Montreux

What a beautiful place is Montreux. Once home to Charlie Chaplin and Freddie Mercury it is one of the many towns dotting the north side of Lake Geneva.

We arrived at lunch time by train from Interlaken having spent 3 hours on the Golden Pass Panoramic Train through spectacular scenery of alps with snow, green fields with cows, Swiss chalets, lakes and waterfalls. It was a good idea to reserve our seats on the train.

We found our accommodation via taxi (no, not one of the beautiful hotels facing the lake). We had booked a dorm at the Youth Hostel and arrived at 12.30pm hoping to check in and drop our bags. No such luck, though, as a sign stuck on the reception window said “Reception Open 7.30am to 10am, 5pm to 10pm.” There was absolutely no-one around, so we just had to wait. After a while a man appeared and we begged him to check us in but he was rather rude and said “Did you not read the check in times on the website?????” Excuse me for living but aren’t these hospitality people supposed to go all out to please their guests? Not so here in Europe we have discovered. It was only a friggin' youth hostel, for God’s sake, not an exclusive hotel.

Anyway, I agreed to sit with the luggage while the girls went in search of some lunch. Then a couple of hours later it was my turn to go out walking. I walked for a couple of hours along the Montreux Riviera on the shores of Lake Geneva enjoying the wonderful scenery of the lake with the mountains as a backdrop and the large hotels built into the side of the mountains. I came across the Casino Barriere which is the first Casino built in Switzerland, so I went inside to have a look and after checking my passport the woman at the door gave me a ticket with a number on it. This could have been my lucky day as I could have won a Mercedes car if the god’s had been smiling on me. No such luck!

Back at the hostel we finally were able to check in to our 4 bed room that was so small it felt like a prison cell. It was clean though and there is free breakfast in the morning. No free wifi either. We decided to make it an early night so after dinner we hit the hay and went to sleep. Tomorrow we will take the boat across the lake to Bouveret and check into the Cesar Ritz Hospitality School early to get rid of our luggage, then maybe come back to Montreux for a better look.

Interlaken

This place is pretty cute.  It's a little town nestled between 2 big lakes, Brienzersee on the eastern side and Thunersee on the Western side, and the Yungfrau Mountains on the southern side.  There are cable car rides to take up the mountain, but we didn't do it due to the bad weather and we would only have seen clouds.  The girls enjoyed some more shopping instead.  Succumbed to Macca's for lunch today with the excuse that we needed to try it in Europe.  It was a little different but mostly the same - a burger, fries and coke cost FR 12.90.

Our accommodation is a Youth Hostel called Hua Villa where we have a 5 bed room with showers and toilets down the hall.  We took this out of desperation as everything else was booked out - there are soooo many tourists in town.  We did get a free pick-up from the station though by the guy who runs the place who is from the midlands in England (is that near your stomping ground, John?).

Tomorrow we are off to Montreux which is south of Interlaken on the Golden Pass Panoramic train which is supposed to offer spectacular views (as long as the weather is good).  We are getting closer and closer to our destination for the second part of our studies - Le Bouveret.

We are headed for the casino tonight as we have vouchers giving us free entry and a free drink.  I guess we'll get food there as well.  At the moment we are recuperating in our room resting our weary legs (it's hard work being a tourist).

Trains Suck!!!

I made a mistake when the taxi driver asked where we were going this morning and I said “Airport”. Then realising my mistake I said ‘Train Station’. It was wishful thinking. I never realised how wonderful those 4 little words “Checking your baggage through” are.


Let me paint a picture for you. We arrived at the Salzburg station this morning with all our luggage having taken a taxi from the hotel. Luckily this station had a lift to the platform. Usually they don’t and you have to heave your suitcase up or down several flights of stairs.

Once the train arrives at the platform it is a mad scramble to get in the train. Let me tell you that lifting a 20 kg suitcase up a few steps onto the train whilst carrying your backpack on your back and your shoulder bag around your neck is no mean feat. It is hard for a 20 year old. It is 3 and a bit times harder for a 61 year old.

Once on the train you have to find a place for your suitcase and backpack. Some trains have tiny little areas allocated to luggage, but these get filled up really quickly. So your luggage ends up just sitting in the aisle somewhere unless you manage to find a seat with a spare seat next to you (very rare). You get simpletons who want to drag a suitcase in the opposite direction down the aisle to where everyone else is travelling. Sometimes you find a great seat and get settled in only to be moved on because that seat had already been reserved by someone.

It is probably a little easier in first class, where I should be sitting, but the girls in my group can only travel second class, so I need to be with them.

Give me air travel or even coach travel any day.

We’ve stocked up on some food for the 3 hour trip to Zurich. Then we have a tight connection to Berne and then another one to Interlaken. I believe it is 8 degrees (47 degrees Fahrenheit for the Americans) and raining in Interlaken. What happened to summer??

The Hills are Alive.........

The Church where Maria and Herr Von Trapp were married

The Von Trapp house used in the movie

The garden used for filming

The Gazebo used in the movie

Sally and Allison drinking Austrian beer

I've fallen in love.....with Salzburg!  The Sound of Music Tour was terrific.  A bit corny at times, but the tour guide did a great job and told us stories of how the musical was made, sang songs and showed us the palaces and gardens and gazebos that were used in the movie.  At the same time we had a pretty comprehensive tour of the city.  Salzberg is rather beautiful, neat and tidy and it looks like people care about the city.  We stopped and had an apple strudel and icecream along the way. After the tour the four of us went on a walking tour into the old town and saw all things dealing with Mozart and all the beautiful old buildings.  I could live here!

The girls wanted to visit every boutique along the way and my poor old legs couldn't cope any longer, so I left them and walked back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.  Don't think I'll move out of the room till tomorrow (actually, I already have as I'm using the internet in the bar of the hotel because when the girls returned they wanted to skype and we can only have one connection going at a time).

Tomorrow we are off to Interlaken in Switzerland.

Salzburg and the Train

I’ve discovered I’m not a great fan of trains, especially when you are carrying more than just a handbag. They don’t make the overhead racks large enough, nor the aisles wide enough to pull a suitcase through. Nor is there anywhere to store a suitcase except on the seat next to you as long as no-one is sitting in it.

A group of us travelled all day (like 10 hours) from Maastricht to Salzburg via Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich. It is raining in Salzburg – seems like that’s typical weather everywhere l these days. Our hotel is quite nice, “Goldenes Theaterhotel Salzburg” (must find out its history) and we have a 2 bedroom apartment.

We’ve just been out to dinner at Die Weisse, which is a beer house and Austrian “pub’. I had Bratwurst, potatoes and sauerkraut plus a huge stein of Austrian beer. Must say I have been drinking lots of beer lately as the wines aren’t too good. The kids in the course are much bigger beer drinkers than I am, though. I think because the drinking age is 21 in America they are making the most of it here.

Have booked to go on “The Sound of Music tour” in the morning before touring the old part of the city of Salzburg.

Back to the train issue, though. I am finding it extremely difficult to get on and off trains with a suitcase plus a backpack. My knees are feeling the strain of carrying or pulling heavy luggage.

Whoopee! The first subject is complete!

I can’t believe the first subject, European Hotel Management, is over. And the best thing is that I passed with flying colours. Today we had to hand in and present to the class our Final Project which was in 2 parts. The first dealt with being an American Hotel Manager with multi-cultural staff and how you would handle the communication aspect to ensure all staff was catered for. The second part was to discuss being an American expatriate manager in another country having to communicate with employees who are natives of that country. My group used the situation where American management took over an Australian company (sound familiar?) and we discussed the issues that arose on the communication side when they tried to operate within the Australian culture too quickly without first acclimating to the Australian culture and finding out how things are done in Australia. All groups did remarkably well considering some where drunk or stoned when they were writing their paper. I can’t believe how well these kids do even though they do things under compromised conditions and at the last minute.


One criticism I have with the syllabus is that although it allowed us to analyse different cultures and make comparisons with our own and put it into a hospitality context, it was too theoretical and required lots of writing of papers and case studies. The fact that we had to pay for our internet access didn’t help when we had to research topics. They should have organised it with our lack of normal facilities in mind. I’m hoping our next subject will be better. It will deal with cuisine and food preparation and, from what we have heard, the facilities will be better in Le Bouveret, Switzerland. I believe we will have free wifi, only 2 students to a room (it has been pretty cramped up to now with 4 girls in a tiny dorm, and 3 of the girls are a little messy).

Tomorrow my group (Sally, Allison, Stephanie and I) are checking out of our home (the StayOkay in Maastricht) to catch a train at around 7am and head via a circuitous route (3 or 4 changes of train) to Salzburg, Austria. We should arrive at around 4pm.

We had our last dinner at Kiwi Restaurant and then I went to the supermarket to buy some nibbles for the train. I’m kind of sad to be leaving Maastricht as it is a beautiful little town. I have already packed my stuff and will set my alarm for 5am. It’s really interesting listening to the girls chat over dinner as they treat me like one of them. I get to hear all their tales about smoking pot and quite frankly, I am usually totally oblivious to this activity. Arleigh divulged that she was quite high this afternoon when we went for a tour of a lovely church which is the oldest church in the Netherlands. I must pay more attention in future. It’s fun, fun, fun here – sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Even the most straight-laced kids are up to mischief.

I had a chat to Dr Bartlett and his wife and thanked them for everything and allowing me to participate in the program.

The Hoge Hotel Management School and Chateau Bethlehem

The Hoge School of Hotel Management

We visited the Hoge School of Hotel Management in Maastricht. This is a tertiary institution offering bachelor degrees and masters degrees in Hotel Management and Tourism. It also has a Hotel attached which has been constructed in a converted castle, and is called Hotel Chateau Bethlehem , named by the knight that owned it who was very interested in all things biblical. Carol, the public relations manager, gave us a tour of the school and the hotel and showed us all the hotel rooms that are designed by different designers and each have a different theme. Very way out design concepts, I must say. The entrance door of one room opened straight on to the toilet, then into the bedroom. Another one had a bathroom that was also a library. Accommodation is quite cheap at this hotel (60 – 100 euros a night) because they use student labour and it doesn’t cost them anything. Carol did a presentation for us then they gave us dinner. It was quite an impressive and informative tour.

MORMONS STUCK IN LIFT

The funniest thing happened yesterday. We were walking to the train station dressed as we usually are in black pants/skirt , white shirt and scarf/tie and we all got into the lift on the street that takes you up one level from street level to bridge level. 19 of us got in and the sign said 17 max. We pressed the up button and nothing happened. A few more presses and the lift went up about a foot. The doors were shut tight. We tried to get the doors to open but they wouldn’t budge. Furious pressing of all the buttons made no difference. Bart used the emergency phone in the lift and called for assistance. The voice told us they were going to send the fire brigade.


Meanwhile, the 19 of us were sweltering in this unairconditioned lift. A couple of the guys managed to prise the doors open an inch and some fresh air come in, which was very welcome. The claustrophobics amongst us were having a hard time as we were all pressed up against each other, sweating and getting rather hysterical. Passers-by were looking in through the glass sides and, whilst they appeared concerned for us, they couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. We certainly looked like a bunch of Mormons stuck in a lift.

Twenty minutes later a fire truck arrived with 4 burly firemen, who also had a smirk on their faces when they saw the glass lift jam-packed with an odd group of people in uniform all frantically waving their arms in the air. They tried to open the doors, to no avail. They then got on top of the lift and lowered it so it was level with the floor again and then the doors could be opened. Nineteen highly embarrassed Mormons got out of the lift, thanked the firemen, but didn’t look back because we knew they were having a good giggle.

Dinner at the Witloff

Stephanie C, Julie, Me, Stephanie W and Hillary

Andrew and Stephanie

Byron and Andrew

Julie and Ashley

Stephanie, Sally and Allison

Me, Dr Scott and Mr Halsell (Dr Scott's husband)

This morning we had a tour of a gorgeous hotel situated in a converted church.  The exterior and inside face are still the church with its arches, alter, stained glass and murals whilst the hotel has been added as an ultra-modern structure inside of this.  Should the church need to be restored to its original use, the hotel additions are able to be removed totally (including the lift) within 30 days.  Most impressive!

This afternoon we had more classes and my group presented our case to the class.  It went well.

More assignments and mad discussion for other assignments too place after class (I hate these assignments as they use up time we desperately need for organising our travel.).

We had our farewell dinner at the Witloff Hotel tonight.  this is a rather lovely Belgian style Hotel within walking distance of the StayOkay.  Food was lovely, but the service, as usual, left a bit to be desired.  Don't know why they do it, but the waitresses just stood around drinking coke whilst we waited forever for our courses and nobody affereed to refill our glasses when they were empty.  Have noticed this a lot in the Netherlands.  They don't seem to be very attentive to their customers.

There was a mad scramble when we came home to finish off assignments and book travel and accommodation.  I have put them on to Booking.com which is far better than the Hostelworld.com that they insisted on using.  We all went to bed pretty late.

Plans have changed again and I think I'm now going to Munich, Salzberg and maybe Interlaken.  I've already been to these places, but that's OK.

Hugs to everyone at home.  Love you all.

Gen-Y kids!

Generation Y kids fly by the seat of their pants most of the time.  They leave everything till the last minute and concentrate on partying and having a good time before taking care of their responsibilities.  I have a presentation to do tomorrow with two other group members and do you think I can gather them all up at the one time to discuss our assignment!  Stephanie keeps buying jugs of beer and Jake has disappeared.  All I really want to do is discuss the case and assign tasks to each of us and go through the questions.

Well, I've located them and we have completed the task.  Doesn't take long once everyone is organised!

Everybody returned to Maastricht today from their open travel.  The concensus was that Paris and Brugges were great but Amsterdam not so good.   We managed to get a direct train from Amsterdam to Maastricht which took 2.5 hours.  Train travel isn't so bad.  It allowed us to get work done, catch up on some sleep and read.  I've nearly finished my one and only book and I'm not sure where I'm going to buy another one in English considering all the train travel we have coming up.

A group of us went out tonight for dinner and found a relatively cheap place.  They have a habit of providing poor service at these restaurants.  They leave you sitting there forever without even taking your order.  For the second time I've had to rustle up some service.  I think the tourist season has hit us - there are people everywhere.  Amsterdam was packed with people - mainly males.  Some of the girls in the class were quite intimidated by the situation in Amsterdam.

I'm sure Amsterdam is a nice place some of the time (I have actually been there in 1986 with my family and thought it was pretty cool).  It's just very coincidental that all the groups who went there reported back the same experiences, and we all went separately.

We resume classes tomorrow and then we have our (early) closing dinner tomorrow night.  There are definitely some students I don't want to travel with, and a couple of us have been talking about going to Prague on our next trip (in a few days time) and then somewhere in Switzerland prior to ending up in Le Bouveret in a week's time.

Damn Amsterdam

Ever since we started our open travel we have had bad weather.  Rained the whole time in Paris, Brugges, and now it's been raining here in Amsterdam.  It's cold too.  The girls who only brought 'flip-flops' with them have had to resort to buying shoes to prevent frostbite. 

The weather hasn't helped, but we were not very impressed with Amsterdam.  A few things contributed, I must admit.  Our hotel is way out of town, about 20 minutes on the bus. (On the plus side, I have my own room and the girls are in a 4 bed room - whoopee!!!!).  Wandering around town everything looked a bit sleazy and it wasn't until we met up with a couple of guys from our class that we found out we were in the red light district.  They took us on a tour of the area to see the sex shops and the windows where the girls sit (it was too early in the day for business).  Had dinner of chicken, chips and salad at a restaurant then took a tram to look at the 'I amsterdam' sign which I think is a famous slogan that is used here.

The 2 Stephanies were considering going out drinking with the guys tonight, but as the guys were going back to their hostel for a power nap before hitting the town later on, the girls decided (sensibly, I thought) to give it a miss and come home with us.  (the guys were staying in a hostel right in the middle of the red light district and the girls that were part of their group pulled the pin early and headed back to Maastricht).

I've been wanting to get back to Maastricht early tomorrow as I have lots to do and I'm not interested in doing any more sightseeing in Amsterdam (I've been here before and done the canal cruise).  Sally wants to come back early too - she's out of her comfort zone in this place.

Ben, one of the guys mentioned above told us that while they were sleeping in the large dorm at their hostel last night one of the guys (not part of the group) fell out of his top bunk onto the floor then promptly spewed all over the place.  Apparently he was quite drunk.   I've certainly had my eyes opened by some of the events that have taken place with the kids in the course.

Culture shock in more ways than one

OK,  I'm in Bruges, which is in Belgium and the culture here is a mixture of Dutch and German.  People speak a variety of languages and will switch from one to the other depending on to whom they are speaking.

We have an assignment while travelling which requires us to note the differences in culture and ethics in each of the countries we visit and write an assignment about it when we get back and present it to the class.

Now, I am being immersed in different cultures in more ways than one.

Half the class is from northern America around the Pennsylvania, New York area, and they have a culture of their own.  The other half are from Oklahoma and the deep south and they certainly predominate.  The accents from the south are very strong and I hear 'y'all' from both the kids and the lecturer all the time.  Then we have a sprinkling from other states and then there's me.  I've been teaching them all about the Australian culture, which is vastly different in many ways from theirs.

In addition to these, I am immersed in the Y- Gen culture and especially the female Y-Gen culture.  The group I am travelling with is a sensible bunch of girls who are intelligent and mature. They still do the young girl things like shop till they drop and feel the need to curl their hair when we are running late for a train.  Some of the other girls are wild, loud, and scarey.  Even the guys are overwhelmed by some of them.  Scarey because I'd be afraid to go travel with them as they would be the types to party all night, get drunk and get into mischief.   I had contemplated going with Liz and Julie to Barcelona on our next Open Travel session, but I've changed my mind after imagining what it would be like to actually travel with them.  I think I might stick to the group I'm with who are going to do Germany and Austria.

I guess they are also learning about the 'baby boomer' culture, however, as I am in the minority around here, I try to keep that behaviour under wraps.  I have been waking up early and wanting to go to bed early at night, and yesterday I excused myself while we were shopping and came home to rest my weary legs.  But mostly, I am keeping up with them and not really acting my age.  Don't know how much longer it will last before I crave a bit of luxury and some adult conversation.

Let me say I am missing y'all back home.  Would love to have Peter here with me experiencing all this too.  It would be nice to have someone my age to pal up with.  I guess I'll just have to wait until the end of the trip when I meet up with my friend, Maureen.

Haven't been able to post any photos as I didn't bring the cable with me on this little jaunt.

Can't believe it is 7.42am and the hostel is as quiet as a mouse.  Nobody is awake.  I am sitting at the bottom of the stairs writing this blog because I can get wifi reception here.  I've had my shower in the communal facilities and  got myself dressed and ready.  The 4 girls had their showers last night before bed as they like to sleep in.  I now know how Peter feels when he has to creep around early in the morning trying not to wake me.

Today we are taking the train to Amsterdam, and tomorrow afternoon we head back to Maastricht for 3 more days to end this part of the course and complete all our assignments.  I think we have another formal dinner to attend, too.  Then we are off on 6 days travel with NO ASSIGNMENTS!!!  before making our way to the Cesar Ritz School in Le Bouveret in Switzerland where the 2nd part of the course will be held. 

Love to everyone back home.  I'm missing y'all. xxxxxxx

Train travel!

Our group of 5 girls (4 young chicks and a hen) conquered the rail system today.  Admittedly we weren't carrying too much luggage, but we managed to board trains, run up platforms catching connecting trains at the last minute, and get off at the right station.  Our group dynamics are pretty good - some of us a better at navigating, some are better at reading signs in foreign languages.  So all together we fill all the roles required, and got to our destination successfully. 

I'm very, very concerned about train travel during our next Open Travel period when we'll have ALL OUR LUGGAGE with us.  I can't see everyone getting on the train in time lugging our bags on board. 

It will be a nightmare!!

My first really basic Youth Hostel

I must say I've stayed in some dives but this rated pretty much in that category.  We left the Marriott the next morning and made our way on the Metro to our next abode - a youth hostel (had to have my iPhone glued to my ear to be allowed in).  Three changes of train and we wandered around in search of the hostel and eventually a nice little elderly Parisian pushing a stroller led us to our destination.  We checked our bags in and ventured out to find lunch which we couldn't do until 12pm as no restaurants served lunch before that.  Took the metro again to catch the red tour bus for a tour of Paris - it was raining and it rained the rest of the day.  Visited Notre Dame, the Opera, Galleries LaFayettes but decided not to go to the Eiffel Tower (which didn't worry me) as the girls wanted to walk up and as it was raining they would have gotten wet.  Ended up on the Champs Elysees window-shopping in the rain.  The girls never tire of shopping!  I get tired of it very quickly.

Dinner was pasta at a resaurant on the Champs Elysees and we got doggy bags cos we couldn't eat it all.  Back at our hostel at 9pm and they still weren't ready for us to check in because the reception staff were changing shifts.  Our room was very basic - 6 bunk beds which we had to make ourselves.  Luckily the sheets were clean.  The bathroom was pretty dirty around the shower alcove and all the taps were the sort that stayed on for 2 seconds and had to be pressed continuously to have them stay on.  Had to remind myself to wear thongs into the shower in the morning.

Was missing my nice comfortable bed at home, I must say.  I slept reasonably well, anyway.

Can't believe I've been keeping up with the young girls all this time.  I'm sure my stamina is going to flag at some stage.

Paris and the Marriott

Dinner at Maison de Campagne in Poncelet Market, Paris

Sally, Stephanie, Me and Allison at Notre Dame

Woke up bright and early, had my shower, got ready and made myself scarce so that my roommates had room to move when they did their stuff. A group of 10 of us walked to the station and caught the train to Paris Nord station changing trains in Liege and a couple of other towns. The 7.5 hour trip passed reasonably quickly and some of us did homework and assignments, while others slept, read or chatted.

Once we arrived in Paris we took the Metro to Franklin D Roosefeldt station which was the closest station to our hotel – the Marriott on the Champs Elysees. Yes, we did pull off that stunt. We booked a twin room and a king room for 10 of us. Four of us checked the rooms in, carrying most of the luggage while the others waited outside. We had extra door keys given to us. When we finally got everyone in, the allocation was 4 in the twin room (which was fine as there were 2 double beds) and 6 in the king room (not sure how they were going to configure themselves – 3 guys and 3 girls). The only thing I was particular about was having a bed – I wasn’t going to sleep on the floor. As it turned out, there was ample bedspace in our twin room.

After a wander up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe we had a stint at Macka’s to use their free wifi before getting dolled up to walk to dinner in the Poncelet Market area behind the Arc de Triomphe at a restaurant called Maison de Campagne. Th s dinner was organised by the faculty and was an excellent evening with first class food, wine and service. (I’m amazed how little these students actually know about food preparation. It seems they haven’t really studied it at all and have concentrated on the theoretical side of hotel management.) A few of the girls wore super high stilettos and struggled walking the distance to the restaurant. I very sensibly wore flatties.

We had purchased a few bottles of wine prior to dinner with the intention of going to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up and perhaps some fireworks. Sounded like a good idea at the time, but when the time came I couldn’t think of anything worse. I just wanted to lie down in bed and have a long sleep. The kids all went out, though. Will find out in the morning what they got up to. We’ll go on the red Hop-on-hop-off tour bus tomorrow which seems like an easy way of seeing everything. (The guys from the first group who went on the bus tour today got 2- day passes and therefore sold us the second day to use tomorrow.)

Don't want to brag, but.....

I have been doing remarkably well in my assignments, I must say. I have been given full marks for all 3 assignments so far, but I mustn’t rest on my laurels just yet until the final ones are completed, presented and graded.

Class finished at 1pm today to allow the group that was travelling to Paris tonight to get on their way. They have a 7 hour journey by ‘slow’ train, changing trains in Liege on the way. The rest of us had the afternoon off so I went into the town to see if I could find some shoes as we were told “flip-flops” were not appropriate to wear for the dinner in Paris tomorrow night, and my only suitable shoes were too bulky to fit in my backpack. (I had to try and fit 4 days worth of clothes and shoes in my backpack, as well as my netbook, toiletries, towel and anything valuable). Anyway, the moral of this story is that it is bad planning to go off on one’s own hoping that the others would be here when one got back. They weren’t, and I didn’t see them for the rest of the day (they must have gone off in a group and stayed out through dinner) so I missed out on dining out with them. Feeling sorry for myself I bought a sandwich at the supermarket and had it at the StayOkay (even though they have a rule about bringing food into the place) as well as some food for the train tomorrow as we’ll miss out on breakfast.

I used the ‘me’ time for completing an assignment, checking emails and blogging, so all was not lost.

By the way, the first group will be staying at the Marriott with 5 to a room, but my group decided to book a 6 bed room in a hostel for 2 nights. The Marriott deal was going to be wierd to say the least and I was going to be a spanner in the works for them, selfishly wanting my own bed.  I don't mind sharing a room but I draw the line at sleeping 3 to a bed.

the Bus Trip and Casino

Had class for an hour this morning before heading off in a private bus for a tour. We went to Valkenburg, a cute little Dutch town, then on to the Holland Casino where we had a presentation from the duty Manager who described the operation of the Casino. The Casino is run by the government and all the profits go to the government. They keep a tab on how often people gamble at any of the casinos in the country and if it starts looking like you have a gambling problem they will conduct a meeting and counselling for you. People often get banned from attending the casinos. We then had a croupier teach us how to play roulette and we were given a champagne and a 5 euro chip with which to play. Andrew and I pooled our money and we were winning at every shot. We ended up 10 Euros ahead which we split. I believe we were the only ones to come out ahead. I now think I understand the game. It was a pretty cool experience.


Next we went to Dreilandenpunt which is a spot where you can stand in 3 countries at the one time (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands). This was followed by a visit to the American WW2 cemetery in the Netherlands where there are 100,000 soldiers’ graves. So sad to see how many died so needlessly.

What day is it?

Today is Saturday, apparently.  we  lose track of the days because today is a normal class day.

Our confrontation with the staff came to a head today when Dr Scott broached the subject of our concerns and various students, very respectfully I might add, said that we were not complaining about the course itself but that if were possible to make more use of the location we were in to go out in the field and experience life in the Netherlands rather than discuss  it in a theoretical manner in the classroom.  It was done very diplomatically, but Dr scott took it to heart and burst into tears.  That made us feel bad.  Later in the morning Bart (Dr Bartlett) discussed it with the group and told us that we had to put in so many hours of classroom time for it to be classified as a subject worth 6 points.  He also said that it was not negotiable but they would see if they could add more real life stuff from a hotel management perspective.  I was not the only person who felt that the stuff we were doing could easily have been done from a classroom in the US and we were not taking advantage of the environment around us.  I added my feelings about it and later the students said they were pleased I did because they didn't want it to sound like they were a bunch of kids grizzling about sitting in a classroom all day.

With all that out of the way we continued with our lectures, case studies and current events discussions.  Dr Scott did allow us to conduct the last hour or so sitting in the sun on the terrace overlooking the river.

We've been planning our travel to Paris, Verseilles, Brugge and Amsterdam.  I was glad to hear quite a few of the other students are feeling a little nervous about it.  We are going to have to take the slow trains, which will take about 8 hours to get to Paris.  I'm not sure about the accommodation yet but it might still be the Marriott.  We  have a dinner in Paris to attend at 8pm, so we just have to get ourselves organised before then.  Some of us are travelling the night before and spend 3 nights in Paris.  I'm going with the group that's going early on Tueday morning and having one night less in Paris (save on one night's accommodation that way, and don't arrive in Paris late at night).

Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour into Germany and Belgium.  We'll be going to visit a casino and see how it is run.

I went shoppingwith a couple of the girls after classes today and actually bought 2 tops (very unusual for me).  We then bought some food from the supermarket (I bought sushi) and brought it back to the Stayokay and ate it on the lawns. Most of the kids are going to a concert tonight, but I have opted to stay home and write my blog, do my homework and not have my eardrums bashed by the techno music.

I've included some photos of the group and my bedroom.  They are all gorgeous kids and so outgoing and very respectful as well as knowledgeable.  My room looks like a bomb has gone off, but that's what happens when there are 4 of us sharing and there is nowhere to put anything except on the floor.

   

Planning Paris

We have been planning our travel to Paris and whilst we have eurail passes it is often better to go on the high speed trains which need reservations and a small cost. Anyway, we all walked down to the station at lunch time yesterday to book our trips only to find that all the high speed trains were booked out . Sarah, who is the organiser, spent a great deal of time working out the routes and times that we could use. Taking the slow trains will take almost a full day’s travel. We have a dinner organised in Paris on the next night, so we will have a day to tour around Paris. After that we will go to Verseilles, then to Brugge, Amsterdam and then back to Maastricht for more classes. Finding accommodation for 18 or us is difficult. Sarah, who works at the Marriott back in the USA, can get discounted accommodation and she suggested we get a few rooms at the Paris Mariott where we can get 5 to a room sleeping 3 in the king bed and 2 on the floor. Sounded awful to me, so I said I would pay the extra a get a twin room and share it with anyone who is also uncomfortable with her arrangement. That’s kids for you – they will sleep anywhere.

Hitting the Town

After classes every day we hit the town (Maastricht is a beautiful dutch town set on the River Maast and it has numerous squares and outdoor restaurants). We try a different restaurant each night. Last night it was an Italian restaurant t where I had spaghetti vongole and others had pizza. The night before we were at another outdoor place where I had a crusty roll filled with lamb (Yiros style). The prices are OK. I’ve been drinking white beer which is quite lovely. Wines are not common although 4 of us girls ordered a bottle the other night at a bar and it was a lovely sauvignon blanc. As pot smoking is legal in certain bars in the Netherlands, some of the kids (mainly the guys) have been doing that at every opportunity. I had to venture inside one of these places to collect the guys and I had to show photo id before going in. Lots of drinking goes on after hours. The kids have found local night spots with dancing and drinking. A couple of the girls looked very seedy the next morning. I must say that I do join them in some of their activities but I’ve been really pooped by 10 o’clock. The sun doesn’t go down very early here. It is light up until about 10 pm.