Month: August 2015

Even in the grumpiest of grumpy moods I have found that my real, true passion, other than working with children, is traveling. This last week I have learned so much about myself and more about the world. From the wall in Berlin, to the canals of Venice, I have seen both the tragic horror and the joyful smiles of each and every city’s past. I felt the originality and significance in each and every square inch I covered. I fell into a love. A deep passionate love for every city I visited this last week. Despite the blistered feet, lack of sleep, and sunburnt shoulders, nothing has held me back from becoming profoundly enamored with every place I went.

We started in Berlin,Germany. We got off with little to no sleep, found the nearest Starbucks (that’s the American in us) and looked through the leaflets that we took from the train station. We all came to the decision with the small amount sleep we got the night before we should just take a tour bus that allowed us to get on and off throughout the day. We took this bus around the city for a good two hours while the rain steadily beat down on the roof. We saw everything and then decided to go back to the things we thought were the coolest. Checkpoint Charlie and The Wall. Every place we went had a lightness that was unexpected for such a dark history. We had our pictures taken with some mock guards at Checkpoint Charlie. The guards were beyond hilarious and most of our pictures are of us laughing. We then walked down to a part of The Wall called the topography of terror. This part of The Wall was next to the headquarters of the Gestapo. There was a heavier feeling around that building just because we were told from the bus tour that, although the building was only used between 1933 and 1945, there were many prisoners that were held and tortured here. We wanted to see it but we moved on pretty quickly. The last part of The Wall we saw was the part that was full of art. This was my favorite. Each section of The Wall was used as a place for artists to showcase their talent. Each and every piece of art was a different style. It really took a terrible piece of history and made it beautiful. We also walked around the city and visited the holocaust memorial and the gate.

From Berlin we boarded a four hour train to Prague, Czech Republic. Prague is so different from most other cities I’ve been to. The city was so gothic and timeworn. That’s what I loved most about Prague. I was extremely tired and running off of hardly any sleep by the time we got to Prague. Most of what I do remember of the city comes from my pictures. I loved the city; I do know that. The famous Charles Bridge was so extremely beautiful. Each side has a tower that gives off the old medieval feel from when it was built in 1357-1402.Along each side of the bridge are statues that each are depictions of Jesus and people from the Bible. From the Bridge if you look toward Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle), in the west hills of the city, there is the giant St. Vitus Cathedral that is the most visible part of the grounds. It is so grand and beautiful that we found ourselves climbing a massive staircase just to get a look at the beautiful structure. Directly outside of the large estate was a quaint little vineyard that was the perfect place to take in the view of the city and snap a few shots. Prague is so historically sound and beautiful. That’s what made this city so wonderful. We spent most of our day walking the streets just taking in every building we passed. We also ran barefoot through the city in the rain! That was my favorite part of prague. My feet hurt and my friends sandals were slippery, so we took our sandals off and we ran to the train station in bare feet.

After trying to dry ourselves (and our clothes) off, we got on a train to Budapest,Hungary. After not sleeping for nearly three days I was ready to pass out, but the people around us decided to talk all night long. Thank god for iPods and slow music. We arrived in Budapest the next morning. It was so extremely hot while we were there, but that made the city even more stunning.The view from the edge of the Danube River displays massive buildings that are placed alongside of it. From parliament to the giant castle grounds the view also shows the many levels of the history the city has lived through. A liberty statue guards the top of the highest hilltop in Pest and bridges cross the river each with a different structure, each from a different era. Everywhere I looked there was something that caught my eye. From St. Stephen’s Basilica, with an enormous dome crowning it, to the intricate designs of the Dohány Street Synagogue down the street; there was always something to see.The castle district was enormous and we happened upon a church that looked straight out of a Disney movie.With a colored tile roof a small black spire and a towering white spire. The church had such depth that you could stare at for hours. The church was surrounded by walls that showed an incredible view of Budapest.We took a night boat tour that showed us another stunning view of the city from a different perspective. We saw so many churches and buildings that were bigger than our cameras could even capture. We also visited a bar that was nothing like I have ever seen before. It was called Szimpla. I cannot even begin to describe it, so you will have to visit the website to see. I really didn’t want to leave Budapest. Two days just didn’t do the city justice. I will definitely be back to the wonderful city.

From Budapest we jetted on over to Vienna, Austria where we spent only one day. Vienna was also incredibly different than all the other cities. We toured the beautiful opera that had so much history and depth because of being partly diminished in WWII. The old and new meshed well together.The entirety of the inside of the building was equally beautiful from the new part to the old. With the limited time we had, we walked around the city to see as much as we could. We saw the Hofburg Palace (just the exterior) and the parliament building, and even though we only had eight hours in the city, we covered as much ground as we could. My favorite part of Vienna was a cathedral also called St. Stephen’s (like the basilica in Budapest) It was so grand and archaic, dating back to 1147. Vienna was more than I hoped for and I hope I have another opportunity to visit the city so that I can tell you all more about its beauty.

We spent the night in a train that night on our way to Venice, Italy for two days. Italy is by far my most favorite place to visit, so I might be biased when I say that Venice was the most wonderful city we visited. Aside from the 80% humidity and the 34°C (93°F) I really felt like I was in a truly historic city. Each canal and small street had a story to tell. We ran into many grand buildings. Like the Scuola Grande di San Marco, a convent built in 1293 and converted into an Austrian military hospital in 1819. It is now the civil hospital of Venice and is conjoined with the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo. We also visited a church with just as grand of an exterior as Scoula Grande di San Marco built in 1430. Although both are very grand and beautiful they are vastly different from each other. Another church we went to was Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. Built in 1681, right at the end of the Grand Canal, the basilica was built and dedicated to Our Lady of Health because of a devastating outbreak of the plague. Aside from the magnificent Basilicas and buildings we saw many of the islands surrounding Venice from the exterior of the city. There is an island just for the cemetery. And then there was Murano; A city most famous for glass making. Unfortunately when we ventured out there not only was it tremendously hot but it was also a Sunday. If you have ever been to Europe you will find most places close the whole city on Sunday, so we walked along the quiet empty canals of Murano for a bit before we decided to find our way back to the main city and walk around some more.

Our last stop was Milano Expo, Italy. The world’s fair. We walked all day with our packs on our backs because there were no lockers to put them in. It was even hotter than Venice, but we were lucky because humidity was 10% less than Venice. Apart from the lack of lockers, the Expo was excellently set up. I was so happy to see how organized and well thought out it was. I do suppose they had, what I’m guessing, around 10 years to plan this fair. The theme is science and agriculture and they set it up to show how each country has to use science in order for its agriculture to thrive. I really enjoyed visiting every country, seeing how each country has a different way of providing food. The U.S. had a food truck area. Mexico served tacos and margaritas (my personal favorite, because of the lack of good Mexican in Switzerland) Russia showed the “degustation of its food and drinks”. All around it was really fun and I hope to make a trip back there in the next few weeks.

I really had a blast on my trip and I hope to make more trips in the future. As most of you know I will be moving to Sweden in a month and a half and I will probably make small trips here and there, but nothing big. I do need to save money and get myself ready to embark on another amazing year in another wonderful country. I am beyond excited to embark on this new adventure. I hope to write a little more often but please do bear with me I might have to skip a week or two.

Please feel free to comment below or email me at riley@rileycochran.me