umichenginabroad

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Week 14: Reflections

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my last blog post of this semester! It’s definitely bittersweet. I’m going to miss a lot about Madrid, but I’m also looking forward to starting my internship back in the US. It’s going to be hard to capture all that these last four months have been, but I’ll try to start with some things I’m going to miss about Madrid. 

Easily the thing I’m going to miss the most is the bustle of the streets. Not only are there people walking the streets everywhere, but there’s also always people sitting outside at the tables eating, drinking, and chatting with each other. Especially when the weather’s warm out, everyone will be outside and the vibes are just so happy and carefree. Life is slower here, and the streets are a perfect example of that (even the slow walking). One of my favorite experiences this summer has been watching El Clásico on the street outside a restaurant just around the corner from my house. They put up a TV on the outside, and there were so many people huddled together watching and cheering. Here’s a video from when Madrid beat Barcelona on penalty kicks. Seriously unreal.

Something about Spain in general that I’ve really enjoyed is the eating culture here. Eating lunch or dinner is always a social event, taking hours to just eat and chat with friends or family. Every meal is an excuse to hang out, and I really enjoyed that. I feel like a lot of the time, I’m really trying to get through lunch or dinner and move on to the next thing, but here, everyone always treats it like a true break. At first, I was a little annoyed at how long the waiters took to bring the check, but I’ve definitely grown to love spending hours at the table.

Also, the ease of travel has been actually insane. Like it’s on average less than $100 to travel two hours by flight. And the train system is so remarkable too. Plus, hostels make it so easy to travel without breaking the bank. They’re about $20-$40/night and are everything you need from a place to stay, plus they often have cool activities and are social if you’re traveling alone. I really wish there was more of a travel infrastructure in the US, like trains connecting major cities and hostels, or more affordable accommodations.

I’m also going to miss wandering around and just stumbling upon different shops, restaurants, and events. Being in such a walkable city has been amazing. When I have a few hours with nothing to do, I’ll just head outside and wander around. I’ve found some pretty cool shops and free exhibitions this way, and it’s been a great way for me to explore the city while staying active. I've also really enjoyed the painted shop doors all around the city that I get to see during some of my long walks.

Another uniquely Madrid experience I’ll miss is going to see the sunset at Templo de Debod. I’ve gone a handful of times now, and sitting on the grass with like 50 other people, gazing over the city while there’s some live guitar and singing in the background is just such an amazing feeling. I love to just sit there, look out, and people watch until the sun goes down. 

Now, as honorable mentions: I’ll miss Primark, the Ale-Hop across the street, Flying Tiger, the freshly squeezed orange juice from Dia, my local grocery store, and Danone yogurt (apparently this is the cheap kind, but it’s my favorite).

On the other hand, there are some things I’m really looking forward to when I get back to the US. We seriously take Target for granted, and I’m weirdly excited to be back in the presence of a Target. I also really miss driving. Driving with some music on in the background is one of the first things I’m going to do when I get back. Out of everything though, I’m most excited to be back in yoga pants and sweatshirts. Even though I’ve gotten used to dressing up here, there’s nothing like being in comfy clothes all day. 

Being abroad for these past few months has definitely made me want to bring certain things from the Spanish lifestyle here back with me to the US and make changes in my own life. I think I’ll try to be a tourist in my own city a little bit more. Traveling quite a bit has made me realize all there is to discover in every place, and I feel like I never do the places where I actually live enough justice. Even just thinking about Ann Arbor, there are so many restaurants and shops downtown that I’ve yet to explore, as well as markets and other festivals I feel like I could seek out a little more. Going off of that, I think I’m going to try to be more than a student when I go back to school in the fall. Usually, school consumes my life, and there’s not much time to do anything else, but I’m going to try to walk around to the parks in Ann Arbor and maybe just get lost in the streets of downtown a little more often. Another big one is scheduling more social time and chilling time into my life. I want to be able to read a book or draw after work on the weekdays, and now that I’ve seen it be possible for so many people, I’m going to try to make an effort to incorporate that into my own life.

Reflecting on classes this semester, I would say that they have definitely been easier than Michigan classes, but not really as easy as everyone says study abroad is. I’ve really liked my professors, and am especially thankful to have been able to do research here. I’ve learned a lot just from that this semester in terms of working in a global setting. My Spanish class has definitely increased my confidence in speaking, and I’ve learned how to say things in a more conversational way instead of in a more academic way like I’ve learned before. Taking Fluid Mechanics here has been nice too. Even though it’s my hardest class, there’s a lab component that has really helped me understand the more theoretical parts of it. And my Numerical Methods class has been so much fun too! It was so chill and I enjoyed learning more Matlab. 

Overall, this semester has been a nice break from everything, and I’m glad to have had this opportunity to grow and experience a different lifestyle from what I’m used to. I’m also thankful to have had this opportunity to document my time here with these blogs that have made me think more deeply about my time in Madrid. And thank you for following along!

Here are some pictures of the flowers finally blooming in Madrid and some other cool pictures :)

Signing off,

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering

Comillas — Madrid, Spain

#umichenginabroad #IPEComillas #IshaVenkatesh #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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Stockholm Week 15: Already Time for Austria! 

My time in Europe is running out and I am trying to make the most of it. 

Welcome to Jiwoo’s blog. This week’s main attraction is Vienna (or Wien), Austria! 

However, before leaving for Austria, I enjoyed a new experience in Stockholm.  

4/24 Wed: The ABBA Museum

Our Glued to the Screen: TV Film course voted on the location of our field study  last week. The winner was the ABBA museum! 

Did you know that ABBA, who sang hits like Dancing Queen, was a Swedish  supergroup? To be honest, I did not know until I came to Sweden. Surprisingly many companies and groups are Swedish and I had no clue! Top examples I can think of right now are Spotify, IKEA, H&M, ABBA, Roxette, and Ace of Base. 

I knew the museum was popular but it was on the more expensive side so I never visited before. This was a perfect excursion for me! 

There were various interactive activities and photo spots such as karaoke rooms, dance stages with ABBA members, and places with phone stands for selfies (very convenient)! 

I was the fifth member of ABBA for an hour   

The ABBA museum is in Djurgården, an island that is rather far from everywhere. Since I was there already, I made it a whole trip by checking out Rosendals garden as well! 

It has been on my places-to-visit list for a while due to its flower gardens and cafes. 

I saw a wide variety of beautiful flowers, which momentarily healed my soul. I strongly encourage the gift shops too! 

I wanted to live here

On the way to a meeting, I saw the cherry blossoms that were starting to bloom now. I’m planning on visiting them when I return from Austria! 

There weren’t in full bloom yet but I think they are now! 

My partner and I met at illycaffe to practice our Swedish oral exam. The cafe had a relaxing, studious atmosphere but the wifi was a bit janky so we had to move around in the cafe.     

4/26 Fri: First Day in Austria!

Finally, the day of our flight to Austria. As soon as I finished my last class of the day, I headed to the airport. 

After flying for two hours, we arrived in Vienna! The first view of Vienna from the airport was unexpectedly so green, which made me helplessly fall in love with Vienna. 

The sun was going down when we arrived; soon, darkness covered the sky.  

Airbnb was our first destination, then the city center for dinner and touristy things. We devoured dim sum for dinner at this really good Chinese restaurant called Hao Han. After we got satiated, we walked around the innere stadt. Even at night, the palaces and statues were beautiful. We walked around quite a bit until our legs failed us.

You can find a few stars in the photo too!

4/27 Sat: Schönbrunn Palace

We started the morning early by leaving at 9 am since we did not want to waste any time that could be used to travel. 

My roommate started her day extra early by leaving for Prague at 4 am. My friend and I, who stayed in Vienna, went to a flea market. I didn’t buy any clothes or accessories there, but I bought a small digital camera that I have been craving for a few months now! 

After a small pastry and lunch break, we traveled to The Schönbrunn Palace. The place was HUGE. My friend and I decided not to go into the palace due to time constraints; we were glad of this choice because just walking around the free gardens, fountains, and viewpoints took us over three hours. 

The parks were free to enter yet extremely well managed and decorated -- we talked about how we would come here every single day to stroll around or read a book under the sun if we had studied abroad here. 

We went thrifting for an hour after our excursion, but couldn’t find anything that caught our eye. Stockholm has better thrift stores in my opinion! 

We called it a day after getting dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Our legs were about to fall off and we had work to do :( 

Unlike our original plan of going back to Airbnb and working on our projects and presentations right away, we took a nap for an hour before getting everything started.

4/28 Sun: Prater Amusement Park, Albertina Museum, Austrian National Library, St. Peter’s Church 

I couldn’t pass by a hotdog stand in Vienna, so I got a classical Vienna hotdog for breakfast. The sausage came wrapped in a carved baguette! The bread was softer than I thought it’d be and the sausage was better than I expected :)  

Since we ate breakfast, it was time for dessert. We met up with my roomie at Cafe Demel, a popular cafe known for authentic Austrian desserts.

After lining up for thirty minutes, we got in and ordered sachertorte (a dark chocolate cake with apricot jam and icing, served with whipped cream) and kaiserschmarrn (bite-sized caramelized scrambled pancake with powdered sugar served with sour apple sauce).

It was such a good combi, a rich dark chocolate cake paired with savory pancakes and sour apple jam.

The souvenir store downstairs was also cute but pricey. 

For lunch, I went to Prater amusement park to meet my high school friend who is currently studying abroad in Vienna. It was so funny because I am going to meet her again next week on a trip to Italy. We are meeting more often in Europe than in the United States, and that was funny to us. 

As risk-taking adults, we invested some money into claw machines. And the best part: WE ACTUALLY GOT ONE! High risk high return  ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ 

Talented pookies right here

And with that adrenaline, we decided to go on a ride with five loopy loops. Why? I’m not sure because the moment we got on the line we were shivering with fear. 

FIVE WHOLE 360s

As proper grown-ups, we came out in one whole piece without crying. With our jittery legs and spinning vision, we somehow managed to walk towards the archery game stop and popped some balloons too (I popped one out of five balloons!!!). I had to say goodbye to my friend after that because the museums closed early, but it was definitely a core memory. 

I was a busy gal that day! I speed-walked to the train station to go to the Albertina Museum. I was debating between the Belvedere museum (has Klimt’s Kiss), but decided that I wanted to see more of Monet’s paintings. I found other pieces of artwork that I cherished on top of Monet’s artworks. I call that a win! 

I discovered during my study abroad that I love impressionism and still art!!! My favorite is Monet so far if you couldn't tell 

The souvenir shop had an assorted collection of goods made out of popular artworks -- I ended up purchasing several coasters and postcards :) 

Buildings right outside the museum

Without delay, I moved on to State Hall in the Austrian National Library.

Unlike other libraries, it had an entrance fee of 7.50 euros (student price). However, it was worth it. It was a mix of museum and cathedral with a hint of palace. In short, it was stunning and breathtaking.

People for scale

There isn’t any place to study because there are no tables, but other parts of the library might have had study spots. 

The ceiling was the final blow for me -- I was awestruck

At last, we went to a famous restaurant with authentic Austrian food. We got there without reservation but they were kind enough to provide a table for us. We got Pork Schnitzel (~thin katsu), Beef Goulash (~beef stew), and potato salad. The combination of those three dishes was amazing - the potatoes surprisingly went well with both main dishes, allowing us to eat every little piece on the plates. 

Our final destination in Vienna was a string concert at St. Peter’s church. For a little over an hour, we heard a true harmony of Classic Ensemble Vienna playing a series of songs by Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart. 

The concert sparked my desire to play the violin again!

Overall, my trip to Vienna was wonderful! The weather was perfect, the food was amazing, and the attractions were gorgeous. I would 10/10 recommend a weekend trip to Vienna for studying abroad students! 

Next week is when my Milan and Florence trip begins. Come back to see what I am up to in Italy! 

Danke, 

Jiwoo Kim

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEStockholm #JiwooKim #IPEWinter24 #Sweden

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Abhi in Paris

Week 15: Thinking about the future & relaxing times

Monday, April 22nd & Tuesday, April 23rd – The week started off much like any other quiet week in Paris. My first few days are dilled with the heavier classes, and I spend longer hours at ENSEA working on labs and other homework.

This week, Monday kicked off with a very interesting new class—the “Unit 3” component of the culture class I had been taking all semester. Each Unit is taught by a different professor and operates differently. This one was a blast – the professor is the fun-loving and joking type, and we managed to learn a lot about French culture related to the workplace from someone who spent most of his life in Corporate France & Corporate Europe. Tuesday was much of the same with a French test on past tense verbs and several more lectures in my Communication Systems & Signals classes.

Wednesday, April 24th & Thursday, April 25th – The next few days, as often occurs with my schedule, are free from classes, and I can use the time to relax and catch up on things. I enjoyed a beautiful run down the Seine River on both days, and as the temperature warmed up, I enjoyed more time outside. Paris is such an odd place. I’ve heard that back at Michigan, there’s several days in the 70’s with lots of sun, and yet, even approaching may, we are in the 50’s with overcast skies. Point being – you’ve got to enjoy any and all warm weather you get here.

I also spent some time shopping on Wednesday trying out a huge mall in Paris that sits right next to where I lived called Forum des Halles. It is mostly underground and connects to the metro station Chatlet les Halles I use to get to ENSEA every day. Although I walked around, I never really got the chance to explore too much until this week. It’s absolutely massive, but I really enjoyed perusing the shelves of all the French stores and looking for some possible gifts for family & friends.

Friday, April 26th – Friday started with a Part 2 of my French Culture class, where our professor was back it. It was a long 4 hour class, but we spent the first 2 hours coming up with an outlandish plot as a class of an American who comes to Cergy, France from a job as the CEO of Shake Shack after committing financial fraud to start Shack Shack a small kebab business, after trying a local place Shake Shake near ENSEA. It was an awesome time! Then, we spent the last 2 hours splitting into groups and having a “brawl” styled debate on differences between the French and American work systems that was just plain comical to watch. This has definitely been one of my favorite classes at ENSEA.

After that, I took the train back home and spent the evening enjoying the good weather with some friends by the Seine. It’s always a tradition to spend an evening on the banks of the Seine, having some wine and snacks. But this time, I unexpectedly got splashed by the wake of an oncoming boat!

Saturday, April 27th & Sunday, April 28th  – My weekend went by in a blink of more of the same—running, enjoying the weather, walking around the Southern parts of Paris and some more shopping. I was super excited to have my girlfriend Sneha, with me in Paris, on Sunday to celebrate out 1 Year Anniversary. We had an amazing time enjoying the weather, getting some drinks, and enjoying a very relaxing dinner with Eiffel Towers views. What better place to be than Paris!

A plus tard,

Abhi Athreya

University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering 2025

ENSEA in Cergy, France

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #ipeensea #france #AbhinavAthreya

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The Markets and the Grill (Week 13)

Back in Coogee! After over a week of traveling, it was time to rest. Classes continued as normal and everyone’s desire to fervently enjoy our home, Coogee beach and Sydney, returned. Tuesday was marked by trivia at the Coogee Bay Hotel. Our 3rd place finish granted us a $25 gift card split six ways, so we were practically swimming in our winnings. On Wednesday I went exploring with Lauren and, like usual, we came across more of Sydney’s hidden gems such as Hyde Park and the neighboring Cathedral. St Mary’s Cathedral might as well be located in the winding streets of Spain with how much it resembles the cathedrals scattered throughout Europe. Just take a look for yourself!

On Saturday, a few of us market-lovers headed off to the Glebe Markets where incredible artisans and undiscovered chefs celebrate their passions by selling their work at stalls. I was personally more than happy to celebrate with a Turkish Gozleme full of chicken, spinach, and mushrooms. From Glebe, we made our way to the Paddington Markets which displayed more of the same. This time, I celebrated with two of the yummiest falafel pitas! I was particularly interested in a booth containing black-and-white photos of Sydney’s eastern suburbs from the 1900s. Having spent my limited time here, it was mesmerizing to see how much Coogee has changed in the last hundred years. The most notable change being the removal of a massive dock splitting the beach right in half. I was also surprised to see that the beach was just as packed back then as it is now!

Conveniently, nearby there was someone selling copies of their artwork portraying different neighborhoods of Sydney, so I made sure to get one of Coogee to commemorate my time living there. The Glebe and Paddington Markets are just two of several that Sydney showcases on a weekly basis. If you ever find yourself in town, make sure to visit at least one of them! 

On Sunday, we woke up and claimed one of the public grills on the grass just above the beach! Scattered around the beaches and parks, Sydney has conveniently located free-to-use public grills which are always full of families or groups of friends picnicking, grilling, and clearly enjoying themselves. It was only a matter of time before we could make it happen. It was food galore. We had corn, burgers, veggie skewers, hotdogs, career salad, toasted buns, chicken skewers, watermelon, a chocolate pastry, and more I’m sure I’m forgetting. Between the grilling, the food, the beautiful weather, the beachside view, and the company, we were really living the dream. Better yet, we followed up with a game of volleyball on the beach, and then a dip and rock scramble in the rock pools. The day simply could not have gone any better, and I have the hostel to thank for that. Living with a group of 18 other students studying abroad, eager to get out there and have fun has truly made my time here. I can’t wait for our remaining adventures together as our final month approaches. Cheers!

David Bayer

Biomedical Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #ipeunsw #australia #davidbayer

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New Zealand Part 2 (Week 12)

With Milford Sound and Te Anau in the books, we made our way back through Queenstown and to Wanaka, a small resort town on a lake. Most well known for a tree, Wanaka is a peaceful town with a single main street and little else to distract you from the incredible views in all directions. As for the tree, it is not one to be missed. Surrounded by water and a backdrop that belongs on your computer’s homescreen, the scene makes for a satisfying image during the day and an even more satisfying picture at sunset. Judge for yourself:

With some time to kill, I went on what was easily one of the most beautiful runs I’ve ever gone on followed by a quick dip in Lake Wānaka. The sheer beauty and tranquility of the town surely made it one to come back to. After a relaxing dinner and walk around the town, we headed straight to bed in preparation of an early wake up the next day. Then, it was off to Mt. Cook! This was the day I laid eyes on the most spectacularly blue water I never would have imagined. Here is a picture of just one of the lakes that popped up during the drive:

The hike to Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak, was short, but wildly beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the conversations we had as we hiked. There’s something about walking with friends towards a common goal that brings out the conversationalists in all of us. From getting to know one another’s favorite passions and hobbies, to debating the value of the seemingly infinite photos we take on our phones everyday, everyone was engaged with a walking partner or group the entire time. A Go Blue! was even shouted at a walking passerby in a Michigan sweatshirt. I can assure you we’ve seen one on almost every trip, but I’ve just forgotten to mention it. Here are a few of the views from the hike:

One of the campervans joined us car groups, so this picture includes almost everyone!

And below is the final lookout. Pictured from left to right are Shaunak, myself, Evan, and Joel, a student from Germany taking a gap semester abroad!

We spent the next few days driving down the eastern coast from Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, back down to Queenstown. Unfortunately, this drive lacked the staple lakes and mountains we all loved, and I found it to be less scenic than the western coast. Take it from me, no need to leave the western coast of the South Island except for a quick visit to Christchurch if you want to see what a big city looks like in paradise. As soon as we made it to Queenstown, we let the adventures begin! Personally, I was only adamant about skydiving, so skydive I did. Skydive almost everyone did. Something about studying abroad for a semester really makes students adrenaline junkies. I don’t know if it’s the freedom that comes with living so far from home or the desire to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime study abroad experience, but I was more than happy to partake. Having done iFly (indoor skydiving) at 10-years old, I was extremely calm going into it. A self-declared seasoned skydiver, I convinced myself I knew exactly what to expect. Boy, was I mistaken. It all happened so fast. As soon as we got to the skydiving center, we were separated into groups, put into gear, matched with a pro, and falling out of a plane flying at 9,000ft all in the span of 20 minutes. While the whole thing lasted just 3-4 minutes, the actual freefall was about 25 seconds. 25 seconds of wind blowing, hands freezing, and utter awe. I simply could not stop smiling the whole way down. The incredible weather met with the incredible views of a lake and mountains was the perfect recipe for skydiving. No matter how scared everyone was going into it, everyone came out euphoric.

Outside of skydiving, the last two days in New Zealand were a choose-your-own-adventure. While some were out at the world’s biggest canyon swing, others were kayaking in the lake and getting massages. Shaunak, Evan, and I found ourselves playing mini golf in sombreros we got from a Mexican restaurant. I also spent a good bit of time on our AirBnB balcony. With this view, how could I not??

All in all, I couldn’t recommend the South Island of New Zealand more to my fellow adventurers and adrenaline junkies. The main thing we learned from the trip was to plan more time hiking and less time in the car! Road trips make us excited to explore as many different places as possible, but constantly being on the move and driving several hours each day really takes a toll on you. But no regrets — I’ll be back! 

David Bayer

Biomedical Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #australia #ipeunsw #davidbayer

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Abhi in Paris

Week 14: Troubles in Italy, Exciting Adventures in Paris

Monday, April 15th – Another chill day in the books in Milazzo, Sicily, Italy. After a lazy start to the day, I spent most of the afternoon enjoying the weather and the views of the Mediterranean Sea. I got to enjoy the local culture of the city visiting several local shops. Even more special, there was an amazing antiques market by the sea with sellers selling everything from antique coins and notes to trinkets and even violins. It was such a treat to go through the market and talk to different sellers. I wrapped up my super chill day with a traditional Sicilian Dinner.

Tuesday, April 16th – This was the BIG day. I was super excited to catch an early morning flight to Stromboli, the island volcano part of the Aeolian Islands of the Mediterranean Sea. I showed up to the ferry dock around 7 A.M., but to my dismay the ferry was not operational due to mechanical issues. It was a pretty big blow for me, given how I excited I was for the trip, but nonetheless I knew I could make the best of the situation. With no way to get to my next AirBNB, I talked to all the parties involved, and within the hour had a flight booked to Paris for later that day.

Stromboli was the last stop on my trip and with this hitch, I didn’t have much more to see in Italy, I figured I could take the chance to head back home and explore Paris. It was such a grueling commute back. First 2 trains to get to the Sicilian city of Catania, then a bus to get to Catania Airport. After a flight into Paris, I had to hop on one more train and then a metro to get back home. It ended up being a grueling trip, but I ended up home!

Wednesday, April 17th & Thursday, April 18th – I decided not to let the sudden change bog me down and make the day in Paris productive. But first, I wanted to take one day to rest & reflect up from the last week and a half of travel. This was my last big, planned adventure—so many memories, excitement, but also a sense of sadness. No matter, I enjoyed my day trying to replicate the Italian / Roman recipes I had learned through my travels—fresh egg-based Fettuccine with Cacio e Pepe sauce and Tiramisu. Honestly, this was such a fun day. I made some amazing food and really got a chance to reflect on my trip. Check below for some pics of the food I made—it was so good!!

Friday, April 19th – One of the suggestions my French Culture teacher told me was to visit Parc Asterix. It’s a theme park based on the old, famous French comics Asterix & Obelisk. It’s about the time of the Romans. Asterix & Obelisk are two gallic warriors. The Galls were a more tribal people who lived in general north of the Romans and during the height of Rome, when they controlled most of what’s today France, the Galls lived in Brittany. That’s the northwest region of France around Normandy. Anyway, Asterix & Obelisk are two funny gallic warriors who are out to end the Roman empire in some silly ways.

They took all of the shenanigans and history and put it into this park. The park is split up into sections on each ancient land – Gall, Greece, Egypt, and Rome, with fun themed rides everywhere. It was such a blast – I only wish the weather was a little better and not cold as Paris always is.

Saturday, April 20th & Sunday, April 21st – After two weeks of adventure and travel, I was determined to use the weekend to reestablish a routine, do all the chores I’d been ignoring in my apartment, get groceries, and relax before my final 4 week stretch of class ahead. It was a super relaxing weekend, and I even spent both evenings having a little picnic beside the Seine River in the heart of Paris and watching the sunset.

Thanks so much for reading again! It's been a wild ride getting all the way from week 0 to week 14, and I can already feel that I've learned so much and changed so much as a person from this experience. I've only got a few weeks left here in Paris, and I intend to make the most of it! Tune in next week, as I head back to class & more adventures in Paris.

A plus tard,

Abhi Athreya

University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering 2025

ENSEA at Cergy, France

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #france #ipeensea #AbhinavAthreya

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Madrid Week 12/13: I got got (Morocco, part 1)

Hola a todxs! Niko back here with week 12/13 of studying abroad in Madrid! Don’t fear, I will not be going on any esoteric rants about time or something this time (except for the fact that I have 45 days left in Madrid, damn). Instead, I wanted to take this blog to write about the experience I had visiting northern Morocco this weekend with a tour group. Spoiler alert, it was awesome, and I’ve had a ton to reflect on. Moroccan culture is unlike any that I’ve experienced in my life (which makes sense, as I’ve only ever traveled in Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas), and I had the pleasure of being immersed in it while simultaneously meeting new people. Since there’s so much to unpack, I decided to split this blog up into two parts, for the two legs of this trip. Let’s dive in!

Smart on the inside

This trip has definitely been a highlight of my travels thus far, and looking back, I really got the best of both worlds. I went on this trip with a tour group from a company called Smart Insiders, which helps young people in Madrid (especially those coming from abroad) find housing, get involved in community activities, and most importantly, travel. I would not recommend Smart Insiders, or any tour group for that matter, if you’re a serial planner when it comes to travel and need to fit in every item on your bucket list — or someone who prefers to wander a city, choosing what to explore based on vibes alone.

With that being said, I would highly recommend Smart Insiders — or tour group experiences in general — if you fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Traveling with a tour group means that there’s a pretty rigid schedule to every day, but if you don’t mind letting go of the reins and can just ride the flow set by the tour guides, you can have as amazing of an experience as I did (given that the tour company is good. Smart Insiders was).

A month or two back, I signed up for the trip alone. A friend had recommended it based on a trip he took to Spain’s Basque country. When I saw that they had a trip to Morocco, I immediately resolved to sign up. I had wanted to experience traveling in a tour group again after my first time in Buenos Aires (where I met Gaia, my italian friend I visited and wrote about many weeks back!), and Morocco was a bucket list travel destination for me. Given that the culture was so distinct from what I was used to, I figured that it might be nice to have the whole trip planned out for me ahead of time. 

So, I paid a reasonably low price for the group (~200 euros for 3 days of travel, tours, housing, etc), bought the plane tickets fro Air Arabia, and forgot about it until last weekend. Flash forward a month or two, and I was immediately buffeted by an arid wind as I stepped off Plane that had just landed in Tangier. Once we were through customs, I was greeted by a Moroccan man named Saied and a large congregation of around twenty familiar faces from the flight over, mostly 20-something year-old Americans with some Canadians, French, and a Belgian sprinkled into the mix (majority of which were English teachers). Smart Insiders collaborated with a Moroccan tour company to put together this trip, for which the entire itinerary had already been laid out.

We piled onto our little tour bus and started getting to know each other. As we departed towards our first destination, Asilah, I was flashed with deja vu from the bus scene on the way to Iguazu Falls, Argentina. A highlight of that trip was the people I met, and I stepped away from it with one key takeaway: people who like to travel are, almost by definition, open to new experiences. That attitude extends towards their interactions with others. Consequently, I knew that I would meet interesting people this weekend, and if not, I was assured that I could always keep myself company — especially with an entirely new landscape and culture to explore.

Both Worlds

Which two worlds was I referring to in the section above, you may ask? Solo and group traveling.

I came alone on this trip, which meant that I had no allegiances or obligations to anyone but myself and the schedule set by the tour leader. During our blocks of free time on the trip, I could choose where to go, what to do, and who to do it with — and to be honest, I spent most of my free time in Morocco wandering around by myself. Call me fascist or impatient, but I don’t really like the democracy (and associated waiting) that comes along with traveling in a large group of people — especially if they don’t know each other well. 

When I travel alone, I can do whatever I feel like, at my own pace, which was a luxury in the ultra-dense Souks in Morocco. I’ve found that my self confidence in new environments has really blossomed this semester simply because of the amount of weird cultural situations I’ve had to navigate by myself. Without this, I would have never had the confidence to break away from the group, and I’m proud of myself for getting to the point that I could do so comfortably. 

“But wait Niko,” you may ask, “Didn’t you just say last week that traveling with close friends is always better”. Why yes, my friend, I did (might I add, very conveniently, and actually not on purpose). Seeing the world with close friends gives new depth and meaning to the things we experience while traveling. 

I chose to be alone a fair amount on this trip, true. However, the majority of my time spent was with the group. Together, we went on guided tours, shared meals, spent many hours on the bus chatting (and sleeping), rode camels, and more. I can’t say for certain if I’ll meet up with anyone on this trip again in the future (shoutout Gaia again :) ), but I learned something from everyone I met (especially the two french girls on the trip! merci!) that I’ll take with me now for the rest of my life. By the time we rolled up to the airport together on Sunday, I felt that we had all really bonded. I knew almost everyone’s names, and relished in the feeling of being part of the tiny temporal community we had formed — a community which would never exist again, which made it all the more special. If you have the opportunity sometime, join a tour group and go somewhere cool for the weekend! It’s a unique adventure that I think everyone should experience at least once (and it’s soft on the bank account, too ;) ).

Hell-o Morocc-o!

So, now about Morocco itself, the focal point of the trip, which was one I’ve been looking forward to for the entire semester. As I mentioned, this trip would be my first time in Africa, and my first time experiencing a non-western culture. I certainly was not disappointed (sorry about the lame title of this section. I’m embarrassed).

Moroccan culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, African, and European cultures, but to an outsider like myself, the Islamic/Arabic influence came across most strongly. We visited Asilah, Tangier, and Chefchaouen, all of which are located in the northernmost tip of Morocco, bordering the strait of Gibraltar. Consequently, Spanish is a very common second language to Moroccans, after their native dialect of Arabic. More often than not, Moroccans would start interactions with our tour group in Spanish (and oftentimes, we would respond back to them in Spanish, too B) ). French and English are also very commonly spoken, and an impressive number of people I interacted with were fluent in all three.

We started the trip in Asilah, a small town on the west coast of Morocco’s northern tip, known for its quiet beauty and art scene. It was very calm and incredibly peaceful. One of our local tour guides, Hasan, led us on a short route through the city where we took our first look at a Moroccan city. We had lunch (freshly caught swordfish) and departed, spending the rest of the day hopping around different sites in the region: the caves of Hercules, the Cap Spartel lighthouse, and a beach on the side of the highway where we all took our turn to ride on a camel (which I wasn’t a big fan of — more info in the picture description). 

We finished at Tangier, where we checked into our hotel and departed for a group dinner at a traditional restaurant. The food was delicious, and we got a little surprise too. I finished the night drinking some mint tea and eating some flatbread at a little bar in a square. Yum.

In general, the food in Morocco was amazing. I’m a big fan of the Mediterranean/Arabic spice palate (and mint tea, although it was a little sweet to my liking), and that’s all we ate the whole weekend. One mini takeaway that I realized: I think food in America has trained my palate to desire more salt than is used in other countries. In Morocco (and Spain, Italy, at times) I often found the a bit undersalted. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this (or maybe not… nearly 90% of Americans consume sodium at levels which exceed amounts recommended by the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans), but it’s interesting to be aware of.

We spent the next day exploring Tangier’s Medina (historic city center). The streets were narrow, the architecture was beautiful, and the shopping was plentiful and diverse. The shopping district had a vibe that was completely distinct to any I’ve visited before, people were bustling, things were colorful, and every few steps we’d get a whiff of some heavenly spicy soapy or incense-y smell.

We visited a pharmacy (where I picked up authentic Moroccan Argan oil), a textile shop (I got an epic cotton-cashmere scarf), and various shops selling artisan goods and souvenirs (a sick black woven belt, some postcards). Shopping in Morocco has a distinct vibe for one very special reason: none of the items have set prices.

Dance battle in the souk

If you weren’t aware, if an item has no price tag in a Moroccan shop in the Souk (market area), you have to bargain/haggle to get a good price. Crudely and metaphorically, haggling is somewhat like a dance battle, with each dancer attempting to gracefully undercut the other’s bluff with their words, body language, and actions. You can’t make a starting offer that’s too low, because then you’ll risk the vendor laughing in your face (consequently relinquishing all your power). You can’t show too much interest in the product because then the vendor knows that you would be willing to pay a higher price. But you can’t show too little, or you’ll hit a stalemate and they won’t be willing to negotiate further. Maybe it’s like judo or something, using the opponent’s body weight against them, something like that.

Having watched a few youtube videos about haggling strategy on the plane ride over, I was ready to roll when I stepped into a huge artisan shop. Every action was intentional. I found a woven leather belt that I really fancied — but focused my attention towards other items until I was ready to make an offer. The vendor gave me a starting offer of 350 Dirham (Moroccan currency, ~35 euros). I countered with 100 (seems low, I know. you’re supposed to counter with ⅓ of the original price and go from there). After a good amount of back and forth (trying desperately to hide my steadily rising heartbeat and sweaty palms from showing on my face or in my voice while a few other shopkeepers and another member of the tour group watched the battle ensue), we reached a stalemate. I pulled out my ultimate trump card: I started to leave, to show that I I didn’t care that much (I totally did, this belt was sick). He called me back to make me a cheaper offer to keep me around, around 200 Dirham. I said 150, take it or leave it. Deal made. Boom. Great success, and now that belt holds a little more meaning that it would have if I had just picked it off a shelf.

My biggest fail? In a shop shelling scarves. The vendor was hyping me up, saying I must be so smart if I speak so much Arabic (I knew like 4 phrases), where am I from, what languages do you speak, etc. etc. Then I found a scarf. He offered me 100 dirham for a Pashmina scarf (which was not handmade, but beautiful nonetheless), I countered with 30. The vendor pulled out the “he’s not like other vendors” tactic, said that he prefers not to start with a crazy high price, and thus doesn’t have much room to go down. He was a really nice guy, I believed him. We settled on two scarves for 170 Dirham, and I left happy. I proceeded to walk through the Souk, seeing  scarves of the same maker hanging up at a nearby shop. I asked how much for one, he told me 80 dirham. Damn, I got got. The other guy was intentional with every action, he knew what he was doing. Well played bro. 

Haggling like this was exciting, it let me practice a skill I didn’t have, it was totally new. I felt culturally immersed, and got some cool things out of it that I’ll have as a memory. Although at times it was stressful, I kind of wish more people did business like this in the USA. It would be fun.

But simultaneously, I felt a good amount of resistance when I first started practicing the skill. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being incredibly cheap offering a third of their asking price, especially when in theory, I could have afforded it. There’s a lot of nuance with this surrounding the privilege I carry with me when I travel — more on that in the next blog. 

Overall, Tangier has a good vibe. Downtown is very modern, which is in stark contrast to the old-town artsy vibe of the Medina. We left in the late afternoon to Chefchaouen, the “Blue Pearl”, which was my favorite leg of the trip… more on that in the next blog, along with some important commentary/reflection…. Stay tuned!

As always, thanks so much for reading :). Check out the image descriptions for more details, and I’ll see y’all in the next post!!

Salam,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

[email protected] 

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEUC3M #NikoEconomos #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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Stockholm Week 14: Best Attractions in Iceland  

Our core spent nearly an entire week exploring Iceland in diverse ways!

We arrived in Iceland on Sunday and started the first full day on Monday. 

4/15 Mon: I ate FERMENTED shark (as if eating a shark was not eccentric enough)

It was a relatively late morning, schedule starting at 10 am. We went down to eat breakfast at the hotel around 9 am. All the food was high quality, which was something unexpected. I exploited the buffet and ended up with 5 plates to return. 

It was time for our first academic visit, The Iceland Ocean Cluster. It was a collaboration center for start-up companies using byproducts of fish. A lot of products are made from parts such as fish skin and liver, previously thrown away without use. Some examples were Omega 3, hand cream, fish-skin wallet, and energy drinks. 

Group picture taken by DIS!

Our second academic visit of the day was an informational lecture at the City of Reykjavik - we got to listen to how the city of Reykjavik is working with environmental protection, urban planning, waste management, and climate action.

The paper bag drama

Right after the presentation, we spontaneously entered a thrift store across the street, and wow. Everything they had was in good condition and high quality. There were so many good shoes in particular - my friend found Dr Martin for $40 like what??? I also got Nike sneakers and Vagabond sandals for less than $60, which is a deal. They were as good as new! 

For dinner, DIS scheduled a Reykjavik Food Walking Tour. A fun local guide told us Icelandic myths, history, and backgrounds of the foods that we ate that day! Some things that we ate were: lamb and salmon tartar, lamb hotdog, lamb stew, Icelandic sauces and jams, fermented shark, and blueberry yogurt cheesecake dessert. 

Celebrities from all over the world comes to that specific hotdog stand to try!

We got to feed the birds and swans on the lake with leftover bread that was given along with the stew. We were surrounded by all of them, unable to escape.

The seagulls were lowkey mean to the other birds, snatching the food away

The guide mentally and physically prepared us for the shark, teaching us when and how to breathe before eating the shark. It didn’t taste too bad (a little fishy?) to my surprise but maybe because they let us drink a shot afterward. 

Face with mixed feelings of fear, excitement, and curiosity

The tour took around 4 hours but it was a cool experience! I mean, where else would I be able to casually eat a fermented shark?

This is going off on a tangent but I wanted to share this: they have 10-11 instead of 7-11  ( ˙◞˙ )

4/16 Tue: Glacier Hiking !0!

The grand activity of the study tour, the South Coast and Glacier Hiking!!! 

It was around two-hours of bus ride, but the scenery on the way there was magnificent. Windows background photos were moving in front of my eyes!

Spectacular views

Everyone was so excited to hike on Iceland’s fourth-largest glacier. The local guide who led the way was super friendly and attentive  :)  

Class photo!

I could not believe that I was hiking on the glaciers, and sometimes I think that it was a daydream. What a surreal experience (for free too)!

Credit of last two pictures to DIS!

On the way back, we stopped at two waterfalls. I can vividly picture the first waterfall, Skógafoss, in my mind. It was just stunning. My friend and I ran towards it and ended up getting soaked up ヽ(´▽`)ﾉ 

Everything was fun at the moment 

Even better, a double rainbow popped up as soon as the sun came out. I haven’t seen such a vibrant rainbow in a while - pure happiness rushed to me. 

I don’t exactly know why but I love this place with all my heart 

I should live close to some kind of waterfall when I get older. The joy nature brings me is beyond belief. 

We had another group dinner near our hotel. The hotel we stayed at was in the city center; all the stores and restaurants were nearby! From the prices on the menu, we concluded that Iceland is very pricey. 

4/17 Wed: Geothermal Greenhouse 

Wednesday's main visit in my opinion was going to Friðheimar Geothermal Greenhouse. We learned about their ways of growing tomatoes in their greenhouse. They also had hives of bumblebees! It was good to see a lot of bees since we don’t see them as often anymore. 

All I wanted to do was to pick the tomatoes... But as a grown-up, I restricted myself

For lunch, they served a whole cuisine: grilled tomatoes and meat/vegetable skewers, tomato soup with huge loaves of cheese/olive bread, and cheesecake with tomato jam (better than it sounds)! If I hadn’t eaten so much for breakfast, I would’ve devoured more bread and soup :( 

The cheesecake was served in a pot! Isn't that so cute

With our full tummies, we headed to the Geothermal Exhibition. Iceland produces 100% of its electricity from renewable energy from hydro and geothermal power from the volcanoes. We got to closely look around the power plant and get descriptions from one of the employees. 

Sci-fi movies could film here

The rest of the afternoon and evening were on our own, so we went on a souvenir-shop tour around our neighborhood. I bought a cute Viking shot glass as a present for my younger brother. I tried one of the 70% dark chocolate too and it was AMAZING. It was so rich in flavor ( ˶ˆ⤙ˆ˵ )   

For dinner, my friend and I went to the first ramen place in Iceland and oh my gosh it was the best ramen I’ve ever had in Europe. 

I took a bite before taking the picture

4/18 Thu: Golden Circle Tour: Secret Lagoon, Geysir, Gullfoss, Thingvellir National Park

In the Iceland itinerary, a highlighted note read “Please bring your swimming clothes!” We got to swim in the Secret Lagoon, the oldest swimming pool in Iceland! It was filled with warm water from the hot (100+ degrees Celsius) springs nearby. 

Certain parts of the pool were full of algae, offering an oddly pleasant texture. It reminded me of the polar plunging + sauna experience in Umeå. Basking in the warmth of the pool was a relaxing experience. 

I want to jump in right now

After the rejuvenating swim, we headed to Geysir. There were multiple active geysers, one of which shot water 30 meters up into the air. 

This is a small geyser - doesn’t it look like a tiny water fountain? 

The next stop was Gullfoss, which was the most famous waterfall in Iceland. It is known as the “golden waterfall,” featuring a cascade of waterfalls one after another.  

The picture didn't do a good job capturing the magnitude of the waterfalls

The last official stop of the study tour was the Thingvellir National Park, which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Typical bathroom views

The park had multiple attractions such as the site of Iceland’s first parliament. A group of us headed towards the valley separating North America and Eurasia. The water we encountered was exceptionally clear like a reflection from a mirror. 

Iceland = nature.

To celebrate the successful end of the study tour and a friend’s 21st birthday, DIS arranged an hour of karaoke for our class. We had so much fun that we ended up extending by an hour  ᖗ( ᐛ )ᖘ  The Mickey sparkly special glitter something shot (apparently their signature shot) was truly delightful. 

4/19-22 Fri-Mon: Facing My Consequences 

We met at the hotel lobby at 4:15 am to catch our 7 am flight… Let me just say that I passed out on the plane (sleepwise). However, it was nice to arrive in Stockholm in the early afternoon; I had an unbelievable amount of work to do. 

All I did on the weekend was sleep, eat, and study for the exam for my online Reactions course. When my brain got fried, I did other work for DIS courses and blogs. Assignments and group projects and presentations and essays and exams are flooding in until the end of the semester! 

In the next few weeks, you will see me balancing between traveling and school work. I will try my best not to get too overwhelmed with school! 

Thank you for reading ♡

Vertu blessaður, 

Jiwoo Kim

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEStockholm #JiwooKim #IPEWinter24 #Sweden

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Week 15 - Thai-ing up Loose Ends, A Slow Start in Bangkok

G’day everyone,

This was my last week of pure studying. The final push culminated in another all-nighter that rolled into our late-morning flight to Bangkok. This time, however, the whole house joined us for a much better night. I think we’re all realizing how rapidly this is all coming to an end, and they wanted to spend more time with us, even if it was studying. 

The night we got into Bangkok, Joe and I searched for midnight food. We took alleys and canal ways, coming up empty-handed with every store. The city at night was all but deserted that Tuesday besides the hordes of cats, rats, bats, and canal fishes. 

“McDonalds?.... Dude, McDonalds!!”

The Americans ordered a car to McDonald's to enjoy their first meal in Thailand. It was unironically amazing. We had a spicy McChicken with fries and salt levels reminiscent of the States.

The next day, we woke up at the crack of 2 pm. Cursing ourselves, we had slept for over 12 hours, so it felt like half the day was already gone. I stayed in the room for the rest of the afternoon to continue working on some projects due Friday. It was a short-lived work session, though, because after the girls returned, we got ready for the food tour. The tour took us on LED-lined Tuk Tuks, which cut through the city to each night market. We tried pastries, Pad Thai, wings, Thai pancakes, mango sticky rice, and more. The tour intertwined the food stops with visits to historic temples and one of the largest flower markets in the world.

We learned about the history of the Kingdom of Thailand and how the lineage of kings has shaped this country in general and Bangkok in particular. 

The following day, we wandered around the city center. We ate a delicious meal over the water, and then I headed to the Bangkok City Library until our flight to Chaing Mai that afternoon. The library was much better than I had imagined. It was full of natural light, universal outlets, and even a luggage check for my duffle bag. But yeah, there are better ways to see Bangkok in a short amount of time. 

I’m headed to Chaing Mai and then Ko Samui before returning for exams in Sydney. I’ll catch you guys next week with my penultimate blog!

Grant Touchette

Aerospace Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#ipewinter24 #ipeunsw #australia #umichenginabroad #GrantTouchette

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Week 13: Ávila, El Escorial, Trains, and Final Week of Classes

This week, I took a day trip to Ávila, a city just under 2 hours outside of Madrid. It’s a city known for its medieval walls, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Something unique about this city is that it’s actually possible to walk long stretches of the wall! It was really cool to see a completely walled-in city, and it looked like it was out of an old fairytale.

Ávila is also known for its pork, and rightfully so, because the pork loins I had there were probably the best I’ve ever had. They were so perfectly juicy and seasoned, and I would 100% go back just for that.

I also visited El Escorial on a trip through school. Comillas has these events of guided visits or tours to places, and I’ve been to a few this semester and have really enjoyed them! This trip to El Escorial was so nice because I was able to learn a lot more about the history of the building and the city. The main sight is a monastery built by King Philip II. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in addition to the beautiful architecture and art throughout the building, it also serves as the resting place for the Spanish royal family since the 1500s. It was a great half-day trip, and you could even see the views of Madrid from the monastery!

Back in Madrid, every second weekend of the month, there’s a market called Mercado de Motores hosted in the railway museum. The museum opens up for free, and there’s vendors selling items as well as food. I enjoyed looking around at all the handmade things, and I had some of the best homemade bread baked in with tomato.  It was super cool to be able to see all the trains! As a Mechanical Engineering major, I definitely geeked out about the trains :) 

My favorite vehicle in the museum was a car that was built to drive on regular roads as well as train tracks! 

Walking outside, they also had a swing that can generate power for kids to play on. I thought that was a great way to get people, especially children, thinking about energy consumption in a fun way.

I also had a picnic with some of my roommates this weekend in a park called El Parque de la Fuente del Berro. This park had a beautiful waterfall in the middle! And it was a great way to   unwind. Originally, I was going to bring some homework to do, but when I told my roommate she jokingly said “That’s so American of you, just come and relax for a few hours!” And you know what, she was right. I couldn’t even think about going to a park for a few hours on a weekend without thinking about all the work I had. She was telling me that in Austria, where she’s from, people don’t do any work on Sundays. And even here in Spain, there’s signs on most cafes that say laptops or other work aren’t allowed on weekends and holidays. I’m realizing that as different as this culture is from what I’m used to in the US, it works. It wasn’t the end of the world that I didn’t do any homework for four hours on a Sunday. And I think going forward, I’ll start thinking more actively about just taking some time off.

Speaking of homework… this week was the last week of classes. I know, crazy. Next week is finals, and then I’m done??? Can’t believe it. Somehow, these four months have flown by, but I guess I’ll talk about that more in next week’s blog. 

For the last time, see you next week,

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering

Comillas — Madrid, Spain

#umichenginabroad #IPEComillas #IshaVenkatesh #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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Week 12: Las Ventas, Escaping the Busy City, and a Concert

This week, I went to see a bullfight at the Madrid bullring, Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. Now while this wasn’t really something that was top of my list for things to do, I decided to go and see one since I was spending so much time here in Madrid, and bullfighting is such a big part of Spanish culture. It was interesting to see how artistic and graceful the movements were, but it was definitely shocking to see an animal killed like that. I was also surprised to see a pretty even mix of local Madrileños and tourists, and the side of the stands that we were on was all full. Ultimately, I’m glad I went to experience that part of Spanish culture, but I don’t think it’s something I would go see again. 

I also went around some parks in the area this week. I went to Quinta de los Molinos and Parque del Oeste. Quinta de los Molinos is known for their abundant almond trees and flowers in the early spring, and while I missed the flowering period, walking into the park, I could immediately smell the almond blossoms. It was amazing. The park wasn’t too big, but it had a lot of small trails to get lost around. After walking around a bit, I just sat down to do a crossword and take in all the green around me. I think this is my favorite park I’ve been to so far in Madrid, and would definitely recommend a trip to it for anyone who visits and has some extra time.

The second park I went to was Paque del Oeste. This one was a lot bigger, and took some time to walk through. It was also really beautiful though, with tons of grass and some small springs hidden in between the trees. I just sat and did some homework after exploring the park a bit. The park was so big that walking around, you could completely escape the loud and bustling city, and was such a nice time. 

I also went to a concert this week! When we were in Brussels, we met a band who was touring and they invited us to come see their show in Madrid. At the time, we didn’t know who the band was, but looking them up afterwards, we realized they were actually pretty famous and played for Tom Odell, a popular artist. The concert was super cool, and it was pretty interesting observing concert culture in Madrid vs. the US. I feel like they were definitely less phones out, and more people were just dancing and enjoying themselves. Overall, this week was pretty relaxed as I got back into the routine of classes and enjoyed the amazing weather.

See you next week,

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering

Comillas — Madrid, Spain

#umichenginabroad #IPEComillas #IshaVenkatesh #IPEWinter24 #Spain

[umichenginabroad]

Abhi in Paris

Week 13: Exploring Italy from Milan to Rome

Hi Readers! I’m following up on my last post that was quite late with an update from this week as well. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m doing a 16-day backpacking trip down Italy hitting both small towns and large cities. Last we spoke, I had finished a sunny Sunday in Milan looking at the sights & shopping.

Monday, April 9th – Today was another sunny day in Milan. I grabbed some early morning coffee from an authentic one-man hole-in-the-wall café called “Oro Nero” and then headed to meet a friend for lunch. We grabbed some amazing pasta and a few drinks as well. In France, there’s a concept called “L’Apero,” which involves a few drinks and light snacks either as a lunch break or in the evening after work. It’s also very common in Italy, and I was here to embrace it.

After a few L’Apero drinks, I walked around and grabbed some gelato near University of Bocconi. Then, I went back towards the center of the city to do some more shopping before leaving Milan. Don’t worry, I planned ahead & left plenty of space in my bags to shop :) I, then, caught my intercity train to Florence, reaching in about 4 hours. Instead of Florence, I was staying a small, old town called Montecatini, about halfway between Florence & the Mediterranean Sea, which is close to towns like Pisa & Lucca.

Tuesday, April 10th – Today was my day to explore Tuscan culture. I started by taking a morning train into the small town Lucca. I entered the town passing the old imposing Roman walls and it quite beautiful. With several beautiful churches, it was a quaint little town. I then walked through the town into the main town square, which is famous for being oval in shape. There, I found an awesome Italian restaurant and grabbed some lunch and drinks. After then exploring the rest of the town and visiting a few local shops, I then caught a train to Pisa. In Pisa, I saw the Duomo complex, including Pisa’s large church and the Leaning Tower of Pisa too! In fact, I walked up hundreds of stairs to the top of tower, and my god, you can really feel the lean up there. After that, I grabbed some gelato in Pisa, and made my way back to Montecatini for the night.

Wednesday, April 11th – Now that I had explored some of the smaller towns, I was excited to visit Florence to learn about the Medici family of Florence & see some renaissance art in action. It is truly such beautiful city. I first passed the Duomo, made of a beautiful green and white rock, one of the best cathedrals I have ever seen. Then, passing through some of the city squares, I stopped to dine at “Casa Vin del Santo” a tasty, up-scale Italian restaurant that had some of the best gnocchi I’ve ever eaten & some great drinks as well.

I continued exploring Florence afterwards, first doing some shopping, then visiting the famous flagship store of the pen-maker Visconti, and finally visiting a lot of sites of the Medici Family of Florence. I saw the Medici houses and learned about how Michelangelo, although a brilliant artist, was discovered by the Medici family. I then visited the “Academia Galleria” to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece sculpture, David. It was so well detailed – and the amazing thing is people often complain that it’s slightly disproportionate, but don’t realize that the sculpture was meant for the top of the Duomo, and so Michelangelo adjusted the proportions to look perfect for people looking from the ground at the sculpture on the Duomo. After grabbing some local gelato and sitting down for some drinks, I called it a night in Florence, and headed back for my last night in Montecatini.

Thursday, April 12th – This morning, I woke up super excited. One of the things I’ve been looking forward to most over my study abroad experience was a visit to Rome to learn and see the ancient world. I booked an early morning train from Montecatini back to Florence and then from Florence to Rome on First Class—and it didn’t disappoint with several drink and snack services and massive seats.

Arriving in Rome was like something out of the Da Vinci Code. Every step I took, I would run into a monument or ancient ruins where an archaeological dig was taking place. It was surreal. I quickly hopped on the Rome Metro to drop my baggage off at my AirBNB and headed back to the city to grab pasta for lunch as well as some drinks. After the food, I walked around the city and within 5 minutes I ran into the ruins of 4 ancient Roman temples. And to my amazement, it happens to be the spot where Caesar was murdered. I continued my walk through the Roman Forum ruins and to the Colosseum. It was just as tall and magnificent as I had imagined, truly a marvel of Engineering.

After that, I quickly grabbed a bus over the other side of the Tiber River that splits Rome, where it was time for my Ravioli, Fettucine, & Tiramisu cooking class. It was such a wonderful experience to learn from Chef Mimi from Sorrento about authentic Italian cooking, and honestly these recipes are super simple and something I am replicating at home now that I’m back in Paris.

Friday, April 13th – Friday was another amazing day in Rome & my main chance to explore the city. The late morning started with a guided tour of the city, exploring the 2000 year old Pantheon (best preserved Roman structure) and other important landmarks of the city. Following that, my girlfriend and I found an authentic “Roman” restaurant serving Cacio E Pepe, a famous Roman era white sauce that consists of Pecorino Romano Cheese, Salted Water, and Pepper. Oh my god, we fell in love. To this day, we make it for lunch every day!

After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed further to the east side of the Tiber River and to the Vatican City. The beautiful main basilica and its main square was a marvel and so well preserved over the generations. After that, we decided to head in the opposite direction and check out more Roman Ruins, before catching a beautiful sunset over the Colosseum.

Saturday, April 14th – Saturday started of with mixed emotions as it was time to leave Rome. We embarked on an early IC (intercity) train from Rome down into the beginning of Sicily ina small beach city called Milazzo. About six hours into the train ride, I realized that there was no bridge between Italy and Sicily and was really confused about how they would get us there until they put our entire train onto a ferry and hauled it across the water channel!! After arriving in Sicily and taking an hour walk into Milazzo, we enjoyed an amazing sunset on the Mediterranean Sea before making up for the lost sleep from the early morning wakeup.

Sunday, April 15th – Sunday was a typical peaceful “lazy” day. After so much running around, I was happy to just sit by the Mediterranean Sea in the sun and walk around a small Sicilian town that was jam packed with history but rather brimming with people and culture. It was a great day to rewind, enjoy the sun, grab some gelato, and relax.

I know this blog is almost a week late now, but bear with me as the week has just been so busy. Now that I’m back in Paris and bale to reflect on this Italian adventure, I’ll be able to post about my adventures on a more regular timeline! In a few days, I’ll talk about what I’ve been up to over the past week, with a sudden twist that had me back in Paris a few days early, and some of my adventures here.

Ciao,

Abhi Athreya

University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering 2025

ENSEA in Cergy, France

#ipewinter24 #umichenginabroad #ipeensea #france #italy #AbhinavAthreya

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Stockholm Week 13: Ready for Iceland?  

I had my full week of school after Malta -- I deeply considered going to Amsterdam, but I knew that I’d get more stressed about the work I would have to do before and after the trip than living my time in Amsterdam. Also, I need to leave a couple of reasons (Amsterdam’s tulip festival, Portugal’s egg tarts, Greece’s scenery in Santorini) to come back to Europe someday ;) 

4/8 Mon: 

I fell asleep while writing the blog last night. As soon as I woke up, I got ready to start another day. 

Although we did not have classes as it was the last day of Easter break, I still met up with my teammates at DIS for group work for the Engineering Sustainable Environment course. 

Afterward, I did homework for my online course and went to a virtual office hour to ask questions. Then, I finished reading The Wolf and the Watchman for class tomorrow.

It is important to keep track of your assignments during the study abroad semester because it is easy to lose a couple of assignments when you’re balancing life and traveling with school!  

4/9 Tue: Restaurant 

Great way to wake up: leave your wallet with all the transportation + student ID + credit cards in your house! 

As soon as I realized that I left my wallet on the desk, I ran back to my room and ran to the metro station again. 

During class while we were talking about food (daily conversational topic), my friend and I  spontaneously chose to eat out. It was very sunny outside, so we “decided” (she convinced me) to walk for 20 minutes instead of taking the bus for 15 minutes.

On the way to the restaurant, she took me to a bakery called Mr. Cake and introduced me to the red velvet croissant. It had a cream cheese filling with red velvet chocolate on top. 

I took a bite and understood the hype – so good.ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ 

The ramen was good but it could've been more spicy in my opinion.

I recently fell in love with being horizontal in my bed without doing anything. And that’s what I did for three hours after lunch (I blame the food coma). But as a good student, I finished what I had to do before going to bed. 

4/10 Wed: Field Study 

We had a field study about the book we are reading for class (The Wolf and the Watchman) in Gamla Stan. It was extremely windy, especially because we were right next to the water. 

I couldn’t go home without poking all the second-hand stores. Slussen was my destination for the day as it had rows of thrift stores and regular clothing stores. To start off, I got a denim jacket and jean shorts in thrift stores. Due to my forgetfulness, I didn’t bring any shorts to Stockholm – thus, I didn’t have an option other than buying the LEE shorts in perfect condition. 

With mango strawberry smoothie

Later, the sale stickers enticed me to go into stores like Monkl and Bik Bok. Monkl was on their ultimate sale before their closing in late April. This sale with an additional student discount of 11% made everything even cheaper than thrift stores. I got a pair of sunglasses in each store :) 

This is one of them

At night, we had a game night in our room. It became a chit-chat night rather than a game night, but it was fun nonetheless. 

My new favorite non-alcoholic drink!

4/11 Thu: 

Eating out two days in a row! 

I need to stop talking about food with my friends because that’s exactly what led us to get sushi for lunch. 

Noburu sushi was packed as always - we almost didn't get to sit down!

I took a short walk around our neighborhood before going home. The hill nearby has a good walking path that I should take more advantage of. 

Sprouts are sprouting 🌱

Hours passed doing homework. When I mindlessly glanced over the windows, I saw a spectacular view. I lost track of time watching outside and feeling the wind.  

I love our room – it has the best views 

4/12 Fri:

In our crime fiction class, we watched the last episode of the Netflix series The Chestnut Man. Although the end wasn’t quite how I imagined, it was still a great series. 

To satisfy my craving for bubble tea I did TooGoodToGo from Happy Sweet Potato. I was afraid that I wouldn’t get anything that I liked, but I didn’t need to worry — I got three different types of drinks, in addition to a whole cup full of coconut jelly and pudding. I gave brown sugar bubble tea to my friend, drank the fruit tea myself, and saved the last one in the refrigerator. 

I definitely will buy from here again! 

For dinner, I used up mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and one last egg to clean out the fridge before leaving for a long vacation.

Am I getting better at plating too?

4/13 Sat:

I finished upcoming assignments so that I wouldn’t have to worry about them during the long study tour. 

Packing for Iceland didn’t take long as I just had to stuff my carry-on with layers and long sleeves. I thought I was done with 30-degree weather but no :( 

4/14 Sun:  

I took the free route to the airport for the first time. DIS only provides single-way transport reimbursement and I figured I would want to take the easy way back to Stockholm after a long trip. 

It wasn’t as complicated as expected! 

We flew in through Icelandair and got a group dinner as the very first activity. Although DIS covered our dinner, I couldn’t stop getting shocked at the price. The cheapest beer was $12! Nonetheless, I got a Raspberry Sour beer and it was one of the best beers I’ve had. Not too sweet but not too sour! It refreshed my mouth and reignited my appetite :)  The best of the best was the dessert, Icelandic raspberry cheesecake. It was more like cream pie since the density wasn’t as thick as a cheesecake. I scraped every last bit of the cake off the plate. 

Iceland is an expert in desserts  

8 pm in Iceland was still bright.

A couple of us strolled around the neighborhood to see the sunset. The lake 3-minutes away from our hotel absorbed and reflected all the colors from the sunset – the silent scenery of the swimming swans and scattering sunlight was a piece of art. 

We almost discarded our original plan to see the sunset just to stay and watch the view for the rest of the night 

The sky was too cloudy to see the sunset but we still went to the viewpoint near the water.

Reflection of the cloudy sunset

We got through the wind and took some pictures before going to sleep. 

Embracing the wind <3

The first full day in Iceland will be the next post! 

Come back to check it out :) 

Thank you, 

Jiwoo Kim

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEStockholm #JiwooKim #IPEWinter24 #Sweden

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Madrid Week 11: Basque-ing in Nature

Hola a todxs! Niko here, back again with week 11 (writing this during week 12 oops [I had a huge databases project that I grinded on all of last week, expect a double blog week soon]) of studying abroad in Madrid!! I’ve got a little over a month and a half left in Madrid. Near the beginning of the semester, I mentioned a VSauce video about time that I enjoyed a lot. Recently in my culture class, we discussed the same concepts. Upon reflection, I think that I’m experiencing time in an incredibly ideal way.

What do I mean? Time flies by fast. It feels like weeks go by in the blink of an eye. Last week, what seems like yesterday, it was March, and now we’re already halfway through April. Time flies when you’re having fun, and I think that much is true. I’m having a blast, experiencing a new world every week, and as a consequence, I’m not thinking about time as it passes. It doesn’t drag; It goes by quickly. 

But I’m still in lecture every week. And two of my classes (the engineering ones) are oftentimes unbearably boring. I feel time pass when I’m sitting in those chairs waiting for the time to go home. My life during the week is simple: go to class, cook meals, go to cafes to study. But on the weekends, I’m traveling across Spain and Europe, meeting new people, partying, the list goes on. So it’s kind of like a long-short time sandwich. I get to experience time dragging on in the moment, and I also get to experience it flying by. And, because the exciting experiences happen regularly and frequently, weekends fill up huge blocks in my memories that make it feel like I’ve been here for years. I would say that “it feels like just yesterday that I stepped foot off the plane” but no, it really doesn’t. It feels like an eternity ago, truly. 

So, I’m kind of milking time for nearly all that it’s worth, which I think is a W. We’ve only got so much of it in this life. Anyways, there goes my bi-monthly rant on time. Hopefully it didn’t drag on too much. Or hopefully it did. Or both. 🙂

Anyways, last weekend, I learned a very important lesson. Two of my roommates (Eli, Max) and a close friend (Jack) rented a car (#JeepTrailhawk) and took a trip up to Northern Spain (Please don't mind the terribly cheesy title), splitting our time between Basque cities and Spain’s best national park. The lesson? As much as I love cities — incredible amalgamations of culture, humanity and energy — I’ll never experience the same type of awe and amazement looking out over a skyline as I do gazing upon a range of staggeringly huge snow capped mountains. Let’s talk about the trip:

Gatzetelugatxwho?

We set out from Madrid late Thursday evening. After a short-lived yet intense fiasco with google maps sending us in a couple of loops around Madrid after someone (the driver) (Max) missed a couple of turns, we were on the highway headed North. We had about 4 hours of driving until we reached Bilbao, where we had rented an Airbnb for the night. It was a pretty drive — Madrid is surrounded by a beautiful Sierra not even 30 minutes outside of the center. We arrived at our Airbnb (which was situated in a weird liminal space-ish neighborhood) and crashed, ready to tackle the morning task: Gatztelugatxe.

Huh? Yes, I was as confused as you probably are the first time I read that word. Especially the tx, which is pronounced as ch in Euskera, the mysterious language of the Basque people that has no known origin or connection to any modern tongue. It looks and sounds weird, and in the Basque country you’ll see it everywhere. It almost feels like it could have been spoken in some far off kingdom in Game of Thrones. 

Speaking of, we went to Dragonstone, AKA Gatztelugatxe. Shout out whoever the location scout was for those scenes, because they absolutely killed it. The site was beautiful, and I think the pictures will speak for themselves.

After that, we drove a few more hours to San Sebastian and explored. The energy was incredible. Sunny weather, beautiful city side beach, Burnt Basque cheesecake, calming sunset and delicious food (pintxos = tapas in Euskera!). There’s not much more that I can say other than the fact that simply walking around and taking it all in was an absolute joy. 

We proceeded to drive 4 hours west that evening to our second stop of the weekend: Picos de Europa national park (driving quickly through Bilbao, which has a really cool modern architectural style). We arrived at our Airbnb in the pitch black around 12 am, stumbled our way inside, cooked a comically oversized dinner (1.5 kg of pasta is too much for 4 people btw) and prepared for our big hike the next day.

The Hike

We woke up bright and early (it was like 10am) Saturday morning, ready for the 7.5 mile, 3000 foot climb ahead of us. I’d done a 13 miler with a similar increase in elevation once before in the Texan desert (Marufo Vega trail in Big Bend, highly recommend), so I wasn’t too concerned with the difficulty — only with whether we picked a worthwhile trail. I was silly for underestimating “Lon - Río Burón - Peña de Mañimoco”.

We started by driving into a tiny town in the national park, parking on the side of the road and setting off into a dirt trail that winded shallowly up the mountain. At this point, I was unimpressed. Most of our view of the mountain ahead of us was blocked by trees, and the path felt too well kept to be the basis of the true rugged backcountry experience I desired. Jokingly, we pointed to the top of the mountain we were hiking towards when we got to a clearing, asking damn, wouldn’t it be crazy if we went up there.

Yeah, it would have been crazy, but I guess 3000 feet is not to be underestimated, especially if you start at 1000. The paved trail split off into a smaller one once we broke through the treeline, which split off into a gravel shoot winding up the ridge of the mountain we had joked about a mile or two earlier. The wind started picking up, threatening to throw us off the mountain at any second as we climbed higher and higher (it was seriously intense wind. Jumping up, we actually caught a little extra airtime).

Each switchback revealed a view of the mountain and the valley below that was more stunning than the last. We passed through a huge diversity of different terrains, each so distinct they felt like Minecraft biomes stitched together. We even happened upon a herd of domesticated cows (which we were terrified of passing out of fear that they would attempt to butt us off the face of the mountain... we thought they were wild at first). At one point, we came across a meadow that looked like it came straight out of a studio Ghibli movie. We quite literally frolicked in the grass as another hiker (the only other person we saw on the trail) watched us from behind a tree, hiding from the wind. We talked to that guy later, we called him the Wind Wizard.

On this hike, I felt something reminiscent of the feeling I got as a 6 year old playing imagination games in the basement of my childhood home — unashamedly wide-eyed excitement. Looking out over the Picos de Europa (literally, the peaks of Europe) I couldn’t help but smile. This is the feeling I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that I think I can only experience whilst totally immersed in nature. At its core, it’s rooted in mindfulness and gratitude for the present moment -- something that I try to practice as much as possible in my everyday life. 

However, the reason this trip ended up being one of my favorites I’ve taken so far wasn’t just for the things that I saw — it was for the people that I spent it with. As much as I enjoy the independence and exploration of solo-traveling, I think that experiencing new things with trusted friends will almost always be more enjoyable. Being rooted in that feeling of wonder with others makes it feel more exciting, more significant, more real — both while it’s happening, and in the memories that stay with us forever. 

We finished the hike with a steep decline down the mountain and ended up back at the car, where we drove into the larger town and got some drinks at a local cafe (where they had original craft beers on tap, and where I tasted the best Vermouth I've ever had). We left our airbnb early the next morning, but not before buying a block of cheese from the local Queseria (which was also absolutely fire). En fin, this was one of the most beautiful and rewarding hikes I've ever done, rivaled only by the aforementioned Marufo Vega. I think we chose well!

So, my key takeaways from this trip? Nature is awesome, and so is experiencing it (and life in general) with other people. At the end of the day, we’re just really smart animals who evolved (in nature) to be biased towards social behavior, so I guess that makes sense (#evolutionarypsychology?). I’ll be in the Bay Area this summer for an internship, and I’m really excited to go backpacking over the weekends in all of the epic nature that surrounds the area, meeting new people along the way.

Here's the itinerary list for this week's trip:

Basque Country Google Maps List

That’s all for this week’s blog! As always, check out the picture descriptions for a little more info. Thank you all very much for reading, and I’ll see y’all next week 🙂

Adios,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

[email protected] 

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEUC3M #NikoEconomos #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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Week 9 in Prague: The Rhythm of the City - From Jazz Nights to Morning Markets, with a Weekend Detour to Split, Croatia

"Syncing Up with Prague: Exploring the City's Pulse Through Its Music and Markets, Plus a Sun-Soaked Escape to Split"

I apologize for being a little late this week, days go by abroad in a flash and I’ve lost complete lack of time on several occasions. To add a crescendo to this week, a weekend getaway to the stunning seaside city of Split, Croatia, provided a refreshing contrast with the amazing weather and a dose of Mediterranean charm. But despite that, as my time in Prague stretches into its ninth week, I've decided to take more advantage of the city I call home and dive into the rhythm that drives this historic city, exploring the vibrancy of its music scene and the energy of its morning markets. Traveling almost every weekend has made me realize that my days in Prague are so numbered and there’s still so much to explore. Let me walk you through my week really quickly to highlight exactly what the past few days entailed and why my blog post is late.

Saturday: Coastal Charm in Split

The weekend brought a significant change in scenery and tempo as I landed in Split, Croatia. The city greeted me with its radiant sunshine (god bless that) and the vibrant blues of the Adriatic Sea. The day was spent exploring the Diocletian’s Palace, a remarkable ancient palace that now forms the heart of Split. Walking through the stone streets, I was mesmerized by the blend of Roman architecture and bustling modern life. We found ourselves doing a party boat tour from island to island, exploring new towns and blue lagoons along the way. Big shoutout to Mary and Piero, our boat drivers who gave us the time of our lives and if you go to Split, which I recommend wholeheartedly as it might be one of my favorite cities abroad, you gotta do that boat tour.

Sunday: A Day on the Dalmatian Coast

Continuing my Croatian adventure, I took to the beaches of Split. The day was spent soaking up the sun and sea, contrasting the Gothic and Baroque rhythms of Prague with the natural harmony of the Dalmatian coast. I made my way to Marjan Hill for a late afternoon hike, where the panoramic views of the city and the sea were breathtaking. The tranquil moments on Marjan Hill, looking out over Split, provided a very similar and breathtaking view similar to the one you get when you go atop Prague Castle.

Monday: Jazzing Up the Evening

The week in Prague kicked off with a visit to a famed jazz club nestled along the banks of the Vltava. The intimate setting, dim lighting, and the soft clink of glasses set the stage for a night of mesmerizing performances. It was my first time in a Jazz club, and I had no idea what to expect. But lo and behold, it might be one of my favorite bars ever. The music was mainly classic jazz played by musicians whose fingers seemed to barely touch the instruments, yet filled the room with their melodies that make you just want to get up and dance.

Tuesday: A Melodic Stroll

Inspired by the previous night's music, I spent Tuesday exploring the streets of Prague with a new soundtrack: the melodies I had heard at the jazz club. My walk took me from the bustling Wenceslas Square down to the quieter, tree-lined paths of Vyšehrad. This was all on the way to the beer gardens, which opened up two weeks ago, but since I was traveling so much, I did not get a chance to visit. The view from the beer gardens along with the ambiance makes sense why it is such a big tourist attraction. I’ve only had a taste of it, but I can imagine that Prague in the summertime is a completely different experience with all the activities that open up.

Wednesday: Market Morning

Midweek called for a change of tempo. I headed to one of Prague's morning markets, a place where the city’s authenticity beats the hardest. If there’s one thing you start doing, please for everything you love visit these markets. There is so much fresh produce, homemade pastries, and aromatic spices. You can sample local cheeses and chat with the vendors who are all eager to hear the viewpoint of an American study abroad student. In fact, this time I went, one of the stand owners started to share recipes and food tips with a smile. He looked so happy while doing so, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I’m vegetarian and can’t eat a single thing he told me to write down. This whole experience made me feel more connected to the city than ever. Each bite was a taste of Prague’s culinary heritage, revealing layers of flavor and history.

Reflecting on the Week

Returning to Prague on Sunday evening, the trip to Split remained a vivid splash of color in my memory, a reminder of the world’s vast tapestry of cultures, rhythms, and landscapes. This week's exploration of Prague through its music and markets, coupled with the refreshing detour to Croatia, reinforced how travel not only broadens our horizons but also deepens our appreciation for the diversity and beauty of our experiences.

This coming weekend, I am headed to Munich for Springfest (aka a lot of beer). Next week back in Prague, you can expect me to visit the Prague Zoo (a top 4 zoo in the world on some list so I’ll believe it and go).

Till next week's adventures,

Rachit Khandelwal

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEcsPrague #RachitKhandelwal #IPEWinter24 #CzechRepublic

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Week 11: Easter Break, Short Sleeves, and The Royal Palace

I’m back in Madrid after my Easter break travels! With a week off for Easter, I went around to some nearby countries and visited Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Verona. I definitely enjoyed my time going around, and it was really nice to see the similarities and differences between Madrid and all the cities. Just as a quick recap, here were my favorite things about each city.

Brussels: The waffles. Oh my gosh the waffles were so good I would go back just for that. They were so good, I didn’t take any pictures of them, so enjoy this Tin Tin mural instead.

Bruges: The brick architecture along with the beautiful canals. Seriously looked straight out of a painting.

Amsterdam: Houseboats and tulips!! It was so cool to see the different houseboats, and the flower fields we saw for the tulip festival were absolutely breathtaking.

Berlin: The city did a fantastic job with all their museums and memorials. I especially liked the East Side Gallery, which is a long section of the Berlin Wall that’s painted by different artists around the world. A lot of the artists painted their section when they were right out of school and just starting to become established artists, so the art is very unique there. I really think it’s been one of my favorite art exhibitions/galleries I’ve seen.

Copenhagen: The general Danish culture and Copenhill. Everyone and everything was so orderly here. Like the lines were perfect, no one pushed, and everyone was so respectful of public places. Also people really do leave their babies in strollers outside buildings! It was really interesting to observe the norms here and see how well put-together everyone was. Also, the architecture around the city was just gorgeous. Especially Copenhill, a building that’s a trash processing facility and only outputs water vapor. And, you can ski on top of it! I learned about this building from one of my favorite documentaries, Abstract: The Art of Design, and I highly recommend looking up the building!

Verona: The small, Italian city vibes were amazing. So easy to just sit and chill and people-watch. 

After going around all these places, I was definitely happy to be back in Madrid. The familiarity and the bustling people everywhere felt comforting to come back to. 

Coming back to Madrid, I finally went to see the Royal Palace. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to see the palace that’s a literally five minute walk from my house, but I guess that sometimes happens when you live somewhere. I’ve seen quite a few palaces during my time here, but I was actually really impressed by this one! It was one of the prettiest palaces I’ve seen, with all the rooms curated and decorated really well. I think it’s even cooler that the palace actually gets used today, and I’m glad I went even if it did take me this long.

Some of my favorite things were this conversation couch where you can speak into the little microphones to talk to people around the couch, these gorgeous hand-painted plates, and the horse armor. I’d never seen such elaborate armor for horses before.

I also spent a lot of time this week walking around and soaking up the sun. I’m seriously going to miss the vibes of everyone out on the terrace and on the streets when it’s nice outside. Walking out and seeing everyone having a good time is just an immediate boost of happiness, and I really want to try to incorporate some of that into my life back in the US. While there might not be as much of a culture that lends easily to that, I think I can at least take some time to go to a park and read or grab a smoothie or something in the evenings.

While I was wandering around Madrid this weekend, I walked through Justicia, a neighborhood I had never really been to before. It felt pretty upscale compared to the city center, and I came across a small market with hand-made jewelry, clothes, prints and other artisanal things. Everything was so beautiful there and the craftsmanship was amazing. I also stumbled upon a dance exhibition with dresses from Spanish dance from the last 100 years. It was pretty cool to see the evolution of the dresses, and the building itself was so gorgeous. 

Hasta la próxima semana,

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering

Comillas — Madrid, Spain

#umichenginabroad #IPEComillas #IshaVenkatesh #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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Stockholm Week 12: Oh My (God? Love?) Malta 

I started my April in Malta. It greeted me with perfect spring weather!

4/1 Mon: Valletta! 

I landed at the Malta Airport at midnight. The Airbnb I booked had the self-check-in option, so all I had to do after getting there by Bolt was go in and sleep tight to prepare for my first full day in Malta. 

I wanted to enjoy every moment in Malta, so I left early in the morning to look around Valletta, the small but bustling capital. 

Small and friendly neighborhood

The alleys were crowded with people, full of tourists and locals. The streets were very hilly – if you’re planning on going, I suggest bringing walking shoes because you’ll be walking A LOT (my average steps was around 20,000 steps every day. 

It was even sunnier than Barcelona, the average temperature being high 60s and 70s. The first thing I did was to buy a pair of sunglasses (it was only 5€!) to protect my eyes from the piercing sunlight. 

I searched “attractions'' on Google Maps and walked to every single one of them. My tour was as follows: Triton Fountain - Valletta (+Valletta open market) - Lower Barrakka Gardens - Wuestenwinds beach - Upper Barrakka - Valletta Waterfront. I made sure to get gelato at Dolci Peccati, a popular (and cheap!) pastries store in the center of the town.   

Triton Fountain and streets in the center of Valletta

Lower Barrakka

Signs of spring

Eventually, I had to go back to my Airbnb and take a rest because my phone’s and portable’s battery ran out. 

I took a fat nap and decided to go watch the sunset. 

Everything was so nice and relaxing until the bus didn’t come. In hindsight, I should’ve taken this as a warning about the public transportation system in Malta, but since I already paid for the transportation card for the stay, I was going to make the most out of it. 

I clearly remember how the bus came 15 minutes late and how I helplessly watched the sunset on the bus. The clouds weren’t helping either :(

Although I didn’t end up going to the sunset spot I wanted to go to, I got off at a random spot called Mellieha and discovered a sanctuary.

Everywhere in Malta is so pretty

I walked around a bit and waited extra forty minutes for the bus back. 

I didn’t have time for dinner so instead of going home, I went to a Korean restaurant called Doma. The fried chicken there was so good!! 

4/2 Tue: Popeye Village, Paradise Bay, Sunset  

The night before, I scheduled a meticulous plan with the exact times of when I should leave to go to where I wanted to go. I was so ready to follow the plan until everything went wrong. The problem? Bus. Again. 

Everything was good when I got to the LOVE monument and enjoyed the weather outside.

BTS was here too!

However, the bus (that was late again) malfunctioned and dropped everyone off in the middle of nowhere. I waited for almost forty minutes for the next bus. Consequently, I had to change my destination to a closer beach, which turned out to be Mellieha Bay.

I only dipped my feet cause the water was too cold to go in. 

I read a couple of chapters before leaving for the infamous Popeye Village! 

Popeye Village is a popular filming site due to its beauty; it is known for the exotic view of the Blue Lagoon as well. I didn’t go into the village, but I went to the Popeye Cliffs and was able to get a whole view of the village and the water. It was breathtaking: I couldn’t and didn’t leave the cliffs until I absolutely had to. 

Just like a movie (quite literally)

My next stop was Paradise Bay. It was perfect because the sunset viewpoint, the official final location of the day, was right next to the beach. When I got there, I could immediately understand why they named it Paradise Beach. It was paradise on earth.    

I took a billion pictures to capture the moment 

This time, I successfully arrived at the sunset point before the actual sunset. I carefully scheduled my trips so that the time worked out. 

Watching the sun’s gradual disappearance over the horizon was a sight I’d never forget. 

For dinner, I picked up a seafood fettuccini from a restaurant. It was a great meal to end the day :)

4/3 Wed: Comino and Gozo

Malta comprises three small islands: the mainland is Malta, another island is Gozo and a teeny tiny island in between them is Comino Island.  

When I asked for recommendations from the people in my hostel, they all recommended Camino Beach. Plus, the transportation ticket that I got included a free fast ferry trip to and back from Gozo. It was clear that I had to have a trip to Gozo and then Camino. 

So, I woke up at 6:30 am, packed EVERYTHING for check-out, ate breakfast, and left the Student’s House (Airbnb) at 8 am. 

I made it on time for the 10 am ferry. As soon as I arrived at Mgarr Harbour in Gozo, I took another ferry to go to Comino Island. 

As marketed, Comino Island was full of beauty. Comino Beach was small but the view was majestic. 

Comino Beach! Instead of staying at the beach, I hiked to Ghemieri Window which is on the other end of the island. I didn’t have much time to waste, so I walked and walked and walked under the scorching sunlight. In the end, it was all worth it. I discovered multiple ethereal places that made me wonder if I am in an animation right now. I encountered a tranquil beach, a field full of flowers, a pond with a church in the background, and rocks that formed caves. 

These are only a few of my favorite places. 

When I returned to the entrance of the island, I got a Mango Peach cocktail in a pineapple and sat down to have time to blank out on the stunning scenery in front of me. 

Delicious

At 12:15 pm, the ferry to Gozo came. I was in a rush because I needed to catch this particular ferry -- the noon one included a tour of the caves on the way back! I absolutely enjoyed every single part of the boat tour: the striking view of the caves, the refreshing wind cooling me down while a perfect amount of sunlight warming me up simultaneously. 

I finally had some time to look around Gozo. I had an hour or two before returning to Malta, so, of course, I went to the Open Air Market in the center of the island.

The stores and the streets were similar to the ones in Malta :)  As soon as I returned to Malta, I took Bolt back to my Airbnb to pick up my carry-on luggage. I had a brief farewell moment before heading to the airport. 

4/4 - 4/7 (dead)

The first thing I saw in Stockholm was ice. ICE. In April! I instantly missed Malta… 

I arrived at my house around 2 am and fell asleep quickly. 

The next few days were winding down days, catching up on all the work and having time with my friends again. 

This marks the end of the week-long Barcelona-Malta trip! 

I hope you enjoyed the posts as much as I did. 

I will come back soon with what I did in Stockholm before leaving for Iceland.

Vi ses, 

Jiwoo Kim

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #IPEStockholm #JiwooKim #sweden