Break #1

Here is an entry I wrote 2 days ago, when I was in Munich Germany:

Ugh. I don’t want to look at any more buildings or churches. I can’t take any more pictures. I can't walk anymore. I am spent. Thus, I am sitting next to a big church in the famous Marienplatz, eating a sandwich (that looked like turkey but tastes suspiciously like bologna) and people watching. People watching is great – you learn a lot from the culture of the city just by observing the people. For example, you get to know how the youth dresses, how families interact, if people bump into each other what they say, etc.

Oh, and the reason why I sound so pessimistic? That’s because this is the last leg of my week-long trip after 500 pictures (yes, that’s right) and many miles of walking. I started in Prague, headed to Vienna, then to Salzburg, and for a few hours I’m visiting Munich before taking a bus back to France. The whole trip has been an adventure, and honestly, I am always surprised at the end of a trip to find myself in one piece alive and breathing :0) In Prague I stayed with a friend who lives there (and thus fluent in Czech and knows the area very well). Katrina was a great host – she showed me around, introduced me to her friends and to yummy Czech beer. My kind of exploring a city is leaving the map behind and just discovering things by chance. That’s what happened when I came across the gorgeous castle on the hill and caught the changing of the guards! Prague has a whimsical feeling about it – perhaps due to its grand palace, the cobble-stoned roads, the buildings which are painted in pinks and greens and blues and yellows, or that it is so tourist friendly. I could have stayed much longer in this little, but dynamic city.

Vienna was next and it was lovely – so clean and the buildings were so majestic and large. I had met up with my friend Meghan there (who is studying in Spain) and it was great to do some sightseeing with a friend from Holy Cross. My favorite part was going to the Schobroun, the HUGE palace where the Hapsburgs ruled. I will never forget how windy it was nor how beautiful the clouds looked. We also saw the room where Mozart gave his first concert (at age 6 or something), where Franz Joseph I did his work, where Empress Sisi did her hair, not to mention the expanse of gardens behind the palace. This was also the place that Marie Antoinette grew up in before she moved to France. I was in awe.

Salzburg – the hills were definitely alive with the sound of music! Meg and I splurged on the Sound of Music Tour, but honestly it was so worth it. It took us (on a very comfy bus which was a blessing for our worn-out legs) to all the sites where the movie was filmed. I saw the gazebo, the house on the lake, the church where Maria and the Captain were married, the yellow house, the trees where the kids swung on, and lastly the abbey where the kids when to find Maria. In Salzburg (which was so tiny and tranquil after Vienna) I got a true Austrian feel – I saw people dressed in the traditional Austrian garb, heard the bells from the churches, learned about (and tasted!) schnitzel, drank beer at a bier garten with other Austrians, and breathed in the lovely mountain air (the views were absolutely breathtaking – I had never seen mountains like that before!). I spontaneously bought a CD from a guy off the street (guitar music – SO good…already listened to it about a million times), watched a life-size chess match, saw a manifestation (the Serbs were not happy that Kosovo became independent…but they were protesting in Austria?) and ate the most amazing apple strudel. We were also lucky in terms of the weather – instead of a foot and a half of snow that is normal for Salzburg for the end of February, we had temperatures that would be found in late April. It was simply gorgeous, and my pictures do not do the views justice.

Now I’m in Munich, the home of the infamous Oktoberfest, from where I’m picking up a very “hip” vibe. It seems like these Germans are all pretty chill about life (unlike the French…), who really enjoy their beer (and thus drink A LOT and at any time of the day), who rock climb anywhere (well, I saw some groups along the river walls and bridges), and who eat a lot of sausages and pretzels. Hey – this is the extent of things you can pick up from only being in a city for 4 hours :0)

Overall, an amazing week, with so many memories that I won’t (and can’t) readily forget.