Easter – GW Blogs from Abroad

An Easter Staycation

AdminApril 18, 2015December 14, 2018

There's something to be said for studying in a more isolated place. You concern yourself with exploring a country rather than a continent. But for many people, part of the draw of spending a semester in Europe is the opportunity to travel to much more than your host country (thank you Eurozone). It's definitely easy to get caught up in and overwhelmed by the myriad of travel possibilities. Four to six months can go by in the blink of an eye and your weekends are numbered. But as amazing as seeing everywhere from Bucharest to Oslo to Paris seems, my biggest piece of advice would be to shorten your laundry list.

I think our generation has an addiction to numbers. We make lists of things we've done and places we've been then share that with the world on every social media we like or vaguely understand. There's nothing wrong with this - personally I enjoy living vicariously through people's virtual adventures. My point here is that there's a reason you chose whatever city/town/rural village to study in so you might as well spend a good amount of time getting to know it.

Instead of jet-setting for Easter weekend, I decided to stay put in Berlin. And let me tell you, Stay-cation 2k15 has been nothing but a success. I realized when I first got to Berlin I was so concerned with acclimating and making this city my new home that I never let myself just be a tourist. So in the past 72 hours I have gone to the zoo, visited the Victory Tower, explored Easter markets, wandered aimlessly through courtyards, eaten fantastic food and overall finally discovered the Berlin I was looking for.

As amazing as traveling is, it's also time consuming, exhausting and quite a strain on the purse strings. So to all you current and future globe trotters out there don't forget that staying in place can be just as much of an adventure.

Easter Away from Home

AdminApril 14, 2015December 14, 2018

By Ashlyn

I don't usually go home for Easter in the U.S., but I do usually spend it with my family. For the past two years, my parents have made the drive down to D.C and have taken me and my boyfriend out for Easter brunch to celebrate. This year, 4,000 miles away from home, an Easter reunion just wasn't in the cards. I had accepted the fact that I was probably going to have to spend the holiday alone.

Luckily, my host family swooped in with an offer of Easter lunch festivities. Never one to pass up a chance to learn more Danish traditions (or any offer of food), I eagerly accepted.

The traditional American Easter spread usually consists of either a glazed ham or a roasted lamb, with potatoes and spring salads on the side. Rolls are also usually present at the table, or some other sort of white bread to go along with the meal. For dessert, something light like angel food cake, vanilla custard, or a lemon tart is typically served. Americans tend to eat quickly and the meal usually lasts for only an hour or so.

The traditional Danish Easter is much different. Our lunch was a multi-course affair that lasted five hours (with many between-course breaks, but still). The first course included two types of bread (rye and sourdough), three different types of pickled herring (regular, dill, and curry), hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, crab salad, and fried fish with remoulade. For the second course, we had frikadeller (fried meatballs), hakkebøf (ground beef casserole), and stegt flæsk (roasted pork). After that, a cheese and fruit course. And then dessert: hindbærsnitter (raspberry bars) and my contribution, Easter brownies.

Oh, and beer and plenty of Danish snaps (aquavit).

Also of note: American Easter traditions include opening Easter baskets, usually filled with candy, and hunting Easter eggs hidden around the house by parents. Favorite Easter candies include jelly beans, Cadbury eggs, and Robin's Eggs.

Danish Easter traditions are a little different. Instead of Easter baskets, Danes feast on huge hollow chocolate eggs that are filled with sweet treats. Easter egg hunts do happen, but more popular is the tradition of "gækkebreve" -- you write letters to your friends and family, but leave out your name. The receiver of the letter has to guess who sent the letter. If they can't guess, they owe you a chocolate egg! Easter candy in Denmark includes Haribo gummies and the ever-popular treat of licorice.

But as different as they are, both Danish and American Easter celebrations end the same way for me: with a nice long nap on the couch!

Easter Sunday with Papa Francesco!

AdminApril 21, 2014December 14, 2018

By catrionaschwartz

Today I went to the Vatican for the Easter Mass. The mass is held in St. Peter’s Square, not in the actual basilica itself, which means that not only can up to 80,000 people squeeze into the square to watch the mass from there, countless others can watch from beyond the colonnade. My decision to attend the mass was very last minute so I was unfortunately one of the many people standing outside the colonnade but there were big screens and speakers set up so that we could see and here the Pope anyway.

It was completely packed, for a couple of reasons. First of all, this was the new Pope, Pope Francis’ first Easter mass. Second of all Pope Francis (Papa Francesco) has been a very popular pope thus far. And finally, and most importantly, Rome, the Vatican, is the Catholic Capital of the world. Of course people will flock there.
I mentioned in my first about Rome how there were so many nuns and priests and that impression has only be furthered the longer I’ve been here. The neighborhood I live in is full of papal buildings and many orders of nuns and monks. When I take the bus home from school there are always a few nuns that hope on, speaking different languages, wearing slightly different habits, but all there to be in Rome, near the Vatican.

It’s a very interesting contrast from New York and DC, neither of which have extremely strong religious presences, although of course there are many religious people there. It isn’t as likely though to walk down the street and pass two priests and several monks in robes down to their ankles.

It’s so interesting to see such a strong religious community. The fact that Italy has an almost 90% Catholic majority makes that presence even stronger. I loved being able to experience that fervor when I went to the mass today, and to be able to feel everyone’s excitement at seeing this new Pope. Hearing the colonnade echo with music and prayers reminded me that as much as St. Peter’s, and the Vatican as a whole, are major tourist destinations, filled with beautiful art and rich history, they still genuinely serve a religious purpose to millions of people around the world, and have for centuries. Seeing the new Pope there today, I felt like I was experiencing that history myself.

Vatican