Spring Break
I swear I'm still alive!! As you can probably see from all my pictures on Facebook, I've been doing a lot of traveling. March has been the busiest month for me so far and I'm not going to lie...my writing got away from me a little bit. I'm going to write about my Spring break adventures while they're still fresh in my mind, but afterwards, I'm going to work on finishing my post from when Christian came to visit, my last minute trip to Ireland, and Austria/Hungary.
SOOO 5 countries in 10 days? Piece of cake (kinda) Let's just say that I've learned how to sleep on a bus pretty darn comfortably. Thursday night we left for Prague, Czech Republic. Prague was one of my favorite cities we visited (and the coldest) People aren't lying when they say the entire city looks like a fairytale. The buildings look like they're right out of a Disney movie...brightly colored walls and beautifully decorated facades.
We arrived in Prague Friday morning and went on our first walking tour of the trip. Our hostel was perfectly situated right next to the Tram stop which took all of us into the downtown area. In the main square, everyone was setting up the Easter markets, which meant everything was beautifully decorated in flowers and ribbons. After the walking tour (and freezing our butts off) Fran and I went to get some of "Prague's best hot chocolate" (which it was) and then some delicious typical Czech food. To say it was my favorite meal of spring break is an understatement...this beef was cooked so tenderly and the sauce poured over the dumplings was amazing. (would highly recommend)
Our second day in Prague we went to the John Lennon wall, which in retrospect is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be! However, it was still beautiful, and if you don't think I left my mark on the wall, then you clearly don't know me very well. (Obviously I snatched some stranger's marker for a quick second and scribbled my name on there) Besides seeing the sites and eating some awesome food, I also got to fulfill my life long dream of hand feeding swans (I know it sounds weird but for some reason I've always wanted to do this) After a pub crawl, some more delicious food, and a couple frost bitten toes later, we were on our way onto our next stop...
Berlin! We got to Germany around 1:00 so we checked in quickly and went to the Sunday Flohmarkt at Mauerpark, which is basically this really big flea market with venders set up selling things ranging from food to clothes and jewelry. (I bought a hella cute bag for super cheap!) Berlin was one city I was very excited to learn about because I consider myself somewhat of a WWII junky. On our second day in the city, we went on a fascinating walking tour that was all about Germany's history, not just in the world world wars, but from the time Germany was established as its own country. Later on that same day, Fran and I also went on a tour specifically all about the Third Reich. This went into the historical detail I was really interested in hearing about. Berlin is by no means the most beautiful city in Europe, but if you're fascinated by history as much as I am, it's definitely a must see.
Third stop, Amsterdam. This was, hands down, my absolute favorite city that we visited over the break. Fran and I had the most planned for Amsterdam, as it was the city we spent a lot of time in. We went to the Van Gogh Museum, which although was fascinating, was also a huge disappointment if you were looking for Starry Night. Yes, I traveled all the way to Holland to discover my favorite Van Gogh painting is right in my home state, in the MoMA. I also was able to get tickets to the Anne Frank House, which was just absolutely incredible. I got chills walking through the rooms and left speechless.
Later that same day, Fran and I signed up for a Red Light District Tour and it did not disappoint. Our tour guide, comically named Mars, took as all through the ins and outs of the prostitution in the city and how it works. The girls basically stand in windows within the Red Light District (because red light covers the most of the body's imperfections) and pay per shift. It's like basic real estate, the more private windows are more expensive because the more clients the women will get and the later shifts are more expensive because people are more willing to go to the windows at night.
The next day, we toured the Heineken Factory, which was honestly, just as cool, if not cooler, than the Guinness Factory. Very different experience and very different beer. We snapped some pics of the I Amsterdam sign, the canal ways, and beautiful squares, and continued on our way to Brussels.
Brussels was just a day trip. We passed through on our way to our final stop and got to explore for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was incredibly rainy, so I didn't do much exploring, but you can bet I had the best Belgian waffle ever while I was there. We hopped back on the bus and within a few short hours, we arrived in Paris.
Our last stop was not at all disappointing. Our first night there, our two leaders, took us to the Eiffel Tower, and I am so grateful they did. Something about the beauty of the Eiffel Tower at night just can't be captured during the daytime. Paris was also where we had our most beautiful weather. I whipped out a cute skirt that I had been dying to wear all break and bought a beret to match. Fran and I went to the Louvre, Versailles, (we probably spent a whole 15 minutes in the Louvre...really just wanted to see my girl Mona) and then back to the Eiffel Tower during the day to see it in the sunlight. Saturday night, we got on the bus for the last time to head home to Florence.
Although incredibly tiring, this was the trip of a lifetime and I experienced the most amazing cities in such a short period of time. But, no city has my heart like beautiful Firenze. I'm happy to be back, but I'm actually leaving again tonight for Croatia! I'll be spending Easter weekend in the beautiful city of Split. I promise I won't be lazy with my posts anymore and will share more frequently...I hope you enjoyed hearing about my spring break as much as I enjoyed going on it :*
SOOO 5 countries in 10 days? Piece of cake (kinda) Let's just say that I've learned how to sleep on a bus pretty darn comfortably. Thursday night we left for Prague, Czech Republic. Prague was one of my favorite cities we visited (and the coldest) People aren't lying when they say the entire city looks like a fairytale. The buildings look like they're right out of a Disney movie...brightly colored walls and beautifully decorated facades.
We arrived in Prague Friday morning and went on our first walking tour of the trip. Our hostel was perfectly situated right next to the Tram stop which took all of us into the downtown area. In the main square, everyone was setting up the Easter markets, which meant everything was beautifully decorated in flowers and ribbons. After the walking tour (and freezing our butts off) Fran and I went to get some of "Prague's best hot chocolate" (which it was) and then some delicious typical Czech food. To say it was my favorite meal of spring break is an understatement...this beef was cooked so tenderly and the sauce poured over the dumplings was amazing. (would highly recommend)
Berlin! We got to Germany around 1:00 so we checked in quickly and went to the Sunday Flohmarkt at Mauerpark, which is basically this really big flea market with venders set up selling things ranging from food to clothes and jewelry. (I bought a hella cute bag for super cheap!) Berlin was one city I was very excited to learn about because I consider myself somewhat of a WWII junky. On our second day in the city, we went on a fascinating walking tour that was all about Germany's history, not just in the world world wars, but from the time Germany was established as its own country. Later on that same day, Fran and I also went on a tour specifically all about the Third Reich. This went into the historical detail I was really interested in hearing about. Berlin is by no means the most beautiful city in Europe, but if you're fascinated by history as much as I am, it's definitely a must see.
Third stop, Amsterdam. This was, hands down, my absolute favorite city that we visited over the break. Fran and I had the most planned for Amsterdam, as it was the city we spent a lot of time in. We went to the Van Gogh Museum, which although was fascinating, was also a huge disappointment if you were looking for Starry Night. Yes, I traveled all the way to Holland to discover my favorite Van Gogh painting is right in my home state, in the MoMA. I also was able to get tickets to the Anne Frank House, which was just absolutely incredible. I got chills walking through the rooms and left speechless.
Later that same day, Fran and I signed up for a Red Light District Tour and it did not disappoint. Our tour guide, comically named Mars, took as all through the ins and outs of the prostitution in the city and how it works. The girls basically stand in windows within the Red Light District (because red light covers the most of the body's imperfections) and pay per shift. It's like basic real estate, the more private windows are more expensive because the more clients the women will get and the later shifts are more expensive because people are more willing to go to the windows at night.
The next day, we toured the Heineken Factory, which was honestly, just as cool, if not cooler, than the Guinness Factory. Very different experience and very different beer. We snapped some pics of the I Amsterdam sign, the canal ways, and beautiful squares, and continued on our way to Brussels.
Brussels was just a day trip. We passed through on our way to our final stop and got to explore for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was incredibly rainy, so I didn't do much exploring, but you can bet I had the best Belgian waffle ever while I was there. We hopped back on the bus and within a few short hours, we arrived in Paris.
Our last stop was not at all disappointing. Our first night there, our two leaders, took us to the Eiffel Tower, and I am so grateful they did. Something about the beauty of the Eiffel Tower at night just can't be captured during the daytime. Paris was also where we had our most beautiful weather. I whipped out a cute skirt that I had been dying to wear all break and bought a beret to match. Fran and I went to the Louvre, Versailles, (we probably spent a whole 15 minutes in the Louvre...really just wanted to see my girl Mona) and then back to the Eiffel Tower during the day to see it in the sunlight. Saturday night, we got on the bus for the last time to head home to Florence.
Although incredibly tiring, this was the trip of a lifetime and I experienced the most amazing cities in such a short period of time. But, no city has my heart like beautiful Firenze. I'm happy to be back, but I'm actually leaving again tonight for Croatia! I'll be spending Easter weekend in the beautiful city of Split. I promise I won't be lazy with my posts anymore and will share more frequently...I hope you enjoyed hearing about my spring break as much as I enjoyed going on it :*
Comments
Post a Comment