Moien, Luxembourg!!

Samschdeg, 12 September.

Moien ("hello") from Luxembourg! (Or, since we're being all international, from Lëtzebuerg ... that's Luxembourg in Luxembourgish. But I digress.) I am writing from my new home away from home, the Maison Koehlebierg in Esch-sur-Alzette. Although I have only been in Luxembourg for twenty four hours, there is already so much to say and so many stories to tell!

But let's start at the beginning...

Pre-departure photoshoot at Dulles Airport!

I flew to Luxembourg on KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, or Royal Dutch Airlines), the Dutch counterpart of Air France, and spent a few hours on layover in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Although the airport was lovely (and featured free WiFi, a perk whose importance simply cannot be overstated), I quickly realized that -- despite a few years of German and a relatively positive attitude toward the Netherlands -- I by no means speak Dutch. Luckily, in addition to their understanding of the importance of Internet access, the Dutch also all seem to speak English.

After a lengthy but relatively smooth layover in Amsterdam, I finally made my way to Luxembourg! My first glimpse of the grand duchy was from the air and I couldn't resist snapping a quick photo through the plane windows. Did it feel like Princess Mia's arrival in Genovia at the end of The Princess Diaries? Why yes. Yes it did.

After arriving at Luxembourg's much smaller airport yesterday, I went straight to campus to get my student card and room key (more on the fun administrative side of things later) and finally arrived in the southern city of Esch-sur-Alzette around dinner time. Dinner, however, wasn't in the cards; after unpacking about half my suitcase and struggling to keep my eyes open long enough to figure out the WiFi password, I went straight to sleep!! (Let me tell you -- jet lag is real and it is terrible.)

Today -- my first full day in Luxembourg -- has been a fun, disorienting whirlwind, full of walking, grocery shopping, and meeting new people whose names and native languages I'm not sure I'll remember. The fact that I am finally here after months and months of waiting has yet to sink in, but I have a feeling that Luxembourg will very quickly start to feel like home.

I'll write again soon and share more photos and information about my new life in Luxembourg. But for now -- Äddi!!

Adventures in BeDeLux

Samedi, 2 novembre.

In the last week, I've travelled over three thousand kilometres through four countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. That's two flights, three airport shuttles, four tram rides, a couple of car rides, and approximately a dozen trains and buses. And approximately 400 more photos on my already crammed iPhone. Thanks to a delicious diet of waffles, fries, and chocolate, I'm a few pounds heavier than I was last Saturday (although the weight lost by my wallet more than compensates!) and quite a bit more tired. Still, it's been an absolutely amazing couple of days.

The amount of things I've done, seen, and -- of course -- eaten in the last week is way too much for just one post! You'll have to stay tuned for a couple more posts about all of Molly's and my adventures in Luxembourg and Belgium. But first, an updated shot of my travels map, which has grown considerably since the last time you saw it!

You can find the whole map here (and check out more information about all the cities I've visited here on the blog). The purple pins mark places I visited during the first three weeks of orientation (Nimes, Avignon, etc) while the coral pins are places I've visited during the course of the semester. Blue pins represent the places I've yet to visit, but hope to soon!

But I digress -- back to my Adventures in BeDeLux. Which is, BTW, a pun on BeNeLux, the name given to the region comprised on Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. I like to think that our trip replaced the Netherlands with Deutschland! Well, sort of. Ryan Air -- the discount airline popular with study abroad students because it sells tickets for as low as 15 euros -- flies into Frankfurt-Hahn, a small airport in Germany not far from the Luxembourg border. Although the airport is quite literally in the middle of nowhere, we found that an inexpensive bus shuttle could take us from the airport to Luxembourg and on to Brussels. So hey, why not add another country to our list?

Bon Voyage!

Samedi, 17 août.

Bienvenue from la France! It's just past 8:00 pm here. That means it's currently 2:00 pm in Centreville ... and also means that I have been awake for over 30 straight hours. And let me tell you, fatiguée doesn't even begin to describe my level of exhaustion à ce moment. Earlier this afternoon, I started to fall asleep while sitting straight up on a park bench. So yeah, it's been quite a long day ... but I guess that's because it all began, well, yesterday!

I spent Friday morning packing (and unpacking and repacking) and headed off to the airport around 1 pm for my 4:15 flight. Goodbyes were difficult, but I know I'll be back in Virginia before I know it! As for the trip itself, the flight from Washington Dulles to Charles de Gaulle was a breeze ... well, as much as a trans-Atlantic plane flight can be! Our plane was an absolute goliath, and if you think I'm exaggerating, look up the Air France Airbus A380 -- it's the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Check out this photo of the economy class! I had planned to sleep most of the flight, but between the airline food (say what you want, but I really liked it) to the inflight entertainment (I finally got a chance to watch Lincoln), it was all just too exciting to miss a second!

Here are some helpful hints if you are planning to fly Air France anytime soon:

• Not many things are written in stone anymore, but the Air France baggage weight limits are literally carved in granite and hung over the check-in desk. Just kidding! But actually, they're insanely serious about weight limits. I got my boarding pass and waited in line for 20+ minutes, only to be sent back to repack because my carry-ons were too heavy!
• Allow plenty of time to go through security! I was at Dulles Aiport more than two and a half hours before my flight and didn't have a whole lot of free time after finally getting through security.
• Forget the weather outside: wear your heaviest clothes on the plane. Air France is crazy picky about the size and weight of your luggage, but they don't look twice at the size and weight of YOU. When I went through check-in the second time, I was wearing two jackets, sunglasses, and a digital camera. I'm almost certain that I could have bundled myself up like a sausage without any questions! Besides, it's cold when you're a couple thousand miles up in the air and an extra jacket won't be wasted!
• Do research on your destination airport. Learn the rules, print out a map ... whatever will keep you from dragging a heavy duffel bag in circles around Charles de Gaulle Airport!
• If you can, take the Airbus. It's two stories, has comfy seats with individual TV screens and is basically the definition of chouette. I actually sort of miss it...

Two Tickets to Paradise ... with a layover in Reykjavik?

Monday, June 3.

Plane tickets have officially been bought. There's no going back now. (Just kidding, there was no going back once my mom paid the $1000 deposit a couple of months ago.)

I'm supposed to arrive in Montpellier on August 17 for my pre-session and orientation. Because the trip takes so long, I'll be leaving on Friday, August 16. I'm flying out of Dulles airport at 4:15 pm (our time) and should be in Pairs by 5:45 am on Saturday (their time). It'll be nearly midnight in Virginia by the time we land, so fingers crossed that I can fall asleep on the plane! It's kind of crazy to think about, because I've flown so many times with my family, but this trip will be my first ever solo flight. I don't think I'm nervous ... mostly because I'm usually the one dragging my mom and Madeleine through the airport anyhow! Besides, Molly's flight from Florida is set to get in less than half an hour after mine, so we'll hopefully be on the same short flight from Paris to Montpellier.