Halloween in Amsterdam

When I was on fall break during my semester abroad, one of the cities we visited was Amsterdam. My friends and I were a little homesick because it was Halloween the day we got there, and we missed the typical American traditions of trick or treating for candy and dressing up in costumes. However, we were greatly surprised that Americans weren't the only one who celebrated this holiday. Many of the natives in the city were also dressed up and had their faces painted. Also, a lot of the buildings were decorated with ghosts and other spooky and fun decorations. My friends and I were very excited to see that these fun traditions are spread in other countries for us to enjoy and made us less homesick during this time. Have you ever spent Halloween or another holiday in a different country where it is not usually celebrated?

Prost! - Oktoberfest

Around this time last year, my friends and I traveled to Munich for a weekend for Oktoberfest. It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I just assumed it would be just a bunch of drunk Germans drinking beer all day. While that was included (obviously) it was way more than that. People traveled from all over the world for this festival. It was huge! There were a bunch of different tents filled with people with different kinds of beer. The famous ladies in their dresses carried multiple steins at once - I don't know how they did it, they're so heavy. Every so often, one brave person would stand on the table and chug his beer as fast as he could and everyone would cheer him on and clap afterwards. It was so exciting! Also there were those huge soft pretzels being given out everywhere - they were delicious. My favorite part though had to be the swings. They're your typical amusement ride swings that go high up in a circle but the view was amazing. I could see the entire festival and most of the city of Munich. It was gorgeous! I definitely would love to go back and do it all over again soon!

Welcome!

Hey guys! Welcome to Hawk Abroad! This blog will have posts including travel tips and my experience of my studying abroad in Rome. While I went to school, American University of Rome, and lived in the city of Rome, I also got to travel to many other cities and countries! Some of them included London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich and Croatia! That semester was the best time of my life and now I get to talk about it even more in this blog!

I hope you all enjoy reading my posts and will encourage you to travel as well!