Last spring I had the pleasure to spend one week with a host family in Antibes, a rather small village at the Cote d’Azur. Going there with my class, I thought it will be a boring journey full of visiting museums (but I kind of liked Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall) , without any free time. Surprise! We visited a lot of museums BUT had much time for ourselves as well. Together with a friend we had the nicest host family one could have! They were friendly from the first moment on and made us feel comfortable at their flat. We improved our French a lot by playing with our host siblings, they were 2 and 4 years old, so they didn’t try to be polite but just laughed when we made any mistakes – which was cute and, as I said, helped us a lot! In the mornings we attended school or let’s say, we wasted time. After lunch we visited another city every day.

From Nice to Cannes, Grasse and St.Tropez, in between we stopped by in some small villages in the middle of nowhere. As we were free to do what we

want to after having visited everything important with our 

teachers, we went shopping or walked on the seaside and enjoyed the perfect weather. I must say, it was beautiful! All the cities were great, except St.Tropez which was a little bit disappointing when you know it only from movies or songs (it didn’t seem like a party location during day, there was nothing to do or to look at…)

If I will ever have the possibility to go there again, I would surely do it. France is a lovely country with many different faces, the old monuments, the sunny seaside, enormous cities like Nice, small villages that create a special atmosphere, … And if you think about the French people as arrogant you are wrong, really. I didn’t meet anybody who wasn’t nicely smiling and helpful when we got lost (which happened way to often!) All in all, I miss France since I left, it was hard not to cry when we had to go back home, mostly because I really liked my host family and the kids cried when we said good-bye.. One day I will for sure visit them again.

Really, go to France if you can, it is gorgeous and there are so many places to be seen – fall in love with the beauty of the country and even more the people there!

Enjoy your journey :)

Exploring the world - Youth exchanges

Youth exchange - wtf ?! ... that's came up my mind when I first heard it. So really, what are those mysterious "youth exchanges" all about?

No, parents don't change their children for a week... but they may enjoy a week without them (or worrying about their kids being in a foreign country all alone, maybe getting lost, as mine did...)

Young people from various nations come together for one week and work on a specific topic. Moreover, they share their cultures and build up valuable friendships.

From my point of view taking part in a YE is a great experience and huge opportunity to explore the world! There is so much you can learn from each other, that's just unbelievable. By now I had the fortune to be part of two very different YEs.

How to use sports to diminish homophobia?

...was the topic of my first exchange which took

part in 2012, in Budapest, Hungary. With only 17 years of age I've been by far the youngest participant (The average age was between 22 and 25) At first I was afraid about planning a journey to a country where I don't understand the language at all and where I've never been before. If that wasn't enough I had to find the place of stay on my own too. With only the street name (which I wasn't able to pronounce) it seemed impossible. It took me about 3 hours for a way that would take 20 minutes if only I knew the language or the way before... Finally being there, I was relieved but that didn't last long. When I met the other participants and the organizers I felt lost and lonely again - as the only one I didn't know anybody and I had the feeling that due to my age no one will take me for serious.

Luckily all my fear was for no reason :) I never made friends that fast and easy as on my first YE. And I even had the honour to be a speaker at a conference! That feeling was amazing!

We developed a video fitting the topic and nearly everybody burst into tears when we had to say good-bye, leave and separately go back to our countries.

Look at this awesome “Behind the scenes” video, we had so much fun, even when it was hard work (hot 43°C didn't make it easier... ) to create a video within only five days.

Live as European Citizen

...was the main aspect we focused on the second YE I took part in.

One week before my finals at high school I passed at Lignano, Italy with 29 people (all my age) from 7 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Croatia)

At the beginning it was hard to find a level of English that everybody was able to understand but after the first evening of getting to know each other I think everybody could follow and

some people translated for their compatriots. In the mornings experts presented various topics to us, which we discussed in the afternoon. In between we were free to go swimming, shopping or whatever. In the evenings (we had 7 of them), every country prepared a “cultural evening” where they presented their nation. Additionally, groups where chosen to make videos about the topic of the day, one group did this everyday.
Have a look : )

In this youth exchanges the participants built up deep friendships that still last over the distance, improved their language skills and learned a lot for themselves.

Actually for me it was a last-minute decision to go there (we left on Sunday, I've been asked on Saturday evening if I want to go), but I don't regret it at all! On the contrary, it was the best week I ever had!

If you ever have the chance to take part in a youth exchange – do it!

 I promise, you won't regret it.

NY !

…is the place I wish to visit.

When I tell people “I’d love to go to New York  one day”, the reaction stays the same “What a surprise, who doesn’t want to go there?”
Let me tell you why exactly NYC is my first choice when it comes to America.

#1 Half my family lives there. Since I know them only from Skyping, sending each other letters and photographs, it would be a great opportunity to finally get to know them in real, they’re part of me and I’m curious about my roots.

#2 New Year’s Eve at Times Square – I am sure that it is the perfect start into a Happy New Year. What I am most curious about is the spectacular Ball Drop. I can’t imagine a huge Ball of light being dropped into a crowded city. A friend of mine told me it was fascinating and breathtaking when she was there last year.

#3 Shopping! Show me one girl that doesn’t think about shopping when she thinks about New York City. I’ve been told that if I’ll go there, I should take a nearly empty suitcase with me to fill it there.

#4 The Statue of Liberty or Lady Liberty, officially called Liberty Enlightening the World. As it is a monument symbolizing the United States, it is worth to be seen. The statue commemorates the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. It was given to the United States by the people of France, to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution.

#5 To get to know the country, the people, their culture and improve my language skills. What I plan, is to work in New York for some months, maybe as au-pair, and live there to really get to know my city of dreams.

Hopefully I will be able to soon fulfill my wish and 

ENJOY MY JOURNEY :)