Arrivederci, Riva!

As I'm packing my things and getting ready to leave tomorrow I can't help but to think of a few little things I'm looking forward to in the states:

1. Free water at restaurants and free refills (don't take it for granted...it's cost me probably 100 euros)
2. Free bathrooms
3. My magazine subscriptions and libraries with books in English
4. My cell phone
5. Being able to drive again
6. The abundance of vegetarian options offered at most restaurants
7. Generally good customer service

And now, more importantly, there are so many things I'm going to miss after the most incredible three and a half months of my life:

1. The ability to hop on a train and go to Rome, Cinque Terre, Nice, etc., for the weekend
2. Having the Swiss Alps as scenery on my runs every morning
3. Meeting people from all around the world with a passion for travel and adventure
4. The laid back European lifestyle 
5. Learning the cultural backgrounds of so many different countries. 

The other day I was watching the movie Eat, Pray, Love and there was a part that really struck me. While in Italy, the main character embraces the Italian way of life, best phrased;

"Dolce far niente", the sweetness of doing nothing.

If I had to choose the most important lesson I've gained from this experience, I believe it can be summed up in that saying. As a society, Americans are prone to rush- in all aspects of life. We race to work in the morning, eat breakfast on the way to work, eat lunch at our desks because we're too busy to leave, and then get take out at night because we're too tired to do anything else. Personally, I know that back in Blacksburg every part of my day in broken down hour by hour in a planner, and I'm almost always multitasking. When I first arrived in Europe, I was so impatient when the waiter would take half an hour after the meal to bring the check. And although the three hour European lunch breaks do still seem a bit excessive to me, I now see the importance in taking the time to relax and spend time with the people who matter in your life. We need to start putting down our blackberries and turning off the TV during meals, and really listening to each other. I'm going to be honest and say that I will still have a planner when I go back to Blacksburg (and for the rest of my life), but I'll try not to plan out every hour, and I'll try to slow the pace down sometimes and take a second to appreciate the simplicity of the little things in life. It's refreshing to just go with the flow sometimes, to not know what you're going to be doing every hour of every day, and  let everything fall into place on it's own.

So, as silly and unproductive as it may sound to you right now (it did to me at first too), you should try to simply...do nothing. It really is sweet.

AC Milan Game

Only the day after returning to the villa from our 10 day trip, we were off to Milan to see some real football at the AC Milan vs. Fiorentina game. Having played soccer for 15 years, I was very excited to see a European football match because I knew the dynamics would be entirely different from American soccer. The match started at 8:45 but we left at 3 so we could find our hostel and the stadium with plenty of time to spare, especially given the fact that Milan is never easy to navigate. We got the train station and then had to figure out how to find the tram to get to the hostel, it ended up taking about an hour and a half of wandering in the rain until we finally found the hostel, hidden in a back alley with no clear signs leading to it. Thank goodness one girl in our group spoke sufficient enough Italian to eventually get us there. While checking in the hotel the manager told us that he had actually moved our reservation to another hotel because he hadn't gotten confirmation in time (since we were in Spain...) and had given our room to someone else. He told us it was a half hour walk from where we were. Frustrated, tired, and now pissed off, we told him we just wanted to cancel the reservation and we'd take the last train back to Riva because we didn't want to go find another hostel in the ghetto of Milan. He said it was impossible because we didn't give him a heads up. We tried to explain to him that it's kind of unconventional for a hotel to book you at another hotel without even asking (at least in America)...but due to the language barrier we got absolutely no where and it was "our fault", of course. We ended up successfully canceling one reservation, and some people just ended up having to pay for the other room. After settling that dilemma, we then had to find the central station, put our bags in the bag deposit since you can't bring backpacks to the stadium, and THEN go to the stadium about a half hour train ride from there. Given the string of events that we'd been through that night, of course it wasn't over yet. They tried to tell us we couldn't get into the game because our tickets didn't have our names on them. At this point I wanted to cry and go home. Luckily we tried another ticket stand and got in...finally 5 hours later we got into the stadium and to our seats. It was a fantastic game, AC Milan won 1-0. The dynamics were much different as I had suspected though, no replays, no announcers, no alcohol, just a bunch of incredibly intense  and devoted fans.

After the game we rushed back to the main train station to collect our bags before they closed. We still had time to kill so we went to a McDonald's across the street. Apparently we were being too loud (I didn't know McDonald's was generally supposed to be a quiet, romantic restaurant) and the manager came over to tell us to quiet down. As we were walking out I accidentally (and I mean COMPLETE and total accident) knocked a few trays over. Well the manager had had just about enough of us and so he came over and kindly escorted me out after chastising me. I wasn't too happy because 1) I wasn't even one of the people being loud and 2) I don't appreciate being chastised in public especially when I didn't do anything!!!! My mom asked me if I got escorted out for handing out PETA fliers and boycotting their chicken, should have done that.
(Sidenote: McDonald's tortures their chickens. Don't eat nuggets, they are gross)

Barcelona

Our last stop for the 10 day trip was Barcelona. We found our hostel, HelloBCN, which I definitely recommend- although the accommodations weren't superb the location was great and they had activities offered for the day and night to facilitate your sightseeing in Barcelona. Since it was still daylight, we walked down to the pier and to the beach. Having lived by the ocean for about half my life, it was great to finally stick my toes in the sand again. I'll admit I definitely prefer sandy beaches to the stone beaches in Nice. I got a Belgian waffle on the boardwalk with fruit on top, it was delicious!

We walked back to the hostel to take a nap before going out. The hostel arranged to take us to a bar and then club for the night. At the first bar we went to I had a man tell me I was "more beautiful than his dog", which he had with him in the bar (for some reason people are allowed to bring their dogs everywhere in Europe). I couldn't help but to laugh and look confused, it wasn't the most flattering compliment I've ever received. We went to Club Opium later in the night, and I absolutely loved this club, the music was great and it wasn't super crowded and smoky like usual. Also with the hostel we got free entry, great since the money is currently draining out of my account. We stayed out till about 4:30, pretty early for the locals but that was definitely as late as I could last.


In the Las Ramblas area we happened to run into one of Neil's friends whose studying abroad in Barcelona and he offered to take us around the next day. We took the funicular's to the top of the mountain and started the Castle de Montjuic. From the top we had an amazing view of the port and ocean. We started the descent back down to the city and on the way we got to see the Olympic Stadium and the facility they built for the Olympic swimming events. We passed the Museum of Catalonia Art and then took the tram to the Gothic Quarter. After lunch, I went to see La Sagrada Familia, and this was absolutely incredible. I would have to say the Sagrada and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome are my two favorite sights in Europe. A little background on the Sagrada Familia- it is a large Roman Catholic church designed by Gaudi. Construction began shortly before his death in 1926, and at the time of his death only a quarter of the project was complete, then all construction was halted by the Spanish Civil War until the 1950s. Today, some of the greatest building challenges remain and completion date is expected to be 2026. It was fantastic to see the eclectic mix of design styles resulting from its construction over many decades. The spiral staircases and stained glass windows on the inside were astonishing. The altar was unlike any I've see in the many Catholic churches I've been to. It's fascinating to see the transition to modern styles in the Church construction. When in Barcelona, if you are to see one thing, you MUST see La Sagrada Familia. After leaving the church I walked outside and stood across the street, trying to enjoy the Sagrada before I left. But of course, I was interrupted when a guy came up to me and asked, "Are you a masterpiece?". I asked him what he said because I didn't hear him at first, and he goes, you are a masterpiece like that (pointing to the church). Well, so much for trying to quietly enjoy myself. I took the tram to Passeig de Garcia after wards, this is a great place if you want to do any shopping.

For dinner we went to a tapas bar and got Sangria. The tapas were great and surprisingly filling, something you definitely need to try while in Spain. After wards we went out for our last night in Barcelona. We started at a club called Shoko, and I don't recommend it at all. The age group seemed closer to my parents age...which was weird...and the club was incredibly smoky. I was definitely ready to go back to Riva the next morning, I had a hard time keeping up with the Barcelona nightlife by the end haha.

I had a fabulous time in Barcelona and I want to return some day because I know there was so much I didn't have the time to see during my stay.  Now back in Riva, we're finishing our last business info technology course, international operations. Aside from studying I've been packing up and getting ready to leave, it's hard to believe my time here is almost up!

 Port Veil

 Barceloneta Beach!

 Melissa and I at Castle Montjuic 

Olympic Stadium

 La Sagrada Familia outside

 Inside of La Sagrada Familia- see why I love it so much?

 Front of the church above the altar

 Intricate columns and windows

 Ceiling of La Sagrada

KPMG Lugano office visit

I was looking at global opportunities through KPMG one day and happened to notice they had an office only 15 minutes away in Lugano, Switzerland. When I discovered this I immediately contacted my recruiter back at Tech who helped me set up an office visit. The weekend before our second day 10 trip I took the train to Lugano and met with Ryan Kelley, an audit manager in the office. We had lunch at a restaurant in town and talked about our experiences abroad. It turns out he had lived in one state almost his whole life and this was the first time he had lived abroad. We talked about the challenges we'd faced thus far in our abroad experiences, one of course was the train system- whether it be a strike, when/where to buy your ticket, delays, and unannounced train construction and rerouting...it seems there no train ride is ever uneventful (especially in Italy). It was good to know he didn't actually know Italian before moving to Lugano and was able to take an intensive language course and still take the abroad opportunity. I asked Ryan if he was planning on taking another international rotation and he said that although he had had a great time, they wanted to move back to the states to be closer to family again. After lunch, we walked to the office where I got to meet several other managers and employees. The office was much smaller than the Tyson's office I visited this summer, probably around 20 people. I actually met the man who works with the administrator at the villa in Riva, and it turns out that do the audit for the program here, such a small world!

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit an international office and talk with someone with experience working abroad. Now that I have the travel bug, I really hope I have the opportunity to work abroad when I enter the work force.

Madrid, Spain

Upon arrival at the airport I could tell Madrid was the bustling city I had imagined. After checking into our hostel we all went walking around the city and found a place to have lunch. The waiter spoke very little English so I used the bit of Spanish I know to communicate to him that I am a vegetarian, after which I received a look of bewilderment (Spanish culture and vegetarianism don't mix well together). Of course the only item on the menu that was vegetarian was the mixed salad. After our late lunch we went back to the hostel to take a siesta before going out for the night. FC Barcelona was playing so we went to a pub to watch the football match. All and all it was a great night, other than the annoying smoke in the pub which made my eyes bright red and watering.

The next morning we went to the Royal Palace, although rather simple on the outside, the inside was absolutely grandiose and magnificent. Each room had it's own color scheme and splendid decorations to match. The dining room looked like it came from a Disney princess movie. After the Royal Palace we walked to a cathedral next door, and as always it had beautifully striking stained glass windows. On our way back to the hostel we stopped by the Mercado San Miguel, and this was one of my favorite experiences in Madrid. The market was full of almost any kind of fresh food you could imagine, fish, meat, cheese, fruit. And you could also stop at the bar and get fresh sangria or a glass of wine. Or if you have a sweet tooth, they had fresh yogurt with any topping you could imagine, a display of endless gummies, and a pastry section where you could get hot chocolate with churros. Which reminds me, you MUST get chocolate con churros in Madrid, best dessert ever. It was fun to see the locals grabbing lunch, culturally the way they eat meals is so much different, they get all sorts of food and share with each other and eat off each others plates...much more similar to Asian cultures. We went back to the hostel for our afternoon siesta (hey you gotta do as the locals do). For dinner we went to Casa Botin, which is considered the oldest restaurant in the world. I was happy I got to use my Spanish skills to help us find the restaurant. I was a bit hesitant to eat there because I knew they were infamous for their suckling pig, which is a baby pig they serve whole and put the apple in it's mouth...and it looks kind of like the fetus pig I had to cut open for biology during freshman year of high school (sorry I hope you aren't eating right now). I thought I'd be safe if I ordered garlic soup, a mixed salad, and sauteed mushrooms. But who was I kidding, of course they still put meat bits in vegetable dishes. I had to spend the meal picking meat bits out of my soup and mushrooms which but a small damper on the experience. It was still neat to eat in the oldest restaurant in the world though.

We got an early start the next morning and went to 'Real Jardin Botanico', or the botanical gardens. It was relaxing to walk through and they had a great exhibit with cacti and bonsai trees, however it was little bit monotonous after a while since all of the flowers were dead because of the weather getting colder. I definitely recommend a visit if you are in Madrid in the Spring though. After, we took a trip to Toledo early in the afternoon, about a half hour outside Madrid, on our last day in the area. Toledo was a great escape from the hectic city. All the building were a matching brown clay color, kind of reminded me of the unity created by the "hokie stone" buildings on VT's campus. We walked around the city and found cathedrals, synagogues and mosques. It was interesting to see all three so close in vicinity to one another. Toledo was great but incredibly difficult to navigate. After walking around for a few hours we headed back to Madrid and went to a pub. I went to bed early since I wanted to be rested for our next stop, Barcelona!

 Inside of the Cathedral in Madrid

 Mercado de San Miguel with fab choco con churros

 Outside the botanical gardens

 Cathedral in Toledo

Exploring the cobblestone streets of Toledo

Lisbon, Portugal

Heading to the airport for Lisbon we were finally able to breath a sign of relief- our finance classes were OVER and we were about to take off for our second 10 day adventure. We arrived in Lisbon around 7 PM and hopped on a bus towards the city. Luckily for us, we happened to run into the nicest lady every who gave us great tips and helped us navigate our way towards the hostel. She had lived in Portugal until the age of 10 and currently lived in Texas, but continued to visit Portugal every year. When we got off in Rossio Square, she immediately bought us a dozen roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, claiming they were to die for. She sure was right, the chestnuts were AMAZING and I got them everyday while we were there. So, tip number one, if you ever go to Lisbon the first thing you need to do is buy some chestnuts. We said goodbye and got her email so we could tell her how our trip to Lisbon went and proceeded to our hostel. We stayed at the Living Lounge and it was like a sheik city apartment. Every room in the hostel was decorated in a certain theme and they had a chef that made a fabulous three course meal every night (with all you can drink wine), since I'm a vegetarian though I only got to hear my friends rave about the fab meals.  I went exploring around the hostel, and sure enough when I walked out of a coffee shop, I saw the other group of our friends that were staying in a nearby hostel. We all met up and went out together for the night. We walked to the Barrio Alto area, tons of great bars in this part of Lisbon. Don't be shocked when you walk down the streets and get approached by sketchy men asking "Marijuana, cocaine ma'am?". I would just glare at them and say thanks but no thanks (perhaps with a bit more profanity in there). Other than this, Lisbon felt incredibly safe at night.

The next morning we woke up and did some exploring. We walked along the water and then went to St. George's castle. The strongly-fortified citadel, which, in its present configuration, dates from medieval times, is located atop the highest hill in the historic center of the city. The castle is one of the main historical and touristic sites of Lisbon. After visiting the castle, I had a quick lunch and went shopping, other than a few souvenirs for friends I tried not to splurge. Some advice that the woman we met on the train gave us was, "whenever you see a staircase in Lisbon, just go up it". And that is exactly what I did. The streets in Lisbon are amazing, all cobblestone and rarely any cars drive through so you can freely walk around without worrying about getting run over, not to mention the weather was beautiful during our visit. I went to bed early that evening, still playing catch up from the prior late night.

We'd heard from many people that we needed to visit Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 30 minutes outside of Lisbon. We began our trek towards the Pena Palace, just following the signs along the way. After about 45 minutes we starting wondering when the hell we were going to get there. We stopped to ask a couple we saw walking down the the trail and it turns out we were a whole 10 km hike away from the Palace. Now, I'm a fan a half marathons but preferably not up windy steep roads. Luckily, it turns out there was a bus everyone pays to take to the top which we were able to get on.The Pena Palace has a profusion of styles much in accordance with the exotic taste of the Romanticism. The intentional mixture of eclectic styles includes the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Islamic and Neo-Renaissance. References to other prominent Portuguese buildings such as the Belém Tower are also present. Almost the entire palace stands on rock.
The palace was fantastic, it was so eccentric and unlike any other castle or palace I've seen thus far in Europe. The outside was covered in bright purple, yellow and red tiles, and inside they had many rooms of the palace used by the Kings and Queens set up so we could envision it in the past.

Unfortunately I had to head to the hostel in order to get back by 7, I had a skype interview scheduled for a position on a committee for the Business Horizons job fair put on each year (the interview went well and I'll be working on the logistics committee starting next semester :)). After wards, Melissa and I went to the MuDE Museum, the Museum of Design and Fashion. They had fabulous outfits ranging from the 1920s onwards by world renown designers. They also had a section devoted to design was popular furniture and accessories from the 1950s and 1960s, it was like a flashback to the Brady Bunch, and I loved it! We went to sleep shortly after to get some rest before our 7:30 AM flight to Madrid!

 A theater in Rossio Square I discovered while walking around

 On our way to the palace in Sintra

 Sintra again, beautiful vines lining all the cement walls

 Love the colors of the Pena Palace

 Pena Palace again

Interlaken, Switzerland

From a foreigner's standpoint, New York City is to America as Interlaken is to Switzerland. The most popular tourist destination, a "must see" for travelers, which is why I knew I had to visit Interlaken before I left. Without thinking twice I decided I must sign up for sky diving in the alps during my visit. Even though I've never been able to muster up the guts to even do the drop zone in Kings Dominion, I knew based on my friends pictures that this was a once in a life time opportunity. I mean, how many people can say they've been skydiving over the alps?? My friend Emily and I packed our bags in anticipation of an incredible girls weekend in Interlaken.

It was just as I had pictured, pristine green grass and bright red farm houses nestled between snow covered mountains.  We had no trouble finding our hostel, Bamber's, and it was just as great as we'd expected. Although it's not the most upscale place you could find in Interlaken, it was full of other backpacking college students. As we were checking into the hostel the woman told me that the chancing of me getting to sky diving the next day were slim to none because the winds were supposed to be strong. I was incredibly bummed out since this was the main reason I'd wanted to come to Interlaken, but I crossed my fingers and hoped it would work out. Emily and I got ready and went to the bar located right next to the hostel. There we met several Aussies our age, turns out a few of them had actually been to Manila, Philippines before. They attended a university named De Salle in Melbourne and went to Manila to visit the Philippine De Salle University, coincidentally we used to play against the Philippines De Salle women's soccer team while I was at the International School of Manila. They had also been to Phuket, Thailand where I visited for a week while I was living in the Philippines. It was so interesting to hear about other people travels and experiences, such a small world.

The next morning I woke up anxious to go sky diving and I ran downstairs to ask the woman if it was still on. Just my luck, they had canceled the trip and I attempted to reschedule for Sunday, with a high probability it would still be windy then too. The other thing Emily and I were dying to do on our trip was visit Jungfraujoch, the highest point in Europe, and see the ice palaces and do some hiking. We went to the train station, and sure enough, the trains running to Jungfraujoch were shut down due to mountain storms. Next we asked about another place called Schilthorn, which had an infamous rotating restaurant, and would you be surprised if I told you that was shut down too? Our only bet was a place called Lauterbrunnen. Making the most of our available options, we took the train to Lauterbrunnen and had a fantastic lunch at a family run restaurant there. We sat on the terrace and had a perfect few of the mountains, I swear it was like looking at someone's computer screensaver. I ordered pumpkin soup, fitting for a fall day :). After lunch we hiked toward Trummelbach falls. On our hike it was soothing to be able to enjoy the fall leaves, in every imaginable shade of orange, yellow and red. Also being the vegetarian and animal activist I am, it was great to see farm animals being treated properly, it was just like a story book. We finally reached the Trummelbach falls, a series of ten glacier-waterfalls inside the mountain made accessible by tunnel-lift and illuminated. Its drainage area is 24 km², half of it covered by snow and glaciers. Up to 20,000 liters of water per second. The only glacier-waterfalls in Europe inside the mountain and still accessible. Nearing the falls you could hear the roar of the waterfalls.

Although we may have missed out on Europe's highest point, I am so glad we got to see the falls. It was incredible to see clear blue water rushing through and the smoothed rock resulting from its unbelievable force. We hiked back and did some souvenir shopping around the town center, then had some much anticipated Chinese food for dinner (Asian girl's gotta get her fix). Since it was Halloween evening, we knew that our hostel bar would be packed, but we didn't know that Europeans were as fond of carrying out Halloween traditions as Americans, and ironically enough Emily and I were probably the only people NOT dressed up that evening haha. It was such a fun night and we got to hang out with our Aussie friends again.

It was daylight savings time but of course we forgot to set our clocks and then woke up an hour earlier than necessary. I went downstairs hoping that by some twist of fate the skydiving trip would be on. Unfortunately, the storms were still brewing in the mountains and they had to call it off again. I was pretty disappointed, but I guess this just means I'll have to go somewhere in the states (maybe with Dad for my birthday?!). Although our weekend was not what we had originally expected, we still saw some remarkable sights and met great people.

 View from the restaurant, told you it looks like a screensaver

 Beautiful scenery on the hike

Before hiking to the top of the falls

 Bottom of the waterfalls

Emily at I at the hostel bar

Monte Generoso

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. " John Muir

After our intro to finance final exam, we had the opportunity to go to the top of Monte Generoso, our last chance before the train shuts down for the winter season. We were supposed to take the train part of the way up and hike the remainder for about an hour, but unfortunately because of the snow on the footpath we had to take the train almost the entire way up. The views at the top of the mountain were unbelievable. On one side you could see Italy and Lake Como, and on the other you could see Switzerland and the Matterhorn. The sky was clear and it couldn't have been a more gorgeous day to trek to the top of the mountain. We'll have to see how the views hold up against Jungfraujoch (the highest point in Europe!!!) in Interlaken this weekend though :)

Bellinzona

This weekend I friend and I took an excursion to Bellinzona on Saturday afternoon. We walked around two of the three castles in Bellinzona, Castel Grande and Montebello. Even on a rather cloudy and dreary day, the castles were still awe inspiring. Here's just a brief history about them:

Castle Grande: The site on which Castelgrande stands is rich in history and archaeological findings unearthed during excavations in 1984-85 confirm that the site was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period (5500-5000 B.C.) and though to Roman times. The castle as we see it today was built in various stages and has undergone several restorations. Construction of the castle began in the 13th c.; it was enlarged in 1473-86 and later restored in the 17th and 19th centuries.

Montebello Castle: The castle's origins date back to the late 13th century; it is documented for the first time, albeit indirectly, in 1313. The fortress was probably built by the illustrious Rusca family from Como and passed into the hands of the Viscontis at the close of the 14th century. After an initial stage of extensions (in the middle of the l4th century, presumably as part of the work to connect the stronghold to the fortifications in the town) there followed a period of neglect: as can be read in complaints by Milanese officials around 1460, the buildings no longer fulfilled the defensive requirements of the fortifications in Bellinzona, which were being enlarged at that time. Successive extensions and renovations, between 1462 and 1490, transformed the ancient 13th/14th century castle into the complex of fortifications as we see it today. Montebello fell into neglect once again in the 19th century, and around the year 1900 its state of disrepair made it a sorry spectacle; signs of the consolidation and other additional work, carried out from 1903 onwards, can be seen in the brickwork which separates the old parts of the walls from the new.

(Retrieved from UNESCO World Heritage)

It was such a refreshing and relaxing day, and it made the perfect study break from Finance. Here are a few of the photos I snapped during the day:

Church in the city center

 

 At Castel Grande, with Montebello Castle in the background

 Random photo I snapped of a dad helping his daughter at Castel Grande,

I thought it was adorable :)

 

 Me at Castel Grande again

 

Leaving Montebello castle

Vineyards at Castel Grande, absolutely beautiful

Vienna, Austria

Nearing the end of our 10 day break, we arrived in Vienna around noon on Saturday. Our hostel, 'Wombats', was right across from the train station. It was a great hostel, very clean, young crowd, easy to access public transportation from. After checking in when went to a Viennese restaurant down the street and had some delicious food. We went into the city and first went inside St. Stephan's Basilica. The stained glass inside the church was beautiful, it wasn't quite as spectacular as the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but still wonderful. We walked around the city and saw the Albertina, which is a popular art museum, and the Opera house. To maximize our limited time in Vienna we rented bikes to take around the city. On our bike ride we saw the Royal Palace, the Parliament building, and a fantastic park with a statute dedicated to Mozart. We rode up and down the river and it was a beautiful day (the first bit of sun we'd seen in a while) so I really had a great time. After spending the day riding around the city, we decided to go back to the Viennese restaurant we'd been to earlier since we loved it so much (the restaurant is named "Mariahilfer Restaurant"). For dessert we all got strudels since it's supposed to be a Viennese specialty, and it sure was amazing. We called it an early night since we had to catch a train back to Riva early in the morning. We didn't get to see much in Vienna because of the limited time we had there, but as first impressions go, that was probably my favorite out of all the places we visited and I fully intend on spending more time there in the future.

 Inside the St. Stephan's Basilica

 In the park with Melissa by the Mozart statue

 Building in front of the park 

 The Royal Palace

 Parliament building

We had a long 12 hour journey home, but the views from the train once we got to Zurich made the ride incredible. The sky was clear blue and now that the leaves are starting to change color, the mountains looked even more spectacular than usual. Back at Riva, we've began our finance classes which makes for long and tiring days. A short day of class is 6 hours, and other days it's around 9. Definitely not easy but I feel like I'm really learning a lot. Time for Italian class, Ciao!

Train ride through Zurich on the way home

Budapest, Hungary

We were supposed to leave Prague at 7:30 AM for Budapest, but we ended up getting more turned around than expected on our way to the train station, so we had to take a train that left 4 hours later instead. We got to Budapest around 8 PM and took a cab to our hostel. The hostel we stayed in was named "Paprika", it was alright but definitely not my favorite of hostels I've stayed in so far. It was owned by a few young guys and it was more like an apartment with rooms full of bunk beds rather than a hostel. It was great from the standpoint of meeting other young people and socializing, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have higher standards or want a little quiet at night. After getting settled, we decided on TGI Friday's for dinner (we've been missing our typical American restaurants for quite a while now, so we were able to justify our decision).

We did a free walking tour in the city on Friday morning and I definitely recommend. We got to see the major highlights in the city and got recommendations for nightlife and restaurants, all for free. At the start of the tour, the guide pointed out the many different architectural styles-Classical, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau, that result from their unique history. We got to see the Parliament building, the bridge connecting Buda and Pest, and the Basilica on the Pest side. We walked to the Buda Side where the Royal Palace grounds are. Security is so lax and the threats so small in Hungary that you were able to walk right past the President's house, with no security outside. In Holy Trinity square we saw a fantastic church with intricate colorful tiled roofing. There was the most amazing little castle close to the Palace grounds that reminded me a lot of a Disney castle :). There were underground labyrinths on the Buda side, we didn't get a chance to go inside any of them but we got to see the entrance. Also on the Buda Side was a statute that the Communist built in honor of the unification of the Buda and Pest sides. The Buda side is much hillier and is known for being pricey, whereas the Pest side is known for it's nightlife and more affordable prices. Budapest is famous for it's bath houses with hot springs, I was disappointed we didn't have time to go check one out. After finishing up the walking tour the guide took up to a canteen style restaurant called "12 markets" which traditional Hungarian food. I got vegetable soup and gnocchi with mushroom sauce, it was good but nothing special, once again because most Hungarian specialties contain meat so my options were limited.

Later in the afternoon we did the free Communist walking tour. The tour was interesting but I recommend the first tour over this one. The guide started the tour by giving us a brief run down of the history of communism in Hungary. She said that in the 50's and early 60's it was a depressive state and if you were to go against the idea of communism in any way you would be tortured or killed. The communist had social housing projects where they built extremely small 1-2 bedroom apartments, the idea was that people should all be working and shouldn't be spending much time in their apartments anyways. People would become trapped into being 'informers', and once you became involved in communism, you couldn't escape. In the 70's the idea of "soft communism" developed and people weren't as repressed, shortly after, people were finally allowed to travel. Some people received a red passport which meant they could travel to other communist controls, and others received a blue passport which meant they could travel anywhere, this was a monumental event for Hungarians. In 1989, Hungary was no longer a communist country, however to this day the long lasting effects of communism are ever present in the country. The guide was telling us that the health care system is extremely corrupt. Everyone should have access to health care and equal benefits. This isn't the case- because doctors are paid so little they will take bribes from people that can afford to pay more in exchange for better health care services. If doctors weren't to take bribes, they would be too poor to remain in Hungary and Hungarian health care providers would dwindle even more. At the end of the tour the guide showed us samples of the red and blue passports and pictures of Budapest during communist rule. It was a great day all in all and I felt like I got to learn an extensive amount about Hungary in the short time I was there.

We went out to a fun bar named Szempla with the people from our hostel later that night, I definitely recommend the bar. It was partially indoors and partially outdoors, full of tourists and locals, and it had a great atmosphere and music. And the next morning the journey continued to Vienna, Austria!

 Basilica on the Pest side, close to the city center

 Castle on the Buda side near the Royal Palace

Example of one of the communist housing projects from the walk

 View of the Pest side from the Royal Palace grounds in Buda

Overlooking the Danube River

Prague, Czech Republic

Exhausted after a non-stop weekend in Munich, Germany, we left Monday morning to head to Dachau before continuing to the next destination on our 10 day, Prague. Unfortunately, upon arrival in Dachau we learned that on Monday of all days, Dachau is closed. We were disappointed but I enjoyed walking around the parks in Dachau before the long bus trip. We had a smooth trip to Prague and arrived at our hostel around 7 PM. The hostel we stayed in was St. Christopher's Inn @ the Mosaic House and it was more like a high end hotel rather than a hostel- AMAZING! The bathrooms had rain showers and the bar downstairs played live music during the happy hour, it was also full of young people. After getting settled, we walked down the street and found a Thai restaurant for dinner, I had fantastic green vegetable curry. We were all exhausted still from Oktoberfest so we called it an early night.

On Tuesday morning we woke up early for the free Prague walking tour. We made friends with a few Aussies that were also staying at our hostel. On the tour we were able to see the Astronomical clock, Old Town Square, Tyn Cathedral, Old Town Hall, St. Nicholas' Church and the House of the Black Madonna. The tour began in Old Town Square where we first saw the Astronomical clock. The dial in the middle of the clock shows the position of the sun and the moon, the clock was built in the early 1400's. The clock chimes every hour and when it does, the 12 apostles take turns peeping through little doors above the center dial. Tyn Cathedral was very beautiful, the two columns are different sizes, so the story goes that Adam is the taller one who is watching over Eve, the shorter of the two. However, it's more likely due to the fact that there were two different architects working on each of the columns. The House of the Black Madonna was built in a Cubist style architecture, and inside the museum and the cafe, everything is cube shaped including the light fixtures and decor.

 Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

 Museum of the Black Madonna- Cubist Architecture

Jewish Quarter- rebuilt, thriving, and beautiful

Leaving Old Town Square we walked to the Jewish Quarter. I learned that the the Quarter essentially became a disease filled ghetto when Jewish people were forced to leave their homes and the area became extremely overpopulated. Eventually, Jewish people were allowed to leave the quarter and the Czech government helped to rebuild the quarter, now many people, not just Jewish people, occupy the area. Many of the synagogues and important buildings survived the wars and were not torn down by the Nazis. Our tour guide told us this is because when Hitler and the Nazis began their invasion, Hitler had planned to keep Jewish Prague as the one remaining monument of the Jews, incredibly sobering. They had a museum full of drawing from Jewish children placed in a camp that was kind of an intermediary between the ghettos and transfer to actual concentration camps, we didn't have a chance to actually go inside and look though.

Immediately following the Prague Walking tour we did the Prague Castle Tour (I highly recommend both). The Prague Castle is actually the largest coherent castle complex in the world. We got to see several of the gardens, churches, halls, and the Old and New Palace inside the complex. The history of the castle construction dates back to the 9th century, all the way until the last major rebuilding in the 18th century. The castle construction took such a long time because new rulers kept starting projects and never finishing them, and with another new occupant came another project. There are many different architectural styles in the castle complex- Gothic, Renaissance and Bohemian.

After leaving the castle when we back to the hostel to get ready for the evening. Melissa and I ate at a nearby Czech Restaurant, I got grilled vegetables and a typical Czech potato soup, it was pretty good but I wouldn't say the Czech's specialize in vegetarian food. We started off the evening down at the bar in the hostel chatting with our Aussie friends we had made earlier. Later we went to a popular 5 story club, it was a lot of fun, they played 80's music which I always love :)

The next day I did a little shopping in the 5 story mall called the Paladrum and had Thai food (again) for lunch. After wards I went to the National Museum and it was interesting, I got to see a mineral exhibit, anthropology exhibit, fossil exhibit, and a special exhibit they had on Czech legends and folk lores. Thank goodness most of it was actually in English. After the museum I went to the National Hall to see a symphony orchestra concert, although classical music isn't typically my thing, the experience in itself was wonderful and the music was beautiful. After the concert I walked to Old town Square to see the Astronomical Clock go off at night, then I walked to Charles Bridge to snap a few pictures of the Prague Castle from a far. It was a perfect last day in Prague.

Just a few of the pictures I snapped while exploring Prague:

 Prague Castle during the walking tour, we got to see the changing of the guards, very cool

 National Museum built in 1899

 Inside of the National Museum

 After the symphony orchestra concert in National Hall

 Astronomical clock at night after it went off

Tyn Cathedral in Old Town Square