Don't Be Afraid. Go. (or sometimes scary things happen)

[Note: I wrote this soon after I returned home in January but wanted to wait a bit to share it. Also, I can never put into words what my trip to Burkina and Amy and Mike and Coral all mean to me so I'm not even going to try. I thank God everyday for the amazing experience that I had. You are all stronger and more wonderful than I could ever hope to be <3]

Before I start on the blogs for the rest of my adventure, I wanted to share this story with you. I’ve written it in my head a hundred times and thought I should get it down on paper:

I didn’t know how to tell anyone. I practiced the conversation in my head a million times, “So did you guys hear about the terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso? I was there last year and one of the people I worked with, my mentor while I was there, was killed.” I couldn’t do it. The weight was suffocating and though I had the support of my friends and family at home thanks to technology I just wanted a hug but I didn’t want to put my burden on a group of people I just met. We ate dinner, we played cards, we watched Australian movies. I made sure I was smiling and I distracted myself, it worked. When I got back to Vienna I got on the metro to the bus station. After one stop this strange looking man got on. I felt sick, my legs got weak, and I wanted to cry. The metro car was packed and I felt like I was suffocating. We got to the next stop and I almost got off, but he did instead. I felt embarrassed for being so judgmental, for assuming he was a bad person because he looked different. Who was I? The bus ride to Budapest was about three hours. I was on the verge of tears the entire time. I alternated between begging God for safe travels and thanking Him that I wasn’t in a city or a big hostel where I could have isolated myself that weekend. You do a lot of thinking when you travel alone and that’s not always a good thing. When I got to Budapest it was already dark. My hostel’s instructions were not very clear and I ended up at the wrong metro stop with no idea where I was going. I couldn’t find anyone who spoke English and the people, with their hungry eyes, in the metro station looked at me like the blonde, young, lost, tourist I was. I was terrified, I was tired, and I was ready to cry. I left the station and found an Information desk. “Do you speak English?” “No.” Fully defeated, I had no idea what to do. I literally had no idea where I was. About 2 seconds later, a man who had been on his phone came over to me and asked, in English, if he could help me. Without hesitating I said yes. He was a computer programmer whose wife taught English. With the help of his GPS he brought me to my hostel and even bought me another metro ticket on the way. It took us over a half hour to get there and it was very out of his way. I of course was skeptical and later I felt bad that I had pretty much invented my life story, because his intentions really were pure. The magnitude of his kindness didn’t occur to me until the next day. What would have happened if he hadn’t been there? If he didn’t speak English? If I didn’t ask the information man if he spoke English? He had been a gift, of that much I was sure. I had been afraid of people and needed to be reminded that not everyone was bad and scary. Call it what you will-but God put that man there at that moment to remind me not to be afraid, to trust.

I was reminded of this wonderful quote: Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime –Mark Twain

If I learned anything on this trip it’s that life isn’t the time to be afraid, traveling or otherwise. It's quite the opposite actually. It's our only shot at living, as simple as that sounds. Sure there are some ugly and scary moments, but think about what you’re missing when you’re hiding? This is something I have especially taken to heart this semester. Sometimes you need a little reminder to go out, live your life, and see the beauty in the world. This is my reminder to you, don’t be afraid. Go. 

Grünau im Almtal: Paradise Lost or Paradise Found?

I met my Blah Blah Car ride at the end of the U4 metro line. I was getting nervous because he was late but he did eventually get there. Two other girls came with us and everyone spoke German but me. The driver did speak a bit of English so we got to talk a little. He was a university student who studied in Vienna and is from a little town in the north. He said that if he has nothing to do he will post trips on the app and then drive people to make some extra money. I really need to look into doing that. It’s a great way to meet people and do I love driving.

I got dropped off in a little town called Sattledt where he told me that I could catch a train to Grünau. I’m glad he knew how to get me there because I would have had no idea! Since we dropped the other girls off earlier he stayed and waited to make sure I got on the train (and also to take a smoke break). The train was adorable! It was super tiny and I just sat in the entrance car by the ticket booth and bathroom. I ended up not being able to buy a ticket, the bills I had on me were too big and I didn’t want to have to try and explain that to the conductor if he came through the cars. The trip was only about a half hour. It was cool to see some of the small towns before it got dark. When I got off it was snowing, talk about a magical start to the trip. I looked for the payphone that the hostel owner said was in the waiting room but couldn’t find it. Luckily there was a man dropping off his wife who let me use his cell phone. I called the Tree House and the owner sent his son to pick me up.

I knew from the second I arrived at the Tree House I would love it. It’s very secluded and is your typical log cabin in the middle of nowhere. I was immediately introduced to the owner, Gerhard, and two Australians who were staying there. There ended up being only 6 or 7 of us the entire time I was there so it was pretty quiet. The hostel is on a Bus-A-Bout route in the summer and around Christmas so it can get pretty crazy. I didn’t mind the quiet at all, it was felt like I was renting a house with friends, we ate and drank together and I never thought about even closing my bedroom door, let alone locking it. That being said, I bet it would be really cool in the summer when you can go hiking (to a really cool sounding waterfall!) and when there’s a ton of people. Pretty soon after I got there we took a quick trip to the grocery store to get food for lunch. Breakfast was included and the family cooked dinner and everyone ate it even though it cost a little extra. Everyone who was staying at the hostel piled into the van and while we were shopping around (peanut butter, apples, bread, drinks) a girl from Germany that a few of the Australians had met in New Zealand (talk about an adventurous life) arrived at the train station. We got back in the van and headed home. Dinner was at the very not-Spanish time of 6:30pm. We had dumplings, egg rolls, and a creamy sauce, well that’s what the vegetarian option was; everyone else had meat in theirs. We also got dessert.

Isabelle and I were sharing a room and it was so nice to be able to spread out. The room was made for 12 people so we had lots of space. I showered and got into some nice cozy clothes before heading down to the basement. Our night was filled with pool, card games and lots of drinking, apparently. I honestly don’t know what happened except that during a round of “never have I ever” in King’s Cup I put up my three fingers to play and next thing I knew it was 8am, sunny, and snowing. All I have to say is shout-out to Isabelle for taking care of me.

Unfortunately this is where the fun and games ended, or were at least stunted. I was scrolling through Facebook before I got out of bed and saw that there had been a terrorist attack at a café in Burkina Faso that I had been to when I was there last January. Good thing nobody I knew there lived in the capital. I continued scrolling and saw a status posted by the woman who heads the organization that I worked with; her husband and the local pastor were missing and hadn’t been heard from since the night before. They were in Ouaga waiting for the arrival of a mission team. My heart sank. I won’t drag this out as most of you kept up with this in real time. Amy’s husband was killed in the attack but Pastor Valentine survived. I was glued to my phone most of the day and I finally got the news at dinner time. I was absolutely sick. I didn’t talk about it with the people I was staying with at the hostel because I don’t like “burdening” people with my problems but I was thankful for their distractions.

To prevent myself from staring at my phone all day, I spent a lot of time outside. Isabelle and I played around in the snow like children until she had to leave and then I went on a walk. It was very refreshing to be out in nature. It even started snowing and I shamelessly danced around in the street to my Carrie Underwood playlist. I walked on the road until I got to a “Magic Forest” type park. I was totally alone in the snow covered park which was fun, if not a bit creepy. I was having a blast until I (on my way back to the entrance) stepped in a river. I had crossed it on the way there but on my return trip I slipped on a rock and honestly didn’t have enough energy to get back on the rocks so I just walked across. My boots weren’t exactly made for walking in rivers so immediately after I got across I realized that I was an idiot and that my feet were going to freeze and that they were going to get frostbite and that they would have to be amputated. As a dancer, that’s unacceptable. I did think, for a brief second, that if my pinky toes were the only ones to be amputated that the line of my foot might be even better but that dream was short lived. I was at least two miles from the hostel so I decided to jog. After 5 or so minutes I realized that that wouldn’t do anything but make my feet sweat. I decided to break into one of the wooden cabins scattered across the property so I could at least sit down and take my soaking wet socks off. I managed to pry one of the doors open and when I got in I found heaps of dry newspaper. I decided that I would take off my socks and wrap my numb feet in the paper because at least that would absorb some of the water, right? I jogged back to the hostel and took a warm shower and then had a very peanut buttery sandwich. It was quite a day, but it did keep me distracted.

Since I found out about Mike a few minutes before dinner I wasn’t really in the mood to talk. All of the other people at the hostel had gone skiing that day (there’s a mountain five minutes away) so I was content to listen to their stories. Immediately after dinner we went downstairs to watch Crocodile Dundee 2. Everyone but me and the German girl, Clara, were from Australian so they had obviously seen it and said it was essential to our education. No, we hadn’t seen the first one but we couldn’t find a copy of it. I thought it was hilarious, and a great distraction. I was alone in my room after the movie (since Isabelle left that morning) when the reality of what happened hit me. It was not a fun night.

It was snowing the next morning and I ate breakfast looking out over the back yard. I was (and always am) struggling to understand how the world could/can be so beautiful and so ugly at the same time. I talked to some of the other guests as they came down for breakfast and decided to go for a run not caring that it was snowing pretty hard out. I ended up running for about an hour. I came back soaking wet with burning lungs but it felt great. After lunch I went out to a local farm to do the horseback riding that I booked through the hostel the day before. A girl about my age lead my around for an hour, it was a great way to see the town. The snow held off until we were done but my hands and feet were freezing after. She let me trot a couple times, which I’ve obviously never done. It was really cool, but kind of scary at first! That night I ate at the hostel again and then we watched Crocodile Dundee 1. A couple of the guys took the day off from skiing due to the heavy snow and fog and found it hidden in the stack of movies. It was better than the sequel and made me want to go to Australia even more…it’ll happen soon, it’s part of my elaborate pre-planned quarter life crisis but more on that another time. We stayed up late playing “Presidents and Assholes” which is my new favorite card game. They also had these nifty waterproof playing cards that had camping tips on them. I’ve said it before but I am so grateful for the distraction I had at the Tree House.

I got up pretty early the next day to catch the train to Wels. I was traveling with one of the guys I met, James. The two of us were getting a Blah Blah Car from Wels to Vienna where he was staying. I was off to Budapest. It took us a while to find her, but our driver was great. She is a vet student at the University of Vienna. I don’t know if I was just lucky but I loved my Blah Blah Car experiences. I’ve been skeptical to use it here in Spain but it’s been a great resource. Our driver was telling us how she’s had to be careful recently as she had been getting a bunch of requests from immigrants and refugees who just wanted to get into Germany (she lives just over the border). Anyway, she spoke great English and it was so cool listening to her talk about vet school and life in Austria and Germany. We got dropped off at the end of a metro line in Vienna. James and I said our goodbyes and I headed to the subway. I hadn’t thought about the terrorist attacks in several hours but I stated to feel claustrophobic/sick the second I got onto the metro. At our second stop a strangely dressed man got on. It looked like he was carrying a handmade bow and arrow. I immediately felt trapped. I felt more claustrophobic than I ever have in my life. I was nauseous and sure he was going to turn around and shoot me. In the less than one minute between him getting on and us getting to the next stop I think I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. When we finally stopped at the next station I was ready to get off. But then he did. He hadn’t even looked at me. I was embarrassed with myself for being so judgmental. At that moment I said a little prayer thanking God that I had been in the middle of nowhere when the attacks occurred. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to handle being alone in a city. After another 20 minutes on the subway, I got to the bus station and then was headed to my final stop-Budapest. 

**Note-if you’re heading to Austria I HIGHLY recommend the Tree House, even if it seems a bit out of the way. They just won an award for the best* hostel in the country. The man who runs it is so beyond helpful as is his whole family. Let me know if you want any more information. I can’t wait to get there in the summer! Staying here was probably the best decision I made during my whole trip!

Also, another post on the terrorist attacks and my thoughts will be posted soon. Thank you to everyone who checked up on me <3 

Also Also, thanks to everyone I met at the Tree House, y'all are the best. 

Vienna: Coffee, Cake, and High Expectations

As much as I like writing these blog posts, it’s been almost a month since I’ve gotten home and I want to be caught up and writing in real time again!

After my time in the Czech Republic I was headed off to Vienna. I had high expectations for the city because while I am part hippie I am also part wannabe European royalty and what better place to live a life of extravagance than Vienna?

The hostel I stayed at was impossible to find. I walked around for over an hour after I got off the tram. Because I was so excited for the city I didn’t let it phase me too much and also the hostel had free warm apple cider. Almost all of the hostels I stayed in were part of “famous hostels” which is a collection of smaller hostels all over the world. I highly recommend staying in one when you travel!

The "Summer Palace"

The first day I was there I had breakfast at the hostel and then spent the morning at the Schloss Schonburn, the summer palace. I opted to do the long tour with the audio guide and I absolutely loved it. I’ve been to my fair share of palaces and castles but I think this is my favorite so far. I got to see over 40 rooms on the inside which was even cooler than normal (I imagine) because I was almost always alone and when I wasn’t the other people were either cleaning or repairing things so it felt more like I was in a personal space than a museum, like I was truly getting a behind the scenes look at Viennese royalty. I did the audio guide which was very informative. The information was either on Marie Therese (mother of Maria Antoniette) or the infamous Sisi and her husband. It left me wondering when was going on during the other years! I loved walking through the grand ballroom but it was hard to stop myself from dancing around to the classical music that was playing! After my tour of the palace, I walked around the very extensive grounds, which I’m sure are even more amazing when it’s not the dead of winter. There is a glorietta on top of a hill overlooking the city and it’s pretty spectacular. I especially loved the people watching on the walk up as well as at the top. There was even a guy doing Tai Chi.

I went back to the hostel for lunch and some apple cider before taking the metro to “the ring” which is the center of Vienna where all of the main attractions are. It was super windy so I ducked into the University of Vienna (Universität Wien) and pretended I was a student there. Pro tip for traveling: universities have free bathrooms. I went to the Hofburg to see the Sisi Museum, the royal apartments, and royal silver collection as I bought a combined ticket that morning. I was finishing just as they were closing so I had the “alone in a museum” experience twice in one day.

Cafe Imperial

I walked by the Opera House and somehow got convinced that I should buy a ticket to a touristy show. After I bought it the guy who sold it to me was hitting on me, but “oh really, you look 16” just wasn’t something I wanted to hear. I went to Café Imperial, one of the famous Viennese Coffee Houses and as soon as I connected to the wifi I emailed the company and told them not to charge my card for the ticket. I still haven’t bothered to check if they did. I was really flustered at that point, but luckily the Imperial Torte that I ordered was amazing. The experience of the coffee house though, was a bit overrated. One of the problems I had constantly in Vienna was that I felt like such a fraud. I like the idea of the elegance of the city but I just could not pull it off. Later, I went back to the hostel and had drinks with one of the girls in my room. She’s from Switzerland and studies psychology too.

The next morning I went to the Spanische Hofreitschule, the Royal Spanish Riding School, to see the morning practice. The actual practice was a bit boring but the videos they showed of the performances were amazing, especially the jumps that the horses do! Of course, I’m constantly conflicted over whether or not what they do with the horses is acceptable but they seem to be treated pretty well. I went to two smaller museums, the globe museum and the Esperanto museum. Both were very informative, quirky, and cheap. I went to Café Central after which is way over hyped. I ran into the “being too deep in thought” problem but I ended up talking to one of my friends from the states for a while (thanks Noell) which helped a lot.

Royal Spanish Riding School

As I said before, I was overwhelmed with a sense of “fakeness” while I was in Vienna and not long after arriving I remembered the flier that I picked up in Cesky Krumlov for a hostel called the Tree House in the Austrian Mountains. Since I was feeling kind of disconnected I emailed the owner to ask about availability. He had space so I cut my stay in Vienna down by a night and my upcoming time in Budapest by two.

One of the things I had been most excited about in Vienna was going to the Opera. You can get standing tickets for 3 euros and there’s something playing pretty much every night so I had no excuses. I saved it for my last night. I had even told one of my history professors at US about it late last semester and after making fun of me for being so excited, he told me that I 100% had to go. You had to line up three-ish hours before, so after I was done at Café Central I walked around the shopping district for a bit and had some unexpectedly amazing pizza bagels at a cute little café before getting in line.

At the opera

The wait sucked but the opera, Fidelio, was great (yay strong female leads!)I had two really annoying girls standing next to me but they left at the first intermission. There was also “closed captioning” in both German and English which I was not at all expecting but was very thankful for! Normally I’m an avid people watcher but seeing everyone dressed up for the opera made me kind of sad, like how are you possibly so rich that you are dripping in furs (ew) and diamonds. But alas such is the life of an imposter. On the way home I got a gigantic slice of pizza off a street vender and took it back to the hostel to eat with some apple cider… that’s more my speed.

I ran into a slight problem. I was pumped about going to the Tree House but I was not pumped about paying a 100 round trip train ticket. I decided I wasn’t going to. I had heard people talking about Blah Blah Car during fall semester in Sevilla, it’s like a long distance Uber (which is basically ridesharing). I decided to give it a shot. I downloaded the app and found a student who was driving from Vienna to Linz the next day who could give me a ride.

Esperanto Museum

Since my ride wasn’t until 2pm I spent the morning roaming around the city. I walked through the amusement park that was closed for the winter (kind of sketchy but cool) and some of the neighborhoods that were further outside the city as well as some “eco-friendly” shops. I ended up in this one store where I bought a really nice, super comfy but also stylish pair of jeans. I talked to the girl who was working for almost a half hour about traveling and the living in the moment/do what makes you happy lifestyle. It was great. I stopped at a vegan restaurant for lunch and had a falafel wrap and fries. If I had more time I would have tried their ice cream! I had to hurry back to the hostel and then to the metro stop where I was meeting my ride.

My stay in Vienna was very historically oriented and interesting but I can’t say that the social aspect lived up to my inflated expectations, or maybe it was more extravagant than I expected?  That being said, I did everything that I wanted to do and enjoyed myself. I think I was also just getting tired of being in the city.

Glorietta of the Palace

Alternative Prague: Embracing your inner hippie + Česky Krumlov

My trip to Prague was…demasiado. I had a two hour train ride from Füssen to Munich and then a six or so hour ride from Munich to Prague. Don’t get me wrong I love trains, but the problem is that when you’re alone you have a lot of time to think. The worst is when you start thinking about the future and you don’t have anything to distract you and you just plummet into a downward spiral. Needless to say, my 8 hours of sitting and thinking put me in a pretty bad mood. Aside from contemplating my future, the ride was nice…I had almost the whole car to myself and the scenery was pretty cool. Also- not very metaphorical, but don’t forget to look backwards, sometimes the view is better.

When I got to Prague it was already dark out but the hostel, The Czech Inn (lol), gave me pretty good directions so after asking for a bit of help from a redhead at the metro station I had no problem getting where I was going. I didn’t pay for any public transportation while I was in Prague and I used it a lot. I probably should have, considering how cheap it was and how hefty the fine is for getting caught (like 40 euros) but sometimes ya gotta live on the edge, right?

The Czech Inn was a great hostel. It was located in a more alternative neighborhood but it was easy to reach the city center via the tram. I heard that it wasn’t a very long walk but it was freezing while I was there so I never did it. It was really modern and clean and it had an attached bar that had breakfast (overpriced but good) and a great happy hour (less than a euro for a beer). The Czech Republic was the first country I went to that had a different currency (that’s a lie, the UK was). My tip as far as currency goes is to just take it out of the ATM and always use it. The conversions to euros are a complete rip off. For example, it was like 10 crown to go to the bathroom (27 crowns is a euro) and I didn’t want to break a 200 note so I payed in euros and it ended up costing me a full euro. I was also buying mulled wine on the street and it was about the equivalent of one euro and they tried to charge me four. I laughed, gave them a bit of change and took the wine.

Lodeh: Kokos Mléko, Galangal, Zazvor, Zelenina Tofu, Mungo Nudle, Ryze nebo Pohanka (Coconut milk soup: Coconut Milk, Galangal, Ginger, Vegetable Tofu, Mungo Noodles, rice)

Once I was all checked in to the hostel I walked around looking for a place to eat. I ended up at this Indonesian/Javanese restaurant that was AMAZING. It was called Javanka and Co. The restaurant wasn’t vegan/vegetarian but they had so many options. It was also cheap, I got a half portion of soup and it cost just over two euros. I had never had Indonesian food and it made me want to go to Southeast Asia. It was just so light and fresh! It was also good for people watching. There were a solid amount of other people eating alone as well as some very earthy-looking couples, definitely a cool neighborhood to be in. When I got back to the hostel I saw a flier for an early morning yoga class just up the road and decided that I would go. I hadn’t really thought about it before arriving but I quickly realized that Prague was the perfect place to embrace your “inner hippie”. It’s a city with a great alternative edge and I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer!

Zelený čaj, Chléb, Echte Luikse Siroop, Jablka, Banány, Hrušky (Green Tea, Toast, a Belgian Jam, Apples, Bananas, Pears)

I got up and found the yoga class which was in this cool, multi-purpose space up the road from the hostel. The teacher was actually a substitute but she did speak some English (they advertised as being English-friendly). I talked with her a bit before the class. There were two others in the class and let me tell you, it was hard. The difficulty was physical, not due to the fact that it was entirely in Czech. Besides walking, I hadn’t really done any exercise up to that point and I was very tight. As they say, it hurt so good. After class we had breakfast which was a nice surprise because the flier said tea and fruit but there was also had some toast and jam. After chatting for a bit I went back to the hostel to get ready for the walking tour. Since we were pretty far from the starting point, a bus picked us up from the hostel which was super convenient. It was absolutely freezing out, so I didn’t enjoy the tour as much as I could have. The most important thing that happened was that I met this guy from San Francisco and he told me about this language exchange that would be happening on Sunday (my last full day) at a big international bookstore. I also met some people from Poland who happened to speak Spanish, so I talked to them a bit. I’ve found that while the free walking tours are fun they’re really more for meeting people than for seeing things.

Špenátovy komínek s grilovanym kozím syrem vlsskymi orechy a gratunivanymi bramborami polnícek s bazalkovym pestem; Med zázvor čaj; Raw orechove koule s japonskym, jemne mletym cajem matcha a raw ruzovou cokoládou (Grilled goat cheese with walnuts, served on potatoes au gratin and spinach leaves, lamb’s lettuce with basil pesto…really just fancy cheese fries, am I right?; warm honey ginger tea; raw nut balls with Japanese matcha powder tea and rose chocolate)

I ate lunch at vegetarian restaurant called Lehká Hlava which translates to “clear head”. The food and the atmosphere were amazing. I spent close to two hours there and loved every second of it. I wish there were more vegetarian restaurants in Sevilla/at home! As I was leaving I talked to a guy who was also leaving and he gave me some suggestions for other veggie restaurants in Prague. I didn’t end up going to any of them but I have a list if you’re interested!

I was cold and tired after I ate so I went back to the hostel to relax. I was kind of bummed because there was this cool looking vintage concept store right next door but it was closed the whole time I was there. It was around this point that I realized that I had missed a day when I was booking my accommodation. I was due to check out of the Czech Inn (lol again) on the 11^th but my train ticket to Vienna wasn’t until the 12^th. I could have just booked another night in Prague, but I had wanted to take a day trip to Česky Krumlov anyway and my hostel recommended a hostel there that looked adorable and is owned by people originally from New England so I just decided to go ahead and book that. By the time I had my life all sorted out I was hungry for dinner. There was another girl just sitting in our room so I introduced myself and asked if she had plans for food yet. She, Chloe, didn’t so we went to this place down the street that she had been to a few days before.

Spinach and cheese quesadillas with a pesto basil sauce and spicy salsa. I knew I was missing Spain when I said “Spanish quesadillas” upon opening the menu and when I ordered.

As you can imagine it was nice to have someone to talk to over dinner. It did make me feel old though, she was 18 and getting ready to head off to university (in Australia, because literally everyone traveling in Europe is actually Australian). I’m used to being on the “younger” side of things, but I felt ancient! This was also the two-week mark in my trip which at the time I could not believe! It felt like I was gone for a weekend, not a month!

The next morning, with the advice of Chloe in mind, I went downstairs to the bar for an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast, journaled, and then hopped on the tram with plans of spending most of my day at Prague Castle. Prague Castle isn’t just a single building, it’s a huge complex. My favorite part was Golden Lane which was basically a reconstruction of the houses of the non-royalty who lived and worked on the castle grounds. It was really interesting and very well done. The great hall and the huge colorful books in the Old Royal Palace were pretty amazing too. Oh I also enjoyed getting screamed at by a Czech lady as I tried to sneak into the bathrooms in the castle…I was pretty angry that they were making me pay after I just bought an entrance ticket. I spent the whole morning at the castle and when I was done I went to go find the John Lennon Wall which is basically just this wall that someone pained John Lennon’s face on as a symbol of peace and freedom around the fall of communism. The original image is long painted over but it’s constantly being transformed with writing/graffiti/street art. It’s a pretty well-known thing nowadays but there are no signs/directions. I purposely didn’t look for detailed instructions online because I thought it would be cooler to “stumble upon” it.

At the John Lennon Wall

While I was looking for the wall I saw a bunch of cool other things like reproduction United States army vehicles (I was confused, I think they were movie props though) and a wishing tree. I got some mulled wine and spent some time just freezing standing by the river admiring the beauty of the city. As far as cities go architecturally and historically, I remain indifferent to Prague but based on experiences and atmosphere it’s at the top of my list. 

By mid/late afternoon I was still looking for the wall which was supposedly right by the castle. I gave up because I was cold, tired, and had to go to the bathroom but didn’t have any change on me. As I headed to the bridge to get on the tram, I walked right into the wall…I’m not even joking. I of course was thrilled that I found it but secretly happier that I just “ran into it”. It was very cool. I don’t really know how else to describe it. There was a guy with his guitar singing “Imagine”, there were little kids running up to it while their parents took pictures, a girl gave me a sharpie and told me to write something and then pass it on…it was very cool. After taking some time and taking it all in, I grabbed the tram and went back to my neighborhood. I got off a few stops early so that I could walk (I was feeling all inspired) and wound up at this cute second hand store slash café where I got a nice and warm chai tea latte. I sipped on it as I chatted (briefly) with the barista and walked through the racks of already-worn clothes. There were so many things that I wanted but since my suitcase was so small it would have been impractical to buy anything so I settled for “window shopping”. I wanted to come back the next morning for breakfast but they weren’t open on Sundays.

Raw & Vegan Cheesecake

I went to happy hour at the hostel bar with Chloe and then ended up going out with her and the other Australians and one Canadian that we met. In my head it was going to be more fun than it actually was and I, like an idiot, decided to leave my phone at the hostel (aka I didn’t have a map) because I didn’t want it to get stolen. We went to Prague Beer Museum which would have been cooler if I actually liked beer. I decided after an hour or so that I was tired and wanted to go home. The group was fiercely opposed because I was a girl in Prague, which I understood, but I was being stubborn. They gave me directions back to the tram stop and I set off. I made it back to the station (and thus the hostel) perfectly safely after stopping into one Kabab shop to ask if I was going the right way. Looking back, as much as I hate to admit it, it probably wasn’t my smartest move but I will say that I kind of felt like a badass employing my “active bitch face” and firmly “no”-ing the sketchy looking people who got a little too close.

By the next morning I was ready to go, but I still had one more full day. After breakfast I went to the monastery and library that I read about online. When I first got to the area I went to the Museum of Miniatures. It cost two euros and I thought that it would be a waste of money, especially because it was packed with a huge Asian tour when I got there, but I was pleasantly surprised…it was wicked cool! There were portraits done on poppy seeds and little metal-work figures on pieces of hair and mosquito wings. I thoroughly enjoyed the metal-work camel caravan trekking across the eye of a needle. After that I went to the library which was amazing as promised but you could only see the whole thing if you booked a tour ahead of time so I settled with what I got and went to the park to walk around. It was a pretty cold and dreary day and I was ready to leave. I walked into another vegetarian restaurant as I was leaving the park where I had a salad and some vegan cheesecake and tea. Both good, neither stellar.

I remembered the language exchange that the guy from San Francisco told me about on my first day and decided that I might as well go. I’m glad I did. It was in this international bookstore that had a huge restaurant attached. I stayed for two or three hours and there were hundreds of people by the time I left. Each table was designated a different language and people could move freely between them. I stayed exclusively at the Spanish table and met some Czech students, a guy from Cataluña and another American who was doing his entire degree in Prague. It was tons of fun and I could have stayed forever. I really liked the format, it was very casual and there was a bar and food. I think that going to something like that regularly would encourage me to work on a third language (French or honestly anything) because I could just go and sit and listen to conversations until I felt ready to speak. There were over twenty languages represented and there was a native speaker at each. I loved every second of it and wish there was something like that here in Sevilla/at SBC. One of my favorite experiences of the trip for sure.

I was going to go out to dinner with Chloe but she was going out in the center of the city and I was too tired and had to do laundry. I went out to look for the place that we had gone to together but for some reason could not find it. I ended up back at Javanka and Co and I’m really glad I did. I got a full meal as opposed to the soup that I got the first time.

Tempeh se sójovou omáčkou, bílá rýže s smaženou cibulkou a Gado salátem; zelená Indonéský palačinka (Filling, protein rich tempeh cooked with soy sauce, white rice with fried onions, and gado salad. Dessert was a “green Indonesian pancake” filled with warm coconut served with a coconut sauce-the lightest, most satisfying dessert I have ever had)

Divine. If I lived in Prague, I would live in that neighborhood and I would eat there all the time. I need to learn how to cook that kind of food! The people watching was great again, a nice mix of people eating solo and lots of impeccably dressed earthy-crunchy couples sipping on tea and eating organic, Indonesian inspired vegan desserts…what more could you want?

As I said before, while the city itself was a bit overrated in my opinion, I loved the experiences it offered which were completely different than I expected. I know my time in Prague wasn’t exactly the “typical” college backpacker experience, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing!

[Brief interlude before you continue: as I’m writing this, I’m sitting under a tree in Parque de los Príncipes, barefoot, in a tank top and capris. 20 de Febrero 2016]

Česky Krumlov

I’ve gone back and forth on whether to include my day in Česky Krumlov as part of Prague or make it its own post. Seeing as it was really only one day, I’ll tack it on the end of Prague. In the end, I’m glad I made a mistake with my booking because my time in Česky Krumlov, though short, was a great experience. It was good to get out of the city and I would have liked to stay longer or to go in the summer when they have tons of quirky little festivals like the “Five Petal Rose Renaissance Festival”. It’s not so off the beaten track, it’s well known all around for its medieval appearances and castle. My only problem, besides the fact I was there for such a short time, was that it was very hyped up so it wasn’t quite as amazing to me as it could have been. I read a good number of blogs about it before I went and so I knew what to expect which led to some heightened expectations. Nevertheless, it was a good trip. I’ve been working on striking a balance between researching a place and just showing up.

The hostel I stayed at, Krumlov House was adorable and the couple who ran it was also great. I was pleased to find a full kitchen and one cozy dormitory. I would have loved to stay longer, but that’s life. I took a “Student Agency” bus to and from Prague and I highly recommend them! It was 3 hours each way and each seat had a movie player and you got free hot chocolate/cappuccinos and you could order food as well. The actual seats weren’t as nice as the Flix Bus I took to Innsbruck but it was a great service anyway.

Since I didn’t have much time in the town I just walked around trying to get a feel for it. It’s a beautiful place, very fairytale-y. I was surprised by the amount of street art mixed in with the old-fashioned houses. One of my favorite parts of the day was going into a cheap grocery store, buying a cheap pastry, and standing by the river that circles the town and taking everything in. At this point I looked up and saw an extravagant old blue building with a for-sale sign in the window. I immediately imagined it as a ballet academy; studios with big windows, dressing rooms with velvet curtains, waiting rooms with floral wallpaper and chandeliers…I guess some dreams just never die.

My Czech "Feast"

After I finished walking around I went back to the hostel and talked to the owner a bit about running the hostel and moving here from the US. She recommended I go to a restaurant called “Two Marys” over the vegetarian one to get a feel for “authentic Czech food”. I did, though I’m not entirely sure it was the right choice.

           

Staročeská vegetariánská hostina: kuba, pohanka, jáhelník, placka, knedlík, brambor, salát; Jihočeská medovina; Český koláč (Old Bohemian Vegetarian Feast: puffed barley, buckwheat, millet, potato cake, dumpling, potatoe, salad; South Bohemian Mead; Apple Strudel)

It was an authentic medieval restaurant. The atmosphere, after an arguing mother and daughter left, was really cool and I could imagine what it would have been like back then. I would not have wanted to live in that time period pero bueno. I went back to the hostel after and went to bed because I had to be up early the next day. PS Mom and Dad-this is when I wrote you those postcards.

The next morning I caught the bus to Prague after having to wait in the rain. There was also this kind of sketchy guy there and someone else most have thought he was strange too because the police came and talked to him. The bus ride back was uneventful, I didn’t watch any movies but I did spend time looking through the various hostel fliers I picked up mostly for Bratislava but also one for a place in Austria called “The Tree House”.

My unplanned stop went wonderfully and left me wanting a bit more spontaneity in my life.  

Füssen: Land o' fairy tales

Ahh Füssen, I spent two glorious nights in this Little German town, though it’s often done as a day trip from Munich. I’m glad I stayed for so long, but it’s definitely doable in a day if you catch an early train there and a late train back. The reason most people make the trip out is not for the Alpine village but rather for the world famous “Disney Castle”, Neuschwanstein. This was exactly the reason for my trip but I discovered that there’s more to see than the castles! 

I got the 10 o’clock (or so) train from Munich and it only took two-ish hours to get there. Make sure you pay attention to the views on both sides of the train, the scenery is spectacular especially as you go further and further south. My original plan had been to keep my suitcase and backpack in left luggage at the train station because I couldn’t check into my hotel until later in the day. Unfortunately, the train station was under construction and so at the moment it didn’t actually exist. I went to my hotel to see if I could store my bags until check in, which I could. You might be a bit confused because I keep saying hotel and not hostel. Well I splurged and decided to treat myself for this part of the trip. It work out nicely because the hostel was adorable, pretty cheap especially considering how nice it was, and you could choose a single room. It was called Hotel Fantasia and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling there. I payed about 120 euros for two nights and I also got a complementary Fussen card (for discounts), my laundry done for free, and some yummy cappuccinos.

As I was dropping off my bags I met these two girls from China who were studying in the UK. We went back to the train/bus station to catch the bus to Hohenschwangau which is the town where the castles are. It was only a 10-15 minute bus ride. It was pretty late in the day by the time I got there and since everything was running on winter time I only bought tickets to see the famous “Disney castle”. Ludwig II, the king who built it lived in the nearby Schloss Hohenschwangau. I knew I wouldn’t have time to really enjoy both to I just settled for looking at it on my climb up to the other castle. I was surprised how busy it was even on a cold day in the off season. I waited over an hour just to get my tickets. I was also surprised how “cheap” they were because Bavaria (Southern Germany) is pretty expensive in general. It was 11 euros for the tour, and free to walk around the grounds…I’m still reeling from the 16,5 euro tour of the Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal! Entrance is only available by guided tour and I had about two hours until mine started. I grabbed a soft pretzel and some coffee and walked around the village of Hohenschwangau for a bit. My favorite part had to be the lake Alpsee and the beautiful mountains in the background. I’m pretty sure I took as many pictures of the mountains as of the castles. I met a Spanish family (they. are. every. where.) and asked them to take a picture for me. After a couple of normal ones they had me doing all these random poses, because “no one wants boring pictures!”

All of the paperwork on Neuschwanstein says that it’s a 40 minute hike up to the castle so I gave myself plenty of time. I don’t know if it was all my youthful energy combined with my love of all things Disney, especially the princesses, or what but it only took me twenty minutes to get to the top and I stopped 4 or 5 times along the way to take pictures. It was solidly uphill, but not as rigorous as I had been expecting. I had a ton of time before my tour started so I got to do some exploring. At first I was bummed that “Mary’s Bridge”, which is a view of the castle from a height, was closed but when I went to check it out anyway I found that people were climbing up a look-out type hill. The fences seemed to be placed knowing that tourists would simply climb over them so it wasn’t too hard to get up. The side of the hill you had to climb was super muddy and slippery but the view was more than worth it. The castle is not only surrounded by mountains but built on the side of a gorge so standing on this particular look out point led to an amazing, undisturbed view of the castle and a heart stopping drop just inches in front of you.

As I was waiting for my tour to start, I wandered around the courtyard of the castle and it started to snow…talk about magical!! The tour was very short, as the castle was never finished and there isn’t very much to see. That being said, it was 100% worth it. It’s true that the exterior of the castle is pretty amazing but you honestly can’t appreciate the level of extravagance that this man had until you go inside. It was spectacular. The art was amazing and there was even a grotto and a winter greenhouse. Not to mention the views. I would have built that castle just for the views. Ludwig may have been living in a fantasy world but he knew what he was doing…

After heading back down the mountain I caught a bus back into town and took it easy the rest of the night, going to the grocery store and making dinner before going to bed. The next day I was supposed to go paragliding but I got an email that morning saying that due to weather conditions I wouldn’t be able to. I was bummed to say the least. I thought about making some other plans but in the end I spent the morning walking around town before giving myself the afternoon off. Füssen is your classic, fairytale German town. I thought it was adorable and filled my morning with a paseo through a park and old fortress, a few churches, a cemetery, and down the little town streets. Most things were closed because it was the Epiphany/Three Kings Day. After lunch and a nap I decided to go to the movies. There was a cute theater in town that was showing the new Heidi movie. In case you’re wondering, I did see it in German. It really wasn’t a problem that it wasn’t in English because I know the story of Heidi pretty well. Did I miss some things? Probably. It also gave me a chance to appreciate how beautiful German is in place of its usual characterization as a hard and angry language. I enjoyed the movie with a kinder sized version of what I think was caramel-corn.

Though I wasn’t super hungry after the movie, it was dinner time so I went to look for somewhere to eat. I stopped at a few places before finally deciding on a traditional Bavarian restaurant called Madame Plüsch. I highly recommend it! My server spoke English and was very nice, even after I managed to know over the three glasses on the table (water, wine, more wine). In reality it wasn’t my fault, the menu that was standing up fell over at the perfect angle. It was like the domino effect. For dinner I got a salad and Allgäuer Käsespätzle which is homemade noodles and cheese with fried onions on top. I got the half portion and I’m glad I did, I was super full but ate it all anyway because it was SO GOOD. For dessert I got a fancy ice cream sundae that came with shaved almonds and hot raspberries/jam. The atmosphere was great: classical music (including Waltz of the Flowers…I was practically dancing in my seat), people watching, snow falling outside. Maybe it was the wine, but that was definitely one of my favorite “eating alone” experiences. Speaking of eating alone, I’m getting much better at it. It’s harder here because there usually isn’t wifi in nicer restaurants but at the same time it’s easier because I can drink wine. After I finished my meal, and let it digest a bit, I took the long way home to enjoy the snow and one last glimpse of fairytale Bavaria. The next day I had to be up bright and early for a long day of travel to Prague.