The trip was incredible and it's still weird knowing that I spent a month backpacking Europe and am back already. I kind of feel like I dreamt it, kind of like this entire semester seems like a dream. It's just so different than my normal life that it doesn't really feel real -- my lack of involvement on campus, my lack of serious concern for my classes and an actual social life! It sounds like I've become really lazy, but I am only having more fun.
Anyway, I started off the month with a week with family in Holland, then I met Danielle and Jenny for a few days in Belgium, and then we hopped on a train across Germany and visited Prague, then Fussen (Germany) to see the castle that inspired Disney's Cinderella castle, then Salzburg (Austria), Venice, Patras and Athens (Greece), Rome and then back home! It looks a little something like this:
As far as favourites go, my favourite city, hands down, was Prague and then Rome. Germany and Austria were also beautiful... the mountains... just incredible. Greece definitely had the best food and the nicest people! Okay, first a random story about Greece:So Danielle, Jenny and I decided we needed to get out of Athens, jumped on a train and randomly ended up in a small fishing town somewhere on the coast. We walked around, sat on the pier and thought we'd try to find some food. So we walked around and found this really cute restaurant away from all of the crowds. We walked in, and the restaurant owners and employees were gathered around a table, eating and watching football (soccer). They turned and simply stared at us, and we almost wondered if we had accidentally walked into someone's home. But then a waitress came over and pulled chairs out for us and asked if we spoke English. And then the four of us kind of stared at each other quizzically... until finally:
"Do you want... food?"
She seemed so confused that we asked her if it was a restaurant, because we still weren't sure. So we asked for a menu, but then a man came up to her and spoke rapidly in Greek, when she turned to us and said:
"The boss said he make you meat, potato, salad and we bring you bread... 12 Euros for everyone."
So they fired up the grill and came out with a three-course meal and the best pork I have ever tasted in my life. And they were so sweet! It turns out Greek people don't eat until about 7 or 8 p.m. and we showed up hungry at 3:30. No wonder they were confused!
And back to Prague: My opinion of Prague skyrocketed after our 6-hour tour, and I thought that wouldn't even have been possible. I really wish I could have stayed longer. Not only is the city beautiful, it has such character! Such history! And of course, they're very proud of all of it. If you ever find yourself in Prague (and I think Munich and Berlin has this too), please check out the free tours! They do encourage tips and you'll definitely want to, because they're so good.
The city has such spirit, especially in fighting communism from 1948-1989. Instead of revolting with bloodshed, as most dissenters do, they fought with words and protest. One of the city's martyrs is Jan Palach, a student who burned himself alive in Wencelas Square, in protest of communism. Rumors say that his death was a reference to Jan Hus, a theologian and another Czech hero, who died by fire at the hands of the Catholic Church. The Lennon Wall is also a testament to their intellectual struggle against communism:
Photo Album No. 1
Photo Album No. 2
Prague really is an intellectual European capital (and has been since the 14th century). The entire historic city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Almost all of their buildings are intact, because they took such care in preserving them even in Third Reich occupation in WW2 and communist rule. Prague is supposed to have had one of the first universities in Europe. Einstein and Mozart used to visit frequently (Einstein was a professor and Mozart composed Don Giovanni there), and it is also home to composer Antonin Dvorak, author Franz Kafka, and Jaromir Jagr -- my favourite NHL player!
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