Greece... and the end!

Well folks, this is the end. My 8 weeks of European adventures have come to a close. I'm sitting in the Athens airport, waiting to check in for my flights to Munich and then Chicago, and it's very bittersweet. Although I've absolutely LOVED my time in Europe, and feel so lucky to have studied and traveled, I'm also looking forward to being home for a while. (Also I'm pretty sure I smell terrible and am convulsing people so a real shower in my own bathroom is much needed.) Here's the low-down on my past four days in Greece:

Michelle and I parted ways with Sarah on Tuesday morning and flew from Rome to Athens (after our flight was delayed two hours due to a Greek Airport Services strike). Unfortunately, that delay cut down on our time to sightsee, so although we walked around and saw the Acropolis and Agora, we didn't get to go inside or see anything up close. What we did get to do was eat fresh Greek yogurt with toppings at a yogurt bar called Fresko, which was incredible. We also had a fabulous traditional Greek dinner of a Greek salad, chicken gyros, pita bread, French fries, the works. Athens is definitely a place I'd like to return to sometime in my life so I can appreciate its history for more than a few hours. But we went to bed and woke up bright and early to catch a ferry from Athens to Mykonos, one of the Greek islands. After a 3-hour delay on the ferry due to "engine troubles," we finally arrived in Mykonos seven hours later, exhausted but ready to relax on the beach. We stayed in an adorable hotel called Artemoula's Apartments, and it was a 5-minute walk from the beach. So we relaxed and tanned on the Platys Gialos beach for a few hours, then went into the town of Mykonos for dinner and some shopping. We once again had Greek salad and gyros, and this time we got frozen Greek yogurt for dessert -- it literally was dispensed from a machine like regular American frozen yogurt, but it was Greek yogurt, and it was amazing. We strolled through the maze of little streets, getting lost multiple times, and entered many of the adorable jewelry, clothing, and souvenir stores. We returned to our hotel exhausted, and let ourselves sleep in the next day.

On Thursday, we ventured out to Paraga Beach, a 20-minute walk along the shore from our hotel. It had a younger crowd than Platys Gialos and more open sand to lay down our towels, in addition to crystal clear aqua-colored water. Oh, and did I mention there was a significant number of half-naked people there? Yep. Little did we know Paraga was the first nude beach, so it's still acceptable to be topless there. That was definitely a change from what we'd experienced at previous beaches! But we spent the entire day there, swimming and tanning and reading on the beach, and it was lovely. After, we bought eggs and cheese to make omelets for dinner (like the poor college students that we are), and had a great night on our balcony, eating and looking out at the view. We ventured out to Paradise Beach later, but it turned out to just be a bunch of night clubs with exorbitantly high entry fees because little-known DJs and artists like Afrojack and Nicky Romero were playing there. So we skipped it and went home, but it was a nice slice of the crazy night life that Mykonos boasts.

On Friday, we stayed by our hotel's great pool all morning and afternoon, and we had already checked out and were waiting to take a ferry back to Athens that night. We went into town once again for dinner, getting the same Greek salads and yogurt from two nights before (they were just too good to resist). The best part was witnessing not one but TWO sets of wedding photos happening. One bride and her groom were posing in different areas of town, and they both looked stunning. The other bride, however, was riding a donkey (yes, a literal DONKEY) through the streets, had an entire band following her and singing, and had all of her bridesmaids and friends dressed up and shouting at her the whole way. At one point, we watched on as she got off the donkey and did some sort of organized dance with her followers, and it was a true "Big Fat Greek Wedding" moment. Too funny. Eventually, it was time to leave, and after our ferry was delayed an hour (surprise, surprise), we finally made it into Athens late into the night... or early into the morning, I guess. Now, after saying farewell to Michelle, I'm waiting for my flight in the airport. 

Here's a quick synopsis of my overall thoughts, feelings, and knowledge gained from these European adventures:

MY FAVORITE PLACES: 1. Copenhagen, 2. Capri & Sorrento, 3. Norway, 4. Prague, & 5. Dublin

MY FAVORITE FOODS TRIED FOR THE FIRST TIME: 1. Roast boar in Prague, 2. Duck liver in Copenhagen, & 3. Greek yogurt in Greece!

MY FAVORITE LANDMARKS: 1. The fjords of Norway, 2. Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Berlin, 3. Kullenberg Peninsula in Sweden, 4. Fredericksborg Palace in Copenhagen, & 5. Ponte Vecchio and the other bridges of Florence

MY FRIENDS I GOT TO SEE ALONG THE WAY: Michelle, Sarah, Maggie, Christina (Prague), Katy (Florence), Sarah H. (Florence), & Michael (Florence)

PLACES I STILL WANT TO GO: 1. Santorini, Greece, 2. Edinburgh, Scotland, 3. Istanbul, Turkey, 4. Geneva, Switzerland, 5. Amalfi Coast, Italy

The lists could go on and on. But needless to say, I've had an INCREDIBLE two months abroad, and I can't wait for the adventures that are still in store for me. Until next time, Europe!

ITALY: Where the best food, friends, and beaches collide

***Sorry for the delay in posts! This was written on the morning of Tuesday the 12th.***

Oh Italy, you've done it again. I've now been to Italy three times, and I love it more and more each time I visit. This time, we took a overnight train from Vienna and arrived in Florence at 9:00 am on Friday (after a three-hour delay). My first order of business was to meet Katy outside the Accademia! Katy is studying abroad in Florence for the summer, so we got to spend lots of time with her. Thursday afternoon consisted of visiting the Duomo, climbing the Campanile (bell tower), eating a delicious sandwich lunch with Katy, going into the Baptistery, Orsanmichele Church, and Duomo Museum, walking across the Ponte Vecchio bridge, and of course stopping for gelato. Jenna from Alpha Chi was also in Florence visiting her family, and Michael from Michelle's Madrid program was also traveling in Florence that weekend, so we all met up that night, watched the sunset, got pizza, and went out together. It was a great group of Vanderbilt friends and we had an awesome time together. Then on Saturday, Katy met us to go to Piazza Michelangelo, which looks out over all of Florence and which I didn't go to the last time I was there. After another delicious sandwich lunch, we visited the Boboli Gardens. Katy and her floormates made a reservation at La Giostra, a great restaurant, for us, so we had a fantastic late dinner together. The waiters brought us free champagne, appetizers, an limoncello for dessert, and I had delicious pear and cheese ravioli for my meal. It was another wonderful night, and saying goodbye to Katy was sad. But it was time to move onto southern Italy!

Early Sunday morning, we departed via train for Naples. Once in Naples, we switched to a crowded regional train to Sorrento, where we were staying for the night. We spent the rest of the day on the beach in town. The water was a perfect temperature, and I FINALLY got a slight tan! We ate dinner at a restaurant down the street from the beach that might've topped our previous dinner. I consumed bread with olive oil, caprese salad, and pasta with fresh clams and tomatoes. Let's just say I was very happy and full. On Monday morning, Michelle got sick, which was a bummer, but Sarah and I still ventured out to the island of Capri. We took a 30 minute ferry over to the island, which is gorgeous. It's made of cliffs, caves, and perfectly blue water, and the weather was ideal. We went for a quick swim right away, and the water was crystal clear and beautiful. We saw lots of little fish swimming around us, and even though it was only 9:00 am, the beach was getting crowded. We then took a 2-hour boat ride around the entire island, stopping to see caves with stalactites, orange coral, rock formations, and the infamous Grotta Azzurra ("Blue Cave"). It's a small cave, and the way that the sunlight hits it makes the water look like it's glowing an electric blue color. To enter, we had to switch into a small rowboat and lay down to get through the opening, which was tiny. But the water was incredible, and my pictures can't even do it justice. After the boat tour, we took the funicular up to the town where there were lots of restaurants and shops. I bought perfume from Carthusia, which makes perfume out of flowers found on the island and has been operating since 1691. Unfortunately we had to make it back to Sorrento to head to Rome that night, so our time in Capri was short, but it was absolutely lovely. That night, we took the train from Naples to Rome, and after checking into our hostel and showering, it was 11:30 pm. But since we were only there for one night, we walked to the Trevi Fountain and all threw our coins in and made a wish. So touristy, but worth it. The next morning, Michelle and I had a flight to Athens, and Sarah had a flight to Copenhagen. So we parted ways, and headed to Greece, the last leg of my trip. Just one more blog post to come!

AUSTRIA: A Country of Music, Animals, and Old Buildings

***Sorry for the delay in posts! This was written Thursday the 11th but not posted until now. Florence post to come soon!***

My three days in Austria are now over, as I'm riding an overnight train to Florence. I very much enjoyed this country, and since they speak German it even lessened my disappointment in Germany due to Berlin. The first day was spent in Salzburg and the second two in Vienna, and both were quite enjoyable in their own way. Here's why.

On Tuesday, Sarah and I took the train out to Salzburg to go on a Sound of Music tour. Yep, we are the ultimate American tourists, but we heard amazing things about this tour from other people who had done it, so we decided we had to follow in their footsteps. The train ride to Salzburg was a HOT three hour trip, but once we got off and walked around the town, we were much happier. Salzburg is famous for two things: the location of The Sound of Music, and Mozart. Nothing else. So the entire town is gardens where the Do-Re-Mi song was filmed, or Mozart's first house, or rows upon rows of souvenir stands touting the two attributes. After exploring and getting a quick lunch, we embarked on the 4-hour official Sound of Music tour, led by a hilarious Austrian man who knew every little detail about Salzburg and The Sound of Music. We stopped in multiple places along the tour: the Von Trapp house, the lake where the kids and Maria fell in while boating, the tree area the kids run through in their curtain clothes, the place where the gazebo from "16 Going on 17" is now housed, the Unternes mountain Maria is first filmed on, and the church where Maria and the Captain get married, to name a few. We drove into the countryside and stopped in Mondsee, the town with the church, and we indulged in some apple strudel there. After another train ride, we made it back safe and sound to Vienna.

On Wednesday, Maggie left us mid-afternoon to continue her own trip in Munich, and Michelle finally arrived to continue traveling with us! So Sarah, Maggie, and I went to the zoo in the morning, which was one of the best zoos I've been to. My inner child was extremely excited to see pandas, reindeer, baby giraffes and elephants, tiny monkeys,  swimming penguins, and more. We grabbed a nice lunch at the Naschmarkt across the street from our hostel, which is a long food and souvenir outdoor market. Then it was time for Maggie to leave, and Michelle arrived at the exact same time! So we went back out with Michelle and toured Schonnbrunn Palace, which looked like a mini Versailles from the outside but was very underwhelming inside. The gardens were nice, though. After, we explored along the canal, walked through an amusement park that had the famous Ferris Wheel in it, and finally ate dinner at a decent restaurant in Judenplatz (Jewish Plaza, of all places!).

On Thursday, we walked basically the entire city. We started by seeing a church in Karlsplatz, then went to Stephansdom (the largest cathedral) and climbed the 400 stairs to the top to see the view. Then we continued along what's called the "Inner Ring" of the city to see more churches, Parliament, City Hall, multiple museums and parks, and my personal favorite, the Schmetterlinghaus. In English that's "Butterfly House," and Sarah and I ventured inside to find hundreds of butterflies gliding around the flower and plant-filled greenhouse. We took a ton of gorgeous pictures and felt like 5-year-olds, but again, our inner children were very happy. We had a good lunch in a plaza, and afterwards walked to a street with strangely-built apartments. They reminded me of Gaudi's houses in Barcelona but on a smaller, weirder scale. We strolled back through a nice park, bought ourselves some snacks for later, and are now on the train on the way to Italy. Tomorrow we'll meet up with Katy, Michael, and Jenna, so it'll be a massive Vandy party in Florence, and I can't wait! Florence round 2, here I come. Let's leave out the pneumonia this time.

PRAHA: The City of Monopoly Money

I'm about to leave the beautiful, wonderful, CHEAP city of Prague after three lovely days here. After our in-flight WiFi didn't work on the plane ride here (boo Norwegian, you let me down), and then Sarah and I leaving the baggage claim area without getting our luggage and setting off alarms, the mishaps ended and we were ready to take on Prague! The bus let us off in city centre and we walked to our hostel, overwhelmed by the beauty of Prague on the way. Maggie was waiting for us when we arrived so we all headed out together to explore and eat dinner. Our hostel recommended this amazing restaurant called Lokal, which brews its own beers and has traditional Czech food. I ate pork shoulder with bread and potato dumplings, and Maggie got fried cheese. So delicious. The only downfall was the heat - even at night, it was super sticky and hot, especially in the hostel without air conditioning. But we powered through!

Lennon Wall

On Sunday, we went to the Prague Castle area. It was a nice walk there, and we stumbled upon the Senate building and gardens along the way. Outside the castle we met up with Christina, a girl from our Cross-Cultural Psych class who happened to be in Prague for a few days, too. It turned out that we got there at 11:45 and the changing of the guards happened at noon, so we watched that (which was pretty anticlimactic) and then bought our castle tickets. We first went into St. Vitus' Church, which reminded me of a lot of the other large cathedrals with high ceilings and stained glass I've seen throughout Europe. Then we entered the actual castle - my favorite room was the one with the window from the defenestration of Prague. One of the only things I remember from AP Euro is that three rebels got thrown out that window and survived, which started the Thirty Years' War. So that was pretty cool to see. After that we went into St. George's Basilica (pretty underwhelming compared to St. Vitus), walked down the "Golden Lane" of little old shops and houses, and headed out. Not too far from the Castle was the Lennon Wall, which I was so excited to see. It's a massive graffiti wall that was a tribute to Lennon but has become a wall of art for all hippies, rebels, and tourists. I painted "Peace Love AXO" on it in white - I'm sure it's already been painted over, though. After, we walked across Charles Bridge and back into the square near our hostel, where we got delicious street food for lunch. I got a chicken and veggie skewer on a bun for the equivalent of $5, Christina got a sausage in a bun for $3, and Maggie got fried bread with cheese and garlic for $4. Such good deals for such good food. And that reminds me of why this post's title is "The Land of Monopoly Money" - it's because to convert Czech crowns to US dollars, you divide the Czech price by 20. Which means a 100czk meal is only $5. So it basically feels like fake money because the bills are large but have such a low value. Compared to Copenhagen, Prague is dirt cheap!

Later that night, Sarah and I went to the ballet. It was a "Best of Swan Lake" performance, and it was absolutely incredible!! The lead girl was the most talented ballerina I've ever watched, and we were sitting in the fourth row, so we could see everything crystal clear. Maggie met us for dinner at the nicest cafe across the street and we had a lovely night eating outside. We made sure we went to bed somewhat early so we could wake up and go to the Petrin Lookout Tower today. It's called the "mini Eiffel Tower" and is out near Prague Castle, so we walked 30 minutes, then took a fernicular up a hill, and then climbed to the top of the lookout tower. We could see all of Prague from the top and even further out into the Czech Republic, and the weather was perfect for it. We worked up an appetite with that climb, so we went to another restaurant our hostel recommended, which turned out equally as excellent as Lokal. I had homemade potato and mushroom soup to start, and roast boar with spinach and dumplings for my entree. I've been so adventurous with food this trip, so now I've added boar to the list of foods I've tried, and it was scrumptious. Entering into a large food coma, we ambled over to the Jewish Quarter of Prague, and Sarah and I went into the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest functioning synagogue in all of Europe. I bought a pretty hamsa bracelet at the Jewish street vendors outside, who were selling tons of cool handmade jewelry, artwork, and other Jewish items. Unfortunately, it was getting late, so we returned to our hostel, grabbed our bags, and headed to the train station. After a nice 4-hour train ride, we're here in our hostel in Vienna! Stayed tuned for a Vienna post on Thursday or Friday.

Goodbye Copenhagen (Hello Europe)

***This post was written on Saturday morning but not posted until now - sorry for the delay!***

This is the end. My time in Copenhagen is over, and it's extremely bittersweet. I'm currently on a plane to Prague, and it feels so strange that I won't be heading "home to Copenhagen" afterwards. 6 weeks has flown by, and I had a fabulous time. Saying goodbye to my floormates last night was so hard!

This past week has also flown by. After coming home from Berlin, we had a pretty chill weekend of watching movies and doing homework. I had two papers due this week and a final exam yesterday, so unfortunately a lot of my last week was spent writing and studying. On Tuesday night, our Danish RA made us all a classic Danish dinner and we had a "floor night," so that was fun and relaxing. The meal consisted of Danish meatballs, apple/carrot/lemon salad, pickled cucumbers, and Danish potato salad. It was delicious! After, we watched a Danish movie (with English subtitles of course), and had the classic Danish dessert of strawberries and cream - also so yummy. It was a great way to spend time as a floor before we all left.

On Wednesday, instead of a lecture during class, we walked around the neighborhood Norrebro and talked about the diversity. (Not really sure how it connected to Cross-Cultural Psychology, but it was a nice break from the classroom). Then at night, our class met again to go to a refugee counseling center, which was very interesting. When I got back on Wednesday night, our floor's WiFi was out (and stayed out for the rest of the week, so sad), so I took that as a sign to go to bed early. Thursday was the 4th of July - this is the first year I wasn't home for the 4th! It was sad, especially since no one celebrates it in Denmark (obviously). So to make up for it, our floor had a big dinner and fun night together, which made it much better. On Friday after my final, I went to New Harbor one last time with some floormates and finally got smorrebrod, the Danish open-faced sandwiches. I tried marinated herring and liverpate - the herring was good but a little too "fishy" for me, but the liverpate was great. It was the same kind my Danish visiting family made for me, so I made my floormates try some. The rest of the night consisted of packing and hanging out one last time as a floor, and it was a great, relaxing way to end my 6 weeks in Copenhagen.

Now, Maggie, Sarah, and I are headed to Prague for three days. It's the first leg of our two weeks of travel, so I'm very excited for what's in store for us! Look out for posts after each leg of our trip.