I'm slightly embarassed by the time that's elapsed between my last post and now ... two weeks, and a lot has happened! First I was in Athens, with no internet access really, and then I was in Crete, where my laptop's screen was killed by a suitcase ... until I find a replacement/some solution and am able to upload my own photos, blogging will be photo-less (or in today's case, replete with Google images). I'm also only able to go online at work, so unless something spectacular happens, I'll not be blogging very often until my computer situation is resolved.
So, a couple weeks ago I landed in Athens, Greece, where I was welcomed by the wonderful "cousins" Soulis and Voula. I stayed at their second apartment for a few days, ate a lot of delicious Voula-meals, and wandered around the city until my mom, dad, and sister arrived! We spent the next few days sightseeing and relaxing in the Grand Bretagne's lovely spa (as my family-members recovered from jet lag after a 24-hour trip to Greece from CA). One of the highlights was seeing the new Acropolis Museum, which was not yet finished last time I was here ... finally, Greece has a wonderful place to house it's incredible relics from the past thousands of years and early civilizations, and the setting (at the base of the Acropolis) is magnificent. The other: experiencing the riots and protests in Syntagma Square. The actual events are much calmer than they are portrayed in the media to be, but there are thousands upon thousands of people gathering each night, and everyone is very frustrated with the government. The general sentiment from people I spoke to, including my Greek relatives, is a resentment toward a government who cares more about the banks than the people, and little for the poor (under the new austerity plan, people with lower incomes will have higher taxes than before). I also heard a lot of "Papandreou ees noht GREEK, he ees Amehrican jew!" It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. [Note: the sentiments expressed above are simply observations, not my own opinions.]
Then, we all flew to Crete! We spent a few magical days at the Blue Palace Resort in Plaka, in the Spinalonga Bay (Spinalonga is an island that used to be a leper colony - yummy!). It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, and spending time in such a relaxed and amazing setting with my family, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins was incredible! The rocky beach was picturesque, there were celebrity guests (the cast of America's Next Top Model, as well as Lady Gaga, who had stayed in our family's villa a few weeks before us!), and the food was delicious (I probably gained a good five pounds in three days).
Unfortunately, I had to leave after a short time in Crete, but my whole family will be there for a couple more weeks. While I'm jealous that they get to indulge in sun and sand and Greek food, I couldn't be more excited to be in Munich, and it's also nice to be able to call them without much of a time difference right now.
So now, I am in Munich!!! I can't believe I have never been to Germany before ... the people are so warm and light-hearted, and Munich has a million fantastic little restaurants, shops, and markets. There is an abundance of museums, castles, lakes, river beaches, and other sights to explore here, and I'm so happy that I'll be here for seven weeks. Munich reminds me a bit of northern California - moderate weather, lots of green spaces, a Berkeley-esque college atmosphere (there are 100,000 students at the University here), and an outdoorsy vibe (everyone rides bikes). All in all, being in Germany will be a fantastic experience for both myself personally, and for my career ... work is great so far and I'm really enjoying my internship at Bird & Bird. Unfotunately, there isn't much gelato in Munich ... but there IS lots of Haribo candy.
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