I've been thinking the last few days about the daunting task of writing up what I am calling Spring Break Part 1. I'm thinking I'll do a "quick" overview using my own personal journal that I'm keeping as a guide. This is probably going to be a very long one. Here we go:
[Oh and as a side note, it's been mentioned to me that I write a lot about food. Going back over previous posts, I find this to be very true and yet unintentional. I love food so this entry will be no different.]
The beginning of my journey started on the 7th of March at 2:30 AM. I caught the shuttle bus from UCD to the airport and got on my first flight of the day from Dublin to Paris, Beauvais (a very small airport far away from the city mostly operated by the oh so famous Ryan Air). After waiting a few hours, I made my way via plane to Bologna, Italy. From the airport, I hopped on a shuttle bus that took me to Bologna Centrale where I just barely caught my train to Florence.
Florence, Italy:
Upon arriving in Florence, I met up with my high school friend Samantha who is studying there and we walked around a little bit. The weather wasn't the best (a reoccurring theme on the whole trip) but it was neat to be in a different part of Europe and to see a familiar face. We went to Sam's apartment where I met her roommates and travel companions for part of my trip, Tiffany and Breanna. For dinner, Sam and I went to Gusta pizza. It had been recommended to me by multiple people who had been to Florence and it definitely lived up to the hype. Best pizza I've ever had! We also got some gelato after stuffing ourselves with pizza. When in Italy...
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| Gusta Pizza. Yum! |
The next day Tiffany, Breanna, Sam, and me went to the Accademia di Belle Arti to see the famous statue of David and other art. The statue was amazing in real life! I didn't really know what the big deal about it was at first but seeing it made me realize how spectacular it is. It is absolutely massive and the details are incredible. I could have easily stared at it for a few hours.
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| The Duomo |
A little bit later, Sam and I walked around Florence so I could do the touristy thing and take pictures of all the notable landmarks. We also took the walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see Florence from above.
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| Ponte Vecchio |
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| Florence, Italy |
Prague, Czech Republic:
Early the next morning, the four of us took a bus to Pisa, Italy where we then flew to Prague. After settling into our hostel, we walked around and got some lunch at a Chinese place. Ordering was kind of fun seeing as the menu was all in Czech. Once again, the weather was pretty bad so we headed back to the hostel and played some card games. We were able to meet some really cool people back at the hostel as well (Oscar from Colombia, Hannah from Australia, Rich from New Jersey, and Ben from Scotland). For dinner, we found a cheap place that offered a three course "tourist special" (that's us!) with traditional Czech food.
I believe the next day was Sunday which meant it was time for a walking tour. Our guide was American but had been living in Prague for something around 14 years and he knew his stuff. The tour did not take us on the other side of the river so some of us later ventured out, more specifically to find the John Lennon wall. The wall might be the hardest thing to find in Prague but it was worth the struggle.
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| Charles Bridge |
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| John Lennon Wall |
On Monday, we crossed the river again and went up to Prague Castle which, according to Wikipedia, is that biggest castle in the world. The castle was up a hill which let us look over the city as well.
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| A little bit of Prague Castle |
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| Prague |
Munich, Germany:
Sam and I parted ways with Breanna and Tiffany early Tuesday morning to get a train to Munich. After a 6 hour ride, we checked into our hostel and wandered around. We were going to try and make a walking tour but missed it/went to the wrong meeting place. We instead got lost wandering around the suburbs of Munich...an interesting experience. For dinner, Sam and I went to The Hofbräuhaus beer hall. Yum!
The next day we took a short train and bus trip to Dachau concentration camp. It was a pretty heavy experience but I wish it had been more organic. It was definitely set up to be a place for visitors whereas places like Auschwitz, from what I've heard, have pretty much remained the same. However, I had always wanted to go to a concentration camp and it was an eyeopening experience.
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| Dachau |
After getting back to Munich, we found the walking tour and learned some more about the city. For dinner, we did some research on where to get the best schnitzel. The place we found lived up to its reputation. The schnitzel was bigger than my head. The German's sure do like their food and beer.
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| Opera House in Munich |
For our last day in Germany, Sam and I took a 2 hour train to Füssen so that we could see Neuschwanstein Castle, also known as the inspiration for the Disney castle. It was snowing on our walk up and it literally felt like we were in a fairy tale. The scenery alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile and the castle just added to it.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle |
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Paris, France:
For our final leg of the journey, Sam and I took an overnight train from Munich to Paris. The trip was about 10.5 hours in the most cramped/uncomfortable seat ever. It was an experience to say the least. When we finally arrived, we took the tram to our hotel and then made our way back into the city where we caught a walking tour that was just leaving.
Our guide, Onno, was probably the best walking tour guide I've had since being in Europe. He was fantastic and not only knew a lot about the city but told us little tips and tricks to visiting Paris (watch out for those kids with the clipboards!).
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| Notre Dame |
At the conclusion of the tour, Sam and I headed over to the Eiffel Tower to snap some pictures during the day. We then headed back to the famous Louvre museum where we saw some notable art like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. The museum was massive! There is no way you could cover the whole thing in a day. After we were tired out from the art, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up at night. We were going to climb the stairs but realized that the only thing opened was the elevator and the top portion was closed. Kind of a let down but oh well.
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| Louvre |
On the last day of the trip, Samantha and I said our goodbyes and went to our respective airports. I flew back to Dublin and slept quite well after going almost nonstop for such a long time. Today (the day after I got back) is St. Patrick's day but I'll save that for my next entry...
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| Eiffel Tower at night |
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I'm pretty sure I covered all the major events. It was probably the best ten days of my life. I met so many cool people and got to see some amazing things! I've got a couple of days to recover in Dublin and then on Thursday am headed to Liverpool to see my friend Summer. From there I head down to Barcelona on Friday! I am ready for some hot weather and a beach!
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