Catching Up Amidst all the Chocolate

I would first off like to apologize for the fact that I have not posted in almost a month.  I attribute that fact to two weeks of wandering around central Europe and three weeks of adjusting to my program here in Geneva, Switzerland.  There is too much to write about when it comes to my solo jaunt through Europe so instead I am going to choose some highlights from each place.  So here it goes, my 11 days of Central Europe, the abridged version.

Zagreb, Croatia (1 day)

• ·      Walked around the beautiful green horseshoe of parks and found a botanical garden
• ·      Met my first fellow traveler, Nathan, coincidentally he went to high school in Washington.  We shared a pizza and he gave me confidence for the rest of my trip

Budapest, Hungary (3 days)

• ·      Went to a pub-crawl the first night with 4 boys who just graduated from Indiana University and were staying at my hostel.  On the pub-crawl we found 6 British girls: Zoe, Emma, Emma, Jess, Sophie and Charlotte who became my traveling buddies in Budapest
• ·      Spent an entire day exploring the Buda side of the city and wandering around the quant streets, the castle and just admiring the views. 
• ·      If you ever go to Budapest make sure you walk along the Danube at night, probably one of my favorite moments in Europe. 
• ·      Casually went to a giant Spa party at an old Hungarian Bath with my British friends
• ·      I fell in love with Budapest, it is now by far one of my favorite European cities

Vienna, Austria (1 very rainy, windy, cold day)

• ·      Ooo-ed and ahhh-ed at the home of the Hapsburg monarchy and let my inner history nerd bask in all of the Hapsburg weirdness and glory
• ·      Got very lost for an hour in the pouring rain
• ·      Warmed up by eating Wiener Schnitzel at Gasthaus Poschl, a very small restaurant owned by an actor who sometimes steps in as a waiter for fun

Prague, Czech Republic (2 days)

• ·      Braved the record floods and met up with the true American Hero, Sam Woodbury my Prague travel buddy
• ·      Went to a cave bar
• ·      Traversed a mountain without using the trails in order to see the Petrin Tower which ended up being closed but we still had a great adventure
• ·       Went to a bar filled with over 200 pieces of Propaganda from the Communist Era (don’t worry we also went to the Communism museum)
• ·      Took too many pictures at the John Lennon Wall
• ·      Acted intellectual and fancy by eating at Café Louvre which has been frequented by individuals such as Einstein and Kafka

Munich, Germany

• ·      Met a wonderful Canadian girl named Natasha who became my traveling buddy for the first few days
• ·      Had lunch and dinner at two different beer gardens in one day (aka two sausages, two giant beers, French fries and a pretzel)
• ·      Saw some original Andy Warhol paintings at the Brandhorst Museum
• ·      Watched the Glockenspiel
• ·      Went to the BMW factory showroom and the 1972 Olympic Stadium (it looks like a giant spider)
• ·      Visited Dachau Concentration camp
• ·      Fell in love with Germany, I think German might be the next language I want to learn

Salzburg, Vienna (1 day)

• ·      Wandered through the “Do Re Mi” garden from The Sound of Music!
• ·      Ate the best chocolate cake I have ever had, original Sacher chocolate sponge cake
• ·      Decided I need to go back to Salzburg and explore the surrounding mountains and countryside because it is beautiful

These are just some highlights from my 11-day trip.  I guess here would be the place that I would talk about how much I learned while traveling by myself for 11 days but that would probably take up too much space.  All I want to say is don’t be afraid to travel alone.  Those 11 days were probably some of the best days of my life.  Yes it was scary and lonely at times but all of the things I discovered about other countries, other people and myself were worth the few times I got lost and confused.  I now firmly believe that everyone, especially around my age, should travel alone at some point in his or her lives.

After an 11-hour bus ride from Munich I finally arrived in Geneva, Switzerland and that is where I have been ever since (minus a quick day trip over to France to visit my friend Luke who was in Senegal with me).  Geneva has been incredible so far.  I am not sure how I was lucky enough to get another amazing host family but my host mom, Tunde, her boyfriend, François, and Tunde’s 15 year old daughter, Jennifer, have welcomed me and I truly feel like a member of their family after only 3 weeks. 

            This program is much more rigorous than my Senegal program because it is crammed into a shorter period of 6 weeks.  We already have our final on Multilateral Diplomacy next week and then our Independent Research Project period begins.  The past three weeks have been full of guest speakers who are experts in the field of International Affairs.  We have visited the International Red Cross, World Trade Organization and the United Nations, spent a lot of time trying to work out our project proposals and sending too many emails to experts for interviews, ate too much chocolate and most importantly just enjoying in the beauty of Switzerland.  I feel like I am constantly in a postcard here as there is always the Lake on one side of you and the Swiss Alps on the other side.

            I will write again soon to provide more details on my Independent Research Project, which is still taking shape, and wrap up my time in Switzerland and abroad.  For now I am just trying to enjoy these last three weeks abroad and make them count!