Favorite England Shots

Below are some of my favorite shots taken while I was away in England. It's just a few that I went through. My time there was amazing with so many different experiences, It's always hard to pick just a few shots to commemorate it. 

We found a cottage that was named after me. 
Fredericksburg reunion in London.  Barbara, Ashley and I in Ashley's London Flat. 
The cloisters in Oxford that they filmed part of the 4th Harry Potter Movie. 
Me with my Christian Union friends one night in London. We all met up for drinks at a pub before heading to Hard Rock Cafe London. 
A beautiful shot in Bath, England. 
It's Stonehenge!!!!
The Atrium in the British Museum. It's really cool architecture. 
Me in the winter with Buckingham Palace in the ground. In the spring I took the same shot and ended up seeing the Queen in her Rolls Royce. 

Cheers!!!

Last Post in Jolly Ole' England

It is sad to say but this will be my last post from England. I've had such an amazing time here with all the experiences and friends I've made. I will never forget it. My last week here has been pretty full of events. Last Friday May 29th I went on a tour with Evan Evans Tour company. I went with Aisling and Susie. This tour was for Leeds Castle, Canterbury and Dover. I really loved Leeds Castle. It was so amazing to see and learn all about it. We only had about an hour and a half there. So just enough time to tour the castle and walk on the grounds. It has 23 bedrooms which is unfathomable, though we only got to see a couple on the tour. We then travelled to Canterbury where we had some time for lunch before heading to the Cathedral. I think seeing Cathedrals in England and some in Germany has been my favorite part. They are just so magnificent and we don't have anything close to it in the States. After touring Canterbury our last stop was to Dover to see the white cliffs. This part of the tour was a bit disappointing. We drove to the opposite end of the cliffs, and only had about 15 minutes there for picture taking. I'm glad I went on the tour though. I've loved getting to see more of England. 

I went into London twice this week. Once on Tuesday and then on Thursday. On tuesday I went in with Aisling and our main objective was to go to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. They do standing room tickets for only 5 pounds. The play we saw was As You Like It. I loved it! the day was gorgeous at about almost 80 degrees. So it was good weather to see a play. Though standing for over 2 and a half hours was quite tiring, I'm glad I went. We ended the day by grabbing dinner at a pub. That is another thing I'll miss, eating at Pubs. They  have great food and a friendly atmosphere. We have a few kind of like it in the States, but nothing compared to England. 

Wednesday I stayed on campus and got a little packing done. My friends Lizzie and Rachel wanted to prepare a proper roast dinner for Aisling and I. So they started preparations and such at 1pm and we hung out and had our supper at about 4. It was such delicious food! I'm so thankful I made such awesome friends here. I hope to keep in contact with all my English friends and maybe get to visit, or have them come to America. 

Thursday was my last trip into London. It is my friend Susie's birthday on Sunday so this trip was her celebration. We went into Westminster Abbey. Even though it was 12 pounds I thought it was well worth it. An audio guide was included which gave a lot of detail. We stayed there for about 2 hours before continuing on. Susie and Aisling decided to tour the Cabinet War Rooms. So myself and my two friends Lindsey and Nicole did something different for about 2 hours too. They hadn't seen Buckingham palace yet and we were somewhat close to it so we went there. As we were walking down the long stretch of road to leave we got stopped at a cross walk. The guards had both sides stopped plus all the traffic stopped so we knew someone was driving out of the gates. We thought maybe just some politician. But no to our surprise out came the Queen!!! She was in her Rolls Royce getting Chauffeured  somewhere, maybe for afternoon tea who knows. But she was smiling and gave a little wave! We were so stunned and amazed that I didn't even think to pull out my camera! Oh well, it is only a memory now! It was a great way to end this whole experience by seeing the queen!!!

As I write this it is of course raining outside. I will definitely not miss all the rain and dreary days. I am pretty well packed with just a few things left. My next post will be from America safely at home!! 

Cheers! 

*Thanks to all who have been checking up on my adventures and living vicariously through me! 

Final Finish

I am now officially done with my schooling here at Hertfordshire. I finished my last exam on Wednesday afternoon, and I'm so glad to be done. All in all I think the exams went okay. I don't really know how to measure how I did since they were all essay format. It's also pretty hard to adjust to how they want you to write it, or how they will be grading it. But I tried to give it my best and do what I could. 

As a celebration of finishing my classes and exams my friend Aisling and I went into London yesterday. Our main objective was a shopping trip at our favorite place called Primark. They have really cute and affordable clothes. The place is huge and can get pretty busy as the day goes on, since Oxford Street is a busy shopping street anyway. So we got up early enough to catch the 9:30 bus that goes in London. It put us into London and right in front of the store at about 10:30. We ended up staying at Primark till about 12:30. I found a couple things like 2 new tops, shoes, a tote bag and a necklace. It was time for lunch so took our sandwiches we brought with us to Hyde Park. We walked further into the park to get near where the little pond was. It was such a lovely sunny day! It's amazing how one minute you can be on the crazy bustling street, and then you get further into the park it's all quiet. All the city noise seems to disappear. It's brilliant. 

This shopping trip was not over with just Primark. After eating our lunch we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe Store, so both Aisling and I could get a few things there. I ended up buying a Hard Rock Cafe London shirt. I had to, it might be the only thing that has London written on it, so I splurged. We walked back towards Oxford street to get to this place called Pure Waffle. Aisling and I went on one of the first visits to London. We'd just happened on it when we were looking for a place to eat. The first time I just got a plain waffle with maple syrup, because I was seriously budgeting. But today was a treat so I got the waffle with chocolate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle of the two wedges. It was amazing! I didn't want it to end! Before heading out we stopped into a couple different souvenir shops to find gifts for our family. I couldn't believe how many bags I collected! It was a successful shopping trip seeing as I had about 4 shopping bags. We had to wait about an hour to catch the bus, so we went over to Hyde Park again and sat out in the sunshine. 

My adventures into  London are not finished yet! I plan on going in as much as I can in the next 2 weeks. 

Cheers!

One Month Left

I can't believe I'm posting about having one month left. It's been such an amazing adventure here. I remember posting about being here for the first month! Now it's time to post about the last month! 

The next two weeks are not going to be easy. I have four exams I have to tackle. My studying has to completely change. The exams are all essay format, and basically 2 hours of writing that they expect you to be in there the whole two hours. Instead of studying here they do something called Revision. It's a form of studying, but I guess quite different because you are almost doing a mock essay question. I haven't really gotten used to it all yet. I need to have a better plan of attack soon so I do well on the exams. My exam dates are May 12th, 15th, 19th, and 20th. 

I'm set to leave June 6th. However am debating about changing my ticket to go home earlier. I haven't quite decided this. I need to think and pray about it. I will definitely miss all my friends here, though being home earlier than planned will be nice. God will show me what the right decision is, I just have to pray about it. 

If I do end up staying till the original date of June 6th, I plan on making several trips into London. I want to get up there as much as I can before I leave. It's been so nice having it only be 30 minutes away. I've definitely gotten used to London being so close! 

It's getting later..and I need to plan out my study plan for tomorrow.

Cheers!!!!!

The Chamberlain Family Goes Back to their Roots.

For the next part of my Easter Holiday my Mom, Dad and Maggi came to visit. They came for a week, wish it could have been longer. They got in Saturday April 11th, so Friday April 10th I stayed with Ashley. It's been nice knowing that Ashley is there in the city to stay with, it's sad she's leaving soon! 

So the next day I left Ashley's flat a little before 11, which was our original time set for meeting at the hotel. As it turns out my family got through customs, and left Heathrow faster than expected. They were waiting at the Hotel since 9am! I got there after 11:30, it was  great reunion! The hotel was so neat inside. It is a Bed and Breakfast, in an old Townhouse, which they own two buildings, and has 25 rooms. The family that owns it was so nice and hospitable. My family was pretty exhausted when I met up with them, since they'd been up for quite a long time. Regardless they didn't want to miss a thing. So we walked out towards Buckingham Palace, and walked around to Parliament, then to Trafalgar Square. Which at that point they were getting extremely tired. We had to give ourselves enough time to get ready because we booked tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera. 

The Phantom Of the Opera was such an experience. It's been my dream ever since I was here 4 years ago, to see the show and see inside Her Majesty's Theatre. Before heading to the show we at a nice pub/restaurant just around the corner from the Lime Tree Hotel. Everything was so amazing. The show was so magnificent. We got there just in time to get seated, and give a drink order for intermission. Our seats were really great, we could see the stage perfected, being one tier up. The show lasted till about 10:30, and which point my family was ready to crash. Jet lag was weighing heavily on them. 

Easter Sunday was perfect. We started the day off right by having an amazing English Breakfast at the hotel. Everything was so amazing, even down to the toast and jam. We wanted to get to an Easter service, and decided on Westminster Abbey. It was just too unreal to say we went to a service at Westminster Abbey. The service was so beautiful, with the choir and the surroundings. It ended at about noon, at which point we headed over towards Kensington Palace. We took the tour through the Palace, and walked around Kensington Gardens. For dinner we of course ate a pub. Everything was closed because it was a holiday. So we never got to see inside Harrod's on this visit. We got back to the hotel and relaxed for a while, browsing through Bridal Magazine's with Mom and Maggi. We all had a sweet tooth and next door was a wine bar with a great dessert menu. I had and amazing Lemon mousse and Coffee/Bailey's drink, while every one else had equally amazing desserts. We of course passed each around for a try.

For the remainder of the week we rented a cottage in Broadway, which was in the Cotswolds. Our house was right on the High Street/Main street. It was so lovely. Had 3 rooms, a family bathroom, a sitting room and kitchen downstair and a small bathroom downstairs. 

On Monday I wanted to show my family the Uni. and St. Albans. So we made our way to Hatfield, with a stop at the Infamous ASDA for food. It was a beautiful day, slightly chilly, but nice enough for the park at St. Albans. We wanted to make it to Broadway before it go dark, we hopped back into the car and were on our way. Monday night we had dinner at a lovely place called the Swan. It was a restaurant/pub, but very classy. 

Tuesday we drove to Stratford upon Avon and walked around there. It was a bit pricey to do the Shakespeare tour. But not too bad to just go see Anne Hathaway's Cottage. After seeing all we wanted to of Stratford, we made our way to Anne Hathaway's cottage. It had a beautiful garden. Across the way was a cafe, where we had our high tea for the day. 

Wednesday was a fairly nice weather day, so we drove around to the different village towns that were close to Broadway. The first one was Bourton on the Water. We'd heard it was a cute little one. However once there realized it was very touristy. There was a nice pottery place we found, and purchased some things. The next town we went to was Stow on Wold. It was a very lovely town. With decent shopping. We stayed there for a while, and had a high tea as well. Our dinner that night was a lot of fun too. We ate at the Broadway Hotel. It was only about 3 houses down from us. We met some local people too. We ended up staying there till almost midnight talking to them, while having a few pints as well. It was a great evening. 

Thursday was our last day in Broadway. We spent it at the Blenheim Palace, which was about 30 or so minutes away. It was where Sir. Winston Churchill was born and grew up. It was fascinating to see. The place was absolutely magnificent. I can't even imagine what growing up there must have been like! 

Friday we went back into London. Mom, Dad and Maggi were leaving the next morning from Heathrow, so staying in the city made a lot more sense. Dad was able to get us into the VIP tour of the Tower of London. They do the tour for special tours and law enforcement. It was amazing to see at night. We even got to enjoy the Beefeaters Pub. 

Saturday my family left. It was sad to see them go, because the week had been so amazing. It's good to know that I'll be seeing them in just about 5 weeks!

Cheers!!

Photographs of Germany

All the photos below are my photos from my trip to Germany. My friend Aisling and I went to visit my old housemate Shay. We also had the opportunity to tour Munich, and some of Frankfurt. The pictures are mainly from Bamberg and Munich though. 

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Michelsberg Monastery. A beautiful old monastery, that gives a beautiful view of Bamberg. 
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The Bamberg Rathaus-or City hall. Built in the middle of the river with bridges connecting it. 
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The amazing Apple Strudel Aisling and I split while in Munich. 
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The Soccer Stadium at the Olympic village in Munich. 
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The accidental train we hopped on. One of the nicest one stop rides we went on that day. 

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The first night we got into Bamberg. This was taken at an authentic Germany Pub, where American Country music was being performed. Go figure! I haven't heard country music in 3 months, until I went to Germany. 

Germany Adventures

I started my 3 week Easter Holiday off by visiting my old housemate Shay in Germany. She moved there during my freshman year to Student Teach at the Military base in Bamberg, Germany. I've always wanted to get to Germany, and had the perfect opportunity. Plus I haven't seen Shay in about 2 and a half years. It was a lot easier and cheaper to get there from England than from the U.S. 

I haven't had the chance to upload my pictures yet, because my family is coming tomorrow! And the day I got back was filled with unpacking, laundry and re-packing. 

So my friend Aisling and I left Sunday morning from Stansted airport. The flight wasn't too bad, only about an hour.  We flew into Frankfurt Hahn airport, where we then had to take a bus to Frankfurt am Main Train station. We boarded a train for Bamberg, and only had to switch trains once. We got into Bamberg at about 7:30pm. That night Shay made us dinner, and then we went into the downtown and met her friends at Blues Bar, where country music was being played by some Americans. 

Monday Shay had to work, but she gave us the idea of taking the train to Munich. We hadn't even thought of doing something like that. So we boarded a train in the morning and was in Munich by the afternoon. Aisling and I spent all day there. We walked around the Olympic park, went in this huge tower where you can see all of Munich. It was such a nice day. Getting back to Bamberg was a bit of an adventure though. Our train was delayed, which we then had to switch to another train, then get off at the next stop and board another one. This was just the first leg of the journey, which took us to Nuremberg. When we got the Nuremberg we had to wait until 12:11am for a train. Which then got us into Bamberg at 1:15am.  Luckily Tuesday was more of a chill day since we were going to be touring all of Bamberg. 

Tuesday Shay had the day off, so she took us all around Bamberg in the morning. We saw the Rathaus, which is the courthouse. We went into the Dom, or Cathedral. Then she took us up to Michelsberg, which was and is an old Monastery. It gave such a beautiful view of the whole city. While we were there Shay wanted us to try a Bach Beer. Which people used to drink during lent when they were fasting. It was quite an experience, sitting outside drinking a great German beer at 11:30 in the morning. After Michelsberg she took us by "little Venice" which is a row of houses situated right up next to the river, where boats float by them.  Then we had to go back to Shay's apartment so I could register for fall semester classes. While I was registering for classes Shay made us a picnic lunch, which we took to the Seehof Schloss, or Seehof Castle. It was a beautiful day there, so warm I only needed a short sleeve top. We sat around the lawn of the castle and had our picnic. After laying out for a while we walked down the hill to the cafe' which I believe must have been the stables or entrance to the castle. We had an Ice Cream, which I found is a great treat when it's warm outside. We then went back into Bamberg and walked around for a bit, also trying a Rauchbier, which is the locally brewed in Bamberg. It had a smoked taste, with an after taste of Ham. Or as Shay called it, like drinking a Slim Jim. 

Around 6:30pm we met up with Shay's friends at a favorite restaurant called Mahr's Brau. It was a really need place. We tried their favorite drink, shorten to Oue, or Ooo. I can't remember the longer version. We stayed there until heading back to Shay's Flat and crashing at 10pm. Aisling and I needed to plan our or departure to Frankfurt. So Shay called it a night, and we booked our hotel, and found train tickets. 

Wednesday was a bit of a later start. Shay didn't have to get into work until noon, so we had a bit of a later start getting up, while she went for a run. We left the apartment with Shay, so we knew which bus to take to get to the Train station. The train wasn't too bad. Right when we got into Frankfurt Am Main our first objective was to find the Hotel we'd reserved. It was a pretty decent hotel for only 50 Euros total, only 25 Euros per person. We decided on a hotel rather than a hostel, because it ended up being cheaper, and we got our own bathroom in the room. After we dropped off our stuff, it was time to explore some of Frankfurt. It was a fairly nice evening, so we took the underground to a spot where lots of tourists head. It heard more English than I had all week, when we walked around Frankfurt. 

Thursday was our last traveling day. We had to leave early in the morning to catch the Bus back to Frankfurt Hahn airport. The hotel offered a breakfast, which we missed because we were already walking to the bus station by the time is was being served. The traveling back to Hahn, and the flight back wasn't too bad. I had to check my bag again, which totally stunk because it was 20 Euros. I probably won't fly Ryanair again. They add every little thing in there, making you spend more money. 

It was a wonderful trip. I'm so glad I was able to get to Germany! It's been my dream ever since I started learning German. And now I can stay I've officially visited the country!

Pictures will follow in another post. 

Cheers!!!