Student Budget-Worthy Adventures: Bike Tour

My Italian friend Radiana and I
enjoying the beautiful countryside

There are many advantages to being a student. I'm not talking about free pizza on campus or the world's permission to shirk reality's responsibility for 4 consecutive years, but rather about the ability to sniff out adventure on a dime. As a student, I have backpacked sans-electronics through eastern Europe purely on the direction and charades of locals who have only learned English by watching undubbed episodes of Walker Texas Ranger. I've had homemade wine with some friendly Ukrainians while locked in our 10 euro shared flat in the Czech Republic while Neo-Natzi marches took place outside. I've had half-price, day old bread on the steps of churches in Italy and hitched a ride from a Greek and a Bosnian in search of a Master's degree in Germany. Life is certainly open for the taking if we only open our minds to it and jump right in. Cliché as that sounds, I've had more adventures than I can count and they keep pouring in.

Yesterday, my student budget and hunger for a new undertaking led me a sore “Popo,” (German slang for “bum”), a Vegetarian's nightmare and sand between my toes. Ladies and gentlemen, my first European Bike Tour. According to my rough sketches on Google maps, this journey with 8 Germanophones (German speakers) but 4 different passport origins took us approximately 22 kilometers (13.67 miles), over 3 hours through the hills and small cities, and to 3 sparkling lakes! In case you were wondering, the rocky descents to the lakes is where both the soreness and the sand came into play.

Sillyness by the seashore
(Otto-Maigler See)

Though we numbered only 6 at the end of our journey, we arrived at the home of a local friend of mine, Anna, and were warmly greeted by 7 hungry friends freshly arrived by car. For the next 6 hours, we feasted on all sorts of German delicacies in flesh, flour, potato and hops formats. While struggling to switch between French, German and English speaking, I made several new acquaintances and filled my belly to the brim. Unfortunately, these festivities went so late that I had missed the last train home and biking would've been madness. After my Swiss friend heroically tried to fit my giant bicycle into his not-so-giant vehicle, I ended up having a lovely 12 year old version of a slumber party with my hostess, chatting far into the wee hours of the morning until we both passed out mid-sentence.

Bike perspective of the wake-boarding
course at Bleibtreusee

How did this adventure hit my pocketbook? Free entrance to the lakes, free flowers in the fields, free sunshine, free laughter, 9€ for the 24 hour Deutsche Bahn Bike Rental and 4€ for food and beer pitch.

Needless to say, I crashed into my apartment this morning with a sleepy grin on my face, just 13€ ($16) absent from my wallet but incalculably richer in experience.

Our route as best I can estimate

-www.callabike-interaktiv.de
-Otto-Maigler See: They offer a cafe and white-sand beaches with volleyball courts
-Bleibtreusee: This lake has a massive wake-boarding course that resembles a ski lift on the water

-Liblarer See: Surrounded by beautiful forest, this lake is quite extensive and is perfect for a day in the water.

Spotlight: Paris, Magical moments in magical places

The museum's exterior

February 13th, 2013
Paris, France
Though many inquiring travelers receive a high recommendation from me for the Musée d'Orsay, I have found something that finally has a fighting chance for the renowned position as my favorite place to be in Paris. Upon my 7th visit to the capital of France, this time accompanied by my German roommate Katrin, I chanced to meet a professor from Brno, Czech Republic who offered me several location recommendations concerning the educated mind of the wanderer. Due to the time constraint of our last day in the city of lights, we selected the one closest to the Gardens of Tuileries (les jardins de Tuileries) called L'Orangerie. Somehow I had never visited this gem of a building and it became the highlight of my Parisian rendez-vous this year. As I am technically a German student at the moment, all of my museum tickets were free since I showed my current, student ID and my German residence card; what a surprise bonus!

A group of ladies peers at the odd arrangement
in the gallery downstairs

There are two floors of this gallery and it is your whim's decision as to where you should start. However, I must spoil you and say that the basement is quite interesting with a collection of several, French artists (both male and female for a refreshing change) and the upstairs contains a breathtaking assortment of previously unseen, unprecedented magic. If that phrase alone doesn't entice your wanderlust, then you are certainly missing the point of my articles. As I entered the first of the two large, oval rooms, I most literally had my breath taken away by Monsieur Monet. Certainly, I have seen many lovely works by the master of impressionism, but the works before my eyes not only took me hours to absorb but had never, in print nor paint, crossed my eyes before. Each room holds four stunning, panorama paintings included in Monet's collection of waterlily works. As with most of Monet's masterpieces, the art critic has multiple perspectives to choose between (and shall repeatedly vary such perspectives before the work can be grasped in the least). The nature of the marriage between oil on canvas and impressionism provides you the up close and messy angle that is severely lacking in details or overall concept. The further removed from the paint one becomes, the clearer the image and the idea becomes. With the help of Monet's paintbrushes, palet choices and the museum's dedication to preservative lighting, the magic moved through the lilies more vibrantly than that to which I am accustomed. Simply said, allow at least an hour for this museum as it is quite prepared to inspire and calm you, granted that you lose yourself in the strokes and shadows for a sufficient amount of time.

Borrowed from Panoramio.org as photos were forbidden

“Musee de l'Orangerie” Metro station: La Concorde
Jardin Tuileries 75001 Paris
01 44 77 80 07
EU students: free!

Step One: Moving to Cologne

Moving to a new city can be daunting, but I’ve done it several times now in three different countries, so I want to share the process for the future ease of those to follow me. I am the first student from the University of Northern Colorado to embark on an exchange to the Cologne University of Applied Sciences so I take my ambassadorship very seriously. I will document it, so take notes before you jump on the plane to follow me. My mistakes shall become your successes and my successes shall become your triumphs.

The riverbank of the Rhine river in
Cologne, Germany as I awaited my bus to the airport.

There are five major components (lease, insurance, enrollment, registration, and residence permit) that I have discovered must be solved in moving to Germany. I will cover each of these separately.


The first of these is finding somewhere to live because proof of housing is a requirement for each of the next steps. As an exchange student, it is very valuable to check with your university, fellow students and blogs for advice as to what types of housing are both available to you and would best fit your needs. In France, I lived with a host family and it was the perfect link for me to learn French as well as study the daily home life and culture of true French citizens. For others, living in a host home may equal loss of freedom or too similar an image of that which awaits them in their home country. Since I have already experienced a homestay, I decided to seek other options as I embarked on my newest adventure. I used a site called www.housinganywhere.com which is a network for both interns and exchange students to sublease housing. I first had to contact my host university in Cologne for the password to this site, and then I flipped through the ads based on their geographical location, price and duration of availability. After having sent several brief messages of introduction and inquiry, I received only one in return after replying to each offer twice. I offered to immediately come to Cologne to look at the place and discuss a contract. Housing is hard to find in a big city and, when it becomes available, it is generally very quickly snatched up. Being flexible and making consistent communication with your landlord or lease-holder is pertinent to obtaining a contract.

I was setting off for Cyprus via Cologne with Björn, my German boyfriend, on the afternoon of a Wednesday in July, so we took an earlier train to Cologne and met David, a German student who would be spending a year abroad on internship.  The apartment was beautiful, spacious and very cheap for only 280 euro a month, including water, electricity and internet. Most leases do not include the utilities, so make sure to check before signing anything. Rent in Cologne can be anywhere from 250-400 euro per month for a place close to the university so be sure to also know what you can afford and make a list of your expectations as you search for a place. I had asked David to prepare a contract before my arrival and we discussed all aspects of the exchange in English. The contract, however, was in German so I asked Björn to look over it before I signed.

With everything settled, I had a receipt of my down payment on the apartment (this can be anywhere between 400 and 900 euro depending on the length of the contract and request of the leaseholder), and a contract for 11 months; David and I each held copies of all pertinent documents. You will need copies of your lease or sublease contract to show during the next very important steps of your exchange, so hang on to it!

The famous Dom in Cologne, Germany.
Many people sit on her steps to wait for
trains at the HBF across the plaza.

After that was settled, I walked down the streets of my soon to be home with my first lease tucked safely in my bag and the firm hold of my handsome translator leading the way to a plane en route to paradise. Step one, nailed it. Move in date: August 21^st. The excitement was building in my gut; with each step I came closer to my new life. I knew that something big was in the air, just whispering at me to keep climbing the difficult steps to my future.  

For housing in Cologne, I searched with the following that may be helpful for you:
www.housinganywhere.com
http://germany.accommodationforstudents.com/Koln.asp
http://www.kstw.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=315&Itemid=11&lang=en (This is the Student Housing site that operates for the universities in Cologne)

What's Next: Death Defying Gravity

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Greeley, CO USA

Plunging deep below the 59◦ Fahrenheit waters of Table Rock Lake in Missouri led me to my longest and deepest dive coupled with a face to face conversation with death, Christ and myself. I had the magical experience of seeing my first ship wreck lodged onto some silt covered rocks and bashfully hiding her damaged port side. “Miss Gayly,” as I discovered after some gentle exploration on her hull with a fingertip and a flashlight, had sunken with a hit to the side and the key still in the ignition. No one knows what happened to her passengers, but I felt as if I had my own mystery tale to unravel.

Continuing on, my father and the guide, AJ, and I had difficulties with visibility as we meandered over the cliff edge and dove deeper down into the darkness. Though the sun ruled the surface waters on that breezy but beautiful Wednesday, silt and algae took their claim on the depths. In the 1970s, a city called Oasis, Missouri was evacuated and drowned out by the damming of the river to create a reservoir. To this day the city, several boats and a forest remain untouched and unmoving below the surface as the bottom plunges to roughly 225 feet deep. The forest itself, around 88 feet down and off the edge of a smooth cliff is hauntingly beautiful. Her shadows lie a few feet from each other and unraveled their tales to my doubting eyes slowly as my fins cautiously navigated the water behind me. As I desperately tried to maintain sights on my father swimming in front of me, hold my flashlight in a generally straight manner despite the pesky light refraction underwater, maintain neutral buoyancy, navigate the trees and keep my goggles cleared, a renegade shadow branch grasped my regulator cord and ripped it out of my mouth. In my attempts to regain my mouthpiece, time slowed to a standstill and I floated helplessly in a desperate strain toward oxygen and sight in the blackened, gloom of the forest. I felt as if I was hanging from a limb, weightless, stranded and face to face with Monsieur la Mort, gentleman of the demise. He looked me straight in the eye and asked me one question; “Are you prepared to meet your maker and end this strange adventure you call life here on earth?” Silent, yet still reaching for my lifeline, I felt a gentle and bizarre peace set over my shoulders and slide over my wetsuit until it had engulfed me. “Yes, I am. I am ready to die.” In uttering these words to whomever I was talking to, two things came to me quite suddenly and abrasively.

1.)    I had not said goodbye to my mother.

2.)    I had not told the man I loved that I, indeed, loved him.

I knew full well that my friends and family knew how much I loved them, for I sought to show it and express it as often as possible, yet for some reason I could not shake these two things. Death raised an eyebrow. “So, what’s the conclusion then, darling?” In this moment, I imagined Christ himself handing me my regulator and murmuring gently, “Bethany, I have so many plans for you. I want you to continue to love and continue to learn. Keep swimming.”

Suddenly, as I placed my regulator back into my desperate mouth and cleared it of un-breathable water, time rushed back into place and I could hear the familiar repetition of respiration as my own life bubbles danced in the water above my head. Keep swimming. Keep loving. Keep learning. Those are tasks toward which I can strive. Those are tasks that I can handle. Those are tasks that I adore, in fact.

Though I became lost a time or two after that and I continued to view caves, cracks, cliffs and catfish, this memory haunted my soul. Among the shadows of a forgotten forest, I came face to face with something that used to scare me and realized that I have but two regrets. I saw my mother again, so that was taken care of. As for number 2, I called him a few days later and my heart is still smiling.

What's Next: Today I Need.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Reeds Spring, Missouri, USA

As I start my day today amongst the hugs and happiness of a stirring, Blackburn family, I notice how the sun is hesitant to shine. Today, I really need it to shine because my father and I are taking a daddy/daughter trip to SCUBA dive the infamous Table Rock Lake, a lake in which I have swam since I was tinier than the majority of fish that dominated her waters. Today, I really need it to shine in order to stay warm as I slip beneath the gentle waves caused by the renegade boater who is slightly less daring than I as he grazes the top of the lake. Today, I really need it to shine because I am trying so hard to keep my wits and smile about me and ignore the pressing blur that keeps setting in as of late. Today, I really need it to shine because I want a reminder from God that everything really will work out, though I may be missing the other reminders that he is providing me at the moment. But today, I am with my family, so I choose to seek out the little pieces of sunshine inside the house so that I can squish them together and see the love that everyone brings to the Thanksgiving table year after year.