1st Anniversary of Blogging

Hey Readers and Followers,

This is a collage of photos from Venice.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

It has now been 1 year since I have begun this blog, it doesn't have quite as many posts as I was hoping for but hey we are getting there. My one year Blogging Anniversary is October 5, 2018. I never thought this day would come, and to be starting this post while on a study trip in Sweden just sounds astounding to me.

This is a collage of photos from Germany.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby & Eugene Kim

A year ago I started this blog, and a year ago October 4th, I booked my trip to Venice, Italy. It was so cool. In 1 year I have been in and out of 5 countries. I am from Canada and travel often for shopping or dinner to the United States. I completed a semester of studies abroad in Germany where I got the opportunity to travel to Italy. I wish I traveled more while in Germany but it can get expensive, and I am not completely comfortable traveling to foreign countries alone as a female. Then I went to Sweden recently and currently am Studying back in Finland. Those are my travel destinations briefly. I can not wait for more adventures.

This is a collage from Finland last year.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I have had the opportunity to meet and network across these countries, and having connections and friends from all over the world is a large asset in the Tourism world. I hope to someday connect with many of these people whether for personal gain or for future career opportunities.

I can not forget the memories and experiences I make each time I am home from traveling. It is so exciting to see all of my friends and family each time I head back. I love that everyone stays in touch while I am gone and they go out of their way to make plans with me when I am home. When home the time always flies by but what can you do except grasp those memories and really make the best out of the time you have.

This is a collage of photos from the summer.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby & Janet Vanderwerf

I am now finishing my 3rd year studies as well as my 4th year studies (at the same time). Hoping to graduate next fall after completing my thesis. So this is possibly my last time in Finland, though I will be back someday to see the people I have met. I have gotten quite close with a Finnish friend and her family, so it would be great to host them in Canada as well as return here to visit them.

Lets hope there are many more years and experiences to share in the future of this blog.

Bye for now...

All Adventures Must End

Hello Readers,

February 15th was the day I left Kempten, Germany and head back to Rovaniemi, Finland. I was bittersweet about leaving because I met a lot of nice people from all over the world (I now have connections to Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, USA, South Korea, and India to name a few), but I was also excited to get back to my friends that I haven't seen since May of last year.

Last Trip to the City Center of Kempten. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I haven't written a post in about a month because when I arrived back to Kempten after Christmas we had 2 weeks of classes and then exams began. I was just in my apartment studying for the exams because in Germany the exam is worth 100% of the mark, there are no assignment marks or anything, so studying for the exams was very important to achieve the grades.

Last View of the Mountains from the Train. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Prior to leaving I had a lot of tying up loose ends like closing my German Bank account, cleaning my apartment, preparing my luggage and saying goodbye to everyone. There were a few things I didn't do while I was here, like visit a few people I wanted to see while I was in the area but I just ran out of time and the 5 months just flew right by. I did get to meet up with my exchange student from High School who I hadn't seen for 12 years, I got to go to Italy, I went home for Christmas, and I got to explore much of the Allgäu region. That to me means that it was successful, just being here and meeting all of the generous people and exploring would have been enough experience for me.

Delicious but Expensive Hamburger at Helsinki Airport. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I will met with my Teacher Tutor on Monday February 19th to discuss my progress for school, since I was planning to arrive later into the semester. This was known before I left for exchange because in Finland the School Terms are End of August to Just Before Christmas, then January until Beginning of May and in Germany it goes from Beginning of October to Middle of February, then Middle of March to End of July. However, I only have two courses to take over the course of the term and they start on March 12, so currently I am enjoying my study week at my friends house.

Reminiscing about Venice with these lovely girls from South Korea. Photo Credit: So Young Lee

I will be posting again this week about when I attended a Reindeer Race last week. Stay tuned...

Bye for now...

Flight Adventures

Hello Readers….

Passing the Time at the Airport
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

As promised in the last post, I will give some feedback and insight into what happened when my flight had been delayed in Toronto. I went to the Airport Via Robert Q bus from London at 2:30pm January 7, so I had said good bye to my family in London, Ontario. When I reached the airport the attendant at the Check-In desk informed me that the flight had already been delayed. It was originally scheduled to leave Toronto at 8pm but at this time it was delayed until 9:40pm. Given that I was traveling in the middle of winter from Canada it wasn’t entirely a surprise to have a delay due to weather conditions.  I was slightly concerned as I had a connection to make in Iceland, however the Iceland-air Attendant during check-in informed me that if the connection was missed that Iceland-air makes it their responsibility to reschedule my flight.

Anyone who knows me, knows that usually I would have panicked and gotten upset at this point however, as I continue to travel and gain experience I managed to stay calm and decided to just go with the flow at this point. It was completely out of my hands, and it was the flight coming from Iceland that had been delayed due to storms. I enjoyed some dinner at my gate, and got comfortable to sit around for about 3.5 hours at the airport, thank goodness for technology.

The flight boarded late around 9:30pm which meant take off was around 10pm. They had to de-ice the plane so that created more delays for take off. Once in the air it was smooth sailing. I did get around 2.5 hours of sleep and enjoyed some Orange Juice and some great movie options from Iceland-air. Once the plane landed in Iceland it was local time 9:40am. My Flight to Germany had departed at 7:20am. I had missed it. What was next??? I had to go through security as I was entering Europe and then proceed to the Customer Service Desk. The line was relatively short and moved quite fast, as I am sure they were expecting us (pretty much our whole plane was in line). I got to the counter and they informed me that I would be re-directed with a flight to Oslo, Norway and then to Munich, Germany my final destination. I also received a voucher for some food as they apologized for the delay, I was very grateful as I was getting hungry. At this point they also informed me that I would have to go to baggage claim and re-check into the airport and go through airport security, I had time since my Flight wasn’t until 12:50pm local time. The line to check-in was abnormally long (Again mostly all of the travelers from Toronto) but there was only one check-in counter open. This to me was the part where passengers would get very angry, which some in line were getting impatient, but again it was out of my control so I remained calm and went with the flow. I got to the counter, the man checked me and my luggage into the airline and away I went to security. The bonus for me was that I had done airport security in Iceland from the trip I took with my parents in the fall 2016.

Snapchat from Oslo Airport, Checking
Flight Status Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The flight boarded and left on-time from Iceland, even though again the plane needed to be de-iced. It was only a 2.5-hour flight, but I managed to sleep about 1-hour. I arrived in Oslo, Norway (checking in with my family the entire trip, so someone knew where I was at all times). I had even woke up mom up out of a sleep at one point. I had never seen Oslo, but even though it was local time 4:30pm local time it was already pitch black. So I got to see the Airport J. I still had my sandwich and some snacks left from home, so I enjoyed those at this time while waiting to board. I had about 1.5-hour layover then to travel to Munich. This flight also boarded on time, it wasn’t full so there was no one sitting beside me, thank goodness for extra room on this flight. Again it was a 2.5-hour flight and I managed to sleep another 1-hour or so.

I landed in Munich at local time 9:10pm January 8. This was 3pm the next day at home in Toronto. I had been traveling for over 24hours and still wasn’t to my apartment in Kempten yet. I had some naps but not an actual night of sleep. I managed to get a ticket on the last train from Munich to Kempten and finally arrived to my apartment safe and sound at 1am Tuesday January 9 (7pm January 8^th in Toronto).  Whew!!!!

I showered and went straight to sleep, and slept the entire day Tuesday. I finally got adjusted by Wednesday evening to the time change and have been fine since.

This was a different adventure than I had expected, but I did it and was treated very well by Iceland-air. There was nothing I could do, nor could they change the weather so making the best out of the situation was all I could do.

Although they only happen occasionally, I hope you can make the best out of unfortunate situations.

Thanks for the support from my Mom, and Sister through this. Love you.

Bye for now…

Update...

Hey Readers,

The Market. A Band playing Christmas Carols
Photo Credit: Eugene Kim

I have not forgot about my blog, I just haven't gone on any trips. The last few weeks before Christmas Break were filled with presentations and final seminar paper preparation. I did however take a break on December 2nd to attend the Christmas Market in Kempten, or in German "Weihnachtsmarkt". It is a tradition in Germany that they have Christmas markets in the city centers.The one in Kempten runs from November 29 to December 22, 2017.

One of the Vendors at the Market.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I traveled home for Christmas on December 23rd without any delays. It was an adventure to get to Munich Airport though. From Kempten you have to take a train to the city and hop on the subway S8 to take you to the airport. I had not traveled to this airport as when I arrived in Germany we arrived in Berlin. Once I got to the airport I quickly discovered that the Terminal in which I was flying out of was fairly new. Therefore, there were many signs and many many shops to browse in during your layover or stay at the airport. I was also taking a direct Flight from Munich to Toronto, so I was not worried about food (there was a meal on board) or being late for a connection. The plane was like new, new technology and new window dimmers instead of the traditional window shades.

I was ecstatic when I arrived in Toronto to see my family. My mom was waiting for my arrival. We are a very close family so being apart for any length of time makes it very exciting to see each other once reunited. I was surprised when I got home because my family put up outside Christmas lights and had decorated the house for the holiday season. I was excited for Christmas because it is a great time to relax and hang out with family members. This is my favourite holiday for the food and spending uninterrupted time with family.

Our Christmas Tree at Home. Photo Credit: Kathy Gadsby

There was time in the SHORT two weeks to visit many family members and friends, sorry if you were not one of them...see you soon-ish. I got to relax and celebrate the holidays and do some shopping. I got to ring in the new year with some great friends by my side and celebrated with my parents on January 1st.

New Years Celebrations with Kayla Burr. Photo Credit: Kayla Burr

Currently I am writing this blog from the Toronto Airport while I await my adventure back to Germany. It should be an exciting adventure as the weather has already delayed the flight 1hour and 40minutes....This means that the connection might be missed, as I only had 1 hour between my flights. Hopefully, it is exciting and I have some experiences to share on this blog once I arrive in Germany.

STAY TUNED...

Danielle

Venice...The City of Water

Hey Readers,

I recently returned back to Germany from a 3 day trip to Venice, Italy. I went with 3 friends that I met here. It was a great experience, however, my cellphone didn't work there unless I had WIFI, so I had to rely on my friends who could access their data. Without the phone connection, I would have gotten lost in the many alley ways and would have had to plan ahead for the day as to what sites and restaurants I wanted to go to that day.

The Canal. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The first day we decided to put our luggage in the baggage hold at the bus station. We also purchased a 3 day water bus pass, that would last us the time we were there...it only cost 29 euro for the 3 day pass, for persons under 30. The baggage hold was 6 euro each for 5 hours, but worth it, since Venice is all canals there are bridges with many stairs everywhere...not ideal for carrying your suitcase. We arrived at 8:00 am and we didn't get our apartment until 1:00 pm. We rented an apartment through booking.com because it was cheaper for 4 people then to stay in a hotel. We also liked the option to go to a grocery store and buy some things to make in the apartment. The apartment was beautiful, we had a canal view (one of the many, not the main water way) and it had 2 bedrooms, a big bathroom, and a very large terrace.

Best Gelato Ever.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

 The girls I traveled with wanted some Asian food the first day, so we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch that day. You can find the photos of this food on the Venice, Italy Photo Page. But we walked Venice to see all of the main sights, Rialto Bridge, and St.Marks Basilica. We even waited in line for 45minutes for the best Gelato in Venice. By the time 6pm rolled around, I was exhausted because of lack of sleep on the Flixbus the night before. We wandered our way back around 7:30pm, and I was asleep by 8pm. The next day we got a head start around 10am, and we decided to do the island Lido and Burano. Lido is a beautiful beach island, I was very taken back to see cars on this island, because we had already spent 24 hours in Venice, where they don't have cars. The girls wanted to see Burano island because of its beautiful coloured buildings and because a famous Korean singer made a music video on this island.

Burano Island, Coloured Houses. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby and Eugene Kim.

We found a dessert bakery on the island, where we enjoyed some small chocolates and I got myself a real Italian Canoli.

When darkness came over the island, we decided it was best to head back to Venice. Once we took our water bus back, we chose to have some pizza for dinner. It was a must on the list of things to have in Italy, Pizza and Pasta. The pizza was so good, best I have ever had. Except if your looking for Dee[ Dish, you need to go to Giordano's in Chicago.The restaurant was called Antico Forno in Venezia. There were thick crust like the one photographed below, or thin crust available as well. The other photo below shows how many different pizza flavours they had available at any time. A lot of flavour, and a small restaurant with a small area you can enjoy your slice, or take it to go.
 

Antico Forno Pizzeria. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Greatest Slice of Pizza I have ever had. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

When we got up on our last day, we decided we didn't want to pay for our luggage to be held for the entire day as our bus didn't leave until 10pm and we had to be out of the apartment by 11am. We chose to be out by 10am and make the most of our day. We went to Murano Island to try and see some glass making, however we didn't realize that they do not do it on Sundays. We missed out on that but still explored the island. All of the glass sculptures and designs were wonderful.

We then went back to Venice to check out St.Marks Basilica again in the day light, we even went inside the massive building. Around 4pm we decided we should go to an Italian restaurant and have some pasta. I had Bruschetta to start (which I shared with the others, they didn't even know what Bruschetta was). For my main dish I had some lasagna. You will find photos of these in the Venice, Italy photo page on this blog. We had a little bit of time left to see the last few things, before going back to the train station area to catch the water bus back to Tronchetto (Bus Terminal) to catch our Flixbus back to Munich.

The bus was late arriving to Munich because we got held up later than expected at customs, coming back into Germany. So once we got to Munich, we had to wait later than expected for a Train back to Kempten, since the cheaper morning train was gone, and it would take about 1.5 hours for the daily Bayern ticket to be available. We stayed at the train station and then headed to Kempten around 10am. Then rested for the next afternoon.

This was a whirlwind trip to remember. We had a lot of fun, and crammed a lot of stuff into the 3 days but it was well worth it for the memories we have together.

Hope you enjoyed this...
Bye for now.

Presentation about Canada

Hey....

This is my presentation of Canada. I will present it to the Culture Club this Friday here in Kempten. They wanted to know about Canadian Culture, Food, Traditions and Music. There are some links as well to some Youtube videos I found that show more about Canada.
I hope you enjoy it.

Talk soon - Venice blog is coming soon...still organizing my photos.

Reunited...after almost 12 years

Hey readers,

This past weekend was so fun for me. I reached out to a contact that I met about 12 years ago. When I was in high school, I participated in a reciprocal exchange program with the ISE company. My exchange student was from Mönchengladbach, Germany, she would come to my house first for three months, and then I to her house for three months. I recently started my study abroad semester in Germany and found out that she now lives only 127km from me. We made plans to meet up and had an amazing reunion in Munich, talking and walking and sharing our life changes for the last 12years.

This photo is in Mönchengladbach in 2006. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to go on an exchange because my sister had done it before me, only to Spain. From a Canadian perspective it is more comforting in that your exchange student arrives to you first, so at least when you arrive at their home you already know one person. It was a great learning experience for both of us, and we learned quickly about different cultures and different upbringings. While I was there, I learned that I was too young to be traveling from home. I think 15 and leaving your family for 3 months is a big adjustment, I also found that I was distanced from a few friends, and it took a little while for me to adjust back.

Me and Sofie (My old exchange partner) in Marienplatz in Munich, 2017. Photo Credit: Sofie Schmid

She met me at the train station, and then went on a walk around the city, showing me all of the sights. She showed me the main areas of the downtown sectors (some of which I had seen when I was touring with my parents). We spent a lot of time catching up the changes in our families and what has changed in our lives, there was a lot to cover when it came to studying and marriages and such. We walked a total of 14km around the city. She even took me to the rooftop terrace at the University. We enjoyed a hot chocolate, and an espresso. The view of the city was awesome, it is a flat city so you could see for miles, you could even see the Alps in the far distance. After that we went for lunch at Pommes Boutique, the menu has many types of french fries with different combinations of meat and vegetables added, as well as a large selection of sauces you can have on them.

Surfers at the English Garden, in Munich. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

To finish our trip we ended up hanging out at her apartment, and talked. We relaxed and I found out that I had blisters on both feet for wearing the wrong shoes, I did not have on walking shoes...but oh well they will heal. I ended up taking the Subway back to the Train Station and headed back to Kempten that evening. The train this time was the ALEX brand, and It reminded me of the Hogwarts Express. There were individual sections to the car where 6 people could sit together. 

 Its never too late to reconnect with old friends, you can always catch up.

Talk soon.