krudowsky21

[krudowsky21]

throwback to one year ago today when I cried my eyes out at the Dulles airport as I said bye to my dad, sprinted through LAX and left for the most epic 9 months of my life! #worldtraveler #takemeback #daddysgirl

[krudowsky21]

Looking Back, But Always Forward - See you later 2013

The year is coming to an end and I am honestly amazed how speechless I am looking back on these past 12 months – inspiring, adventurous, eye-opening, tough, exhausting, but none of these words do it even remotely justice. I partook on the greatest adventure of my life. It has been nearly 3 weeks since I arrived back in America and I can only say this: I am humbled, blessed and grateful. I am more humble by the moments and people who have walked into my life, more blessed than words will ever express for so many opportunities and a newfound happiness and more grateful by the support and love of family and friends than ever before.

Over the course of roughly 9 months I lived and studied landscape architecture in Sydney, Australia and Bonn, Germany. I met countless friends - some I even crushed on – and learned to live in vastly different cultures. In Australia I lived in an apartment with one of the most spontaneous and genuine friends I could have ever traveled with. In Germany I lived with an entertaining and accommodating host family, as well as an old friend from my program. I learned ein bisschen Deutsche (a little German) and overcame many, many obstacles while bouncing from country to country, city to city. I became a pro at public transportation and learned to love flying (and skydiving!). Throughout this entire year I have left my heart in 25+ cities, towns and villages.

Some may call me overly spoiled, and I will be the first to tell you that I am. Penn State has given me the opportunity to travel throughout the world while still going to school under a #1 ranked program in the US (Landscape Architecture), and my parents gave me the ‘green light’ to follow through with my adventures and never say ‘no’ to a new opportunity and experience. I am in vast debt with my parents and will be for several years, but it was worth every penny, every email and every cringing moment I had to say ‘Daddy, I really want to…’ I thank my parents every day for the opportunities they have allowed me and not just this year, but every year.

But there are others – many others – who reinforce and congratulate me for what I have accomplished and seen over this past year. You all help me to understand that my journey will beyond a doubt take me much further in my career than any university will, and especially take me out of the ‘county’ or even the United States. I am so humbled to know that so many of my friends and family members have followed me over these past several months, throughout these ups and downs, and continue to support all that I have achieved via education, myself and the world.

My grandmother passed away while I was away, but only after understanding that I was living through her few last words to me before I left: to have fun, leave the drama behind and enjoy every moment good or bad. May her beautiful soul rest in peace.

After Australia I wrote a blog about the importance to see the world, even if the ‘world’ is simply a park down the street or the neighboring town. I continue to emphasize this to all of my friends. In Germany I learned the difference between the traveler and the tourist, and the value of experiencing new places with good, enjoyable people. You must travel with an open-mind and acknowledge the cultural differences around you, whether or not they are comforting or intimidating. Sometimes you need to take your time and travel without a map, or ‘speed-travel’ (as I like to call it) as fast as you can to see every nook and cranny of a city. Get off your couch from watching the latest celebrity gossip or absurdly inaccurate news story, and open your mind to the people living just outside your doorstep. You have the ability to see the world whichever way you like.

2014 will be a year of good things – the end of two great chapters in my life (traveling and college) and the beginning of another. I will graduate from Penn State University and plant a job in the ‘real world.’ I will begin a life in a new city, wherever that may be, and travel as often as I can whether that be down the street or across the world. I may not know where I will be this time next year, but one thing is for certain: I am more open than I have ever been before. I will always look back on this year, while looking forward wherever in the world I may be.

Thank you readers for living vicariously through me via Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook. I’m sure you may have been annoyed with the never ending photos and thoughts (sometimes overly dramatic), but this was my way of beating my own ‘homesickness’ and yet staying so close to the people who mean so much to me. I have yet to decide whether or not to continue blogging, but for now it is time to look towards the future and begin the agonizing, although exciting(!!), search for where my next chapter will take me. 

Finally, I will leave you with my favorite quote, one that was posted in early March at the beginning of my adventure, and a quote that has stuck with me throughout the year:

“If you’re 22, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel – as far and as widely as possibly. Sleep on floors if you have to, find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them – wherever you go.” – Anthony Bourdain

Cheers to a happy, safe and healthy 2014 – to my family, friends new & old and to the strangers who have followed my journey throughout the world.

xoxo

forever and always, katie

[krudowsky21]

I have the BEST friends in Australia! Missing you and AUS more and more each day @Briggi and @scotty_j12345 !! Thanks so much for the goodies and of course our published work :) xoxo PS I can't get over the Cronulla singlet and boot keychain!

[krudowsky21]

decorating Christmas ornaments with my bestie!! #ilovetraveling

[krudowsky21]

just like in Sydney, I paid for my last drink at ze bar with all the pennies and five cent coins left in my wallet #seeyalater #takemypennies

[krudowsky21]

In 6 Days and a Few Hours...

I will be back in the U.S. for good. I cannot even believe, nor has it hit me, that this time next week I will be hanging out with friends and family in Maryland and settling into my home before going back to Penn State for one.last.semester. So much is happening in this next month and yet I cannot grasp all that is about to happen - and has happened - in this incredible change and finishing up this chapter in my life.

I learned a lot over this past year, especially in these last few months. I saw myself as the happiest person in the world when I was basking away in the Aussie sun, and saw my mood change off and on through small crises and unneeded drama in Europe. BUT that is not saying that my time here was anything but boring. I have enjoyed every moment of this beautiful place. This beautiful world. And I cannot wait to tell stories to friends, family, my children, my grandchildren for the rest of my life!

I struggled a lot in college to get a hold on the person I once was, the person I became and the person I aspire to be some day soon. I lost sight of goals and became extremely discouraged, even angry. Traveling helped me to overcome that stage in my life - one that I tried so hard to get past. I still have my moments, and I am not perfect, but tonight as I look back on my past and who I am now... it is so unbelievably crazy to realize how much more independent and happy I truly, truly am.

Traveling not only allowed me to make memories and see the world, but it gave me a handful of some pretty awesome people in my life and I can only thank them for making this past year one of the best yet. That is what I plan to cherish and hold on to for years to come.

See you soon, America. I'm finally coming home!

forever and always, katie

[krudowsky21]

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." #oneweekleft #worldtraveler

[krudowsky21]

Happy Sinterklaas Day!! 🎅🎁🎉 Celebrating a Dutch holiday, similar to Christmas, today thanks to Nina and some Dutch chocolates :)

[krudowsky21]

Walking home from studio in Germany gets me so excited for Christmas. Happy December 1st!! #favoritemonth #holidayseason #illbehomeforchristmas (at Friedensplatz)

[krudowsky21]

Bonn Christmas Markts #shopping #food #tradition (at Münsterplatz)

[krudowsky21]

Happy (Day After) Thanksgiving/Black Friday!

I hope everyone had a great time with friends and family this past Turkey Day. I was thankful to enjoy Germany's rendition of 'Thanksgiving' with new friends, old friends and lots of laughs. Here are some photos of the event planned by AIB for us (warning - I am still in college ...):

  It was a great night filled with thanks and blessings. After dinner I left to Skype with my parents, brother and grandparents. It was nice to talk to them and helped from being a little homesick this week. Thank goodness for modern technology! 

Now it's time to begin the Christmas season! (Although it began here two weeks ago!) I am looking forward to exploring the Christmas Markets in Cologne and Bonn this weekend with friends, and some much needed R&R!

I hope you are all stuffed, and enjoy this weekend with friends and family!

See you stateside in nearly two weeks!

forever and always, katie 

[krudowsky21]

Barcelona and Berlin - My Final Trips!

It is weird to say that i am finally coming down from a spontaneous and exciting past few months in my life (or you could say a year...). This past weekend in Berlin marked my last 'weekend away' from Bonn until I am homeward bound. I actually got emotional as I took off to return to Bonn Sunday night, and before that at brunch with a group of friends and before that sporadically throughout the weekend. This.is.weird. 

Barcelona was a great trip, although I do wish I had much more time and energy to see it all. The first two days were great with beautiful weather and lots to see and do. The remaining time there, though, included lots of rain,  and when I say rain I mean downpours so heavy you can't walk 10 feet without feeling like you had a shower. I fell in love with the Gaudi architecture.. we visited Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and one of his designed residences. Friends and I had a lot of downtime to check out the urbanized waterfront (a massive harbor that makes it 40 minutes to get to the beach instead of 10), food markets (I'd go back just for that) and I met up with some Penn State friends studying in Barca for this semester. We went to a club, Opium, on Saturday night and had a blast. The club was directly on the beach and a great scene for those in your 20-somethings. Overall it was one of my favorite cities and the beach/city environment reminded me greatly of my time in Sydney. Needless to say I am slightly jealous of my friends studying in Barca!

Only a few days of studio and I was off to Berlin this past weekend with 5 friends studying in the Bonn program and one in the Barcelona program. You could say we went 'balls-to-the-walls' our first night and could not get out of our beds until well into the following next day. Our hostel was in the center of Berlin, making it easy to walk around the city and visit as much as you possibly can in 2ish days. Berlin seems to get a lot of hype from people I have talked to and met, but in all honesty I felt like I was overwhelmed from memories that I learned of the past - post-war Germany and the Holocaust. I was constantly immersed into an atmosphere that made me extremely emotional and out-of-place. The communist architecture still exists and due to the city's poor economy nothing seemed to be maintained. As landscape architects we must argue whether keeping so much of a terrible is beneficial to a community or otherwise, and although there is so much pride in Germany now for their economy and technological value to the world, you would not be able to find that in Berlin. You could also say that I really did feel as though I was walking through the 'projects' for much of my visit, something that did not settle right. One thing that I found comforting, though, were the people and their friendliness towards strangers. I met quite a few who live in Berlin or are backpacking just like myself and felt right at home. My friend Sean also gave us a good laugh when we were walking home one of the nights and found a fox (yes, a fox!) in the middle of the city streets. After a quote-on-quote "stand-off" that actually lasted well over 5 minutes, the fox finally ran away. We got some great video and pictures to prove it! (See Facebook)

So my travels are nearing an end. :( :) So many mixed emotions that I cannot fathom to explain and may not ever be able to express with someone who has not experienced this incredible journey with me.

I will spend the next three weeks visiting Christmas Markets, a German tradition and beauty to see this time of year. In fact, I walk through the one in Bonn every day to and from class. They are quickly putting me in the Christmas spirit and rev up my ansy-ness for the month ahead! I'm not sure how I feel about saying that with Thanksgiving still around the corner in the US, but I know that in a few weeks I will be celebrating with family and friends my return home and safe and healthy holiday season. 

auf wiedersehen for now, xoxo

forever and always, katie

[krudowsky21]

after a long afternoon of traveling I came home to this, kaiserschmarrn (Austrian pancakes) made by my host momma! #delicious #thankful #alwayscookingsomething

[krudowsky21]

good weekend trip with good friends #berlin #lasttrip (at Brandenburger Tor)

[krudowsky21]

warming up with some traditional German gleuwhein (hot wine) on a chilly day #Berlin #lasttrip

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memorial for murdered Jews #Berlin #lasttrip

[krudowsky21]

Back on Track

Today I was able to finally finally finally reunite with my Macbook! It was like I was a kid on Christmas morning when I walked out of the computer store. With all of the stress that came, which I vented about in my most recent post, I am beginning to find some ease back into schoolwork without freaking out about a program that took way too long in my landscape architecture world to load on AIB's laptop. Not to mention the tech guys looked at my external, gave me a new cable and I am now sitting in my bed moving it around without giving me any more problems that made me think it was also about to crash. OH and all of my pictures from this year were saved!!! Thank all the gods, tech guys and my parents credit card ;) 

I've spent the past 6 or so hours rebooting my design programs back onto my computer, which were lost in the crash, but all can be fixed with time.

As I've told several people who I have gotten to Skype with recently (heyyy Myriah, Miles and Steph!), and I've probably said one or two or more times on this blog... I am exhausted. Not just an exhausted from a long day, but exhausted from a year of hustle and bustle, moving from city to city, and never.ever.stopping! Obviously it has been worth every early wake-up, strain in my feet and pain in my body, but this weekend marks the last trip I will take this year - Berlin - and I am more than happy to admit I am so excited for it to be the last. My new software on my Mac will tell you that I've visited 3 continents, 10+ countries and 25+ cities... whatta feat! Also not to mention that the Christmas Markets open this FRIDAY!! Bonn began setting up on Monday and each hour I pass by Munsterplatz I get a little more pep in my step. I think the Christmas season here is just about to top my entire European travels... 'tis the season! 

I am hoping to upload my Barcelona pictures tomorrow, as well as blog about that crazy beautiful urban city! Until then it is time for me to pass out and get some shut eye. German class, an AIB Lunch and the Hunger Games Premiere all happening tomorrow... :) 

Goodnight, xoxo

forever and always, katie