Sorry for this blog being a tad later than expected. I've
had to really hit the books hard from coming back from a week break.
During the break I was able to travel to Budapest, Hungry,
Berlin, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic. They were all fantastic cities and
each one had something special that will make me remember them forever.
From Strasbourg, my group and I took a 14 hour bus ride to
Budapest. This may sound like a long time to be on a charter bus, and trust me…
it was. It was difficult ride, filled with random stops, crying babies, and
never enough leg room, but we finally made it to Budapest. From there we went
to check into our hostel. The trip there, combined with the hostel check in
took a little longer than expected, so we really were only able to walk up
Gellért Hill. It is about 140 meters (460 ft) high. (One of the only downfalls
of these fantastic old cities…. no way to go up besides walking…A LOT) Once we
reached the top we got the beautiful panoramic views of Budapest along with the
historic Citadel and the Liberation Monument. Another thing I experienced in
Budapest were the Szechenyi Bathhouses. They are outside heated pools, inside
there are additional pools, steam rooms and saunas. We stayed mostly in the
outside pools because even though it was pretty cold outside, the warm water
made it the perfect mixture of hot and cold. The only tough part was getting out!
Next we took a plane to Berlin, Germany.
It seemed like we did so many things while there. Including
going to the DDR museum, seeing the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Reichstag
building, Berlin Wall, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Museum Island. This
was the city we were able to spend the most time in, but it still did not seem
like enough. I felt like I could have spent weeks there and still never gotten
the full experience. One of the highlights was the Berlin Wall. We walked the
whole thing and it was so interesting to see all of the different artworks on
each piece, with some more historically inclined, while others were more
comedic. I loved seeing all the different artists’ interpretations shown on
each piece of the wall. It was a huge piece of history that I am glad I was
able to see firsthand. On a more somber note, we visited the Sachsenhausen
Concentration Camp. It was about an hour out of Berlin. This was a hard day
that made me feel a variety of emotions while being there. We went on a guided
tour and although it might not be classified as one of the more enjoyable
things we did, I believe it was the most historically relevant.
The final stop, Prague, Czech Republic.
Prague is another fabulous city, and we were lucky enough to
be there Halloween weekend which made it that much more exciting. We arrived
Friday night and after visiting the historic old town square, which was
absolutely beautiful lit up at night, we went on a haunted Prague tour in honor
of Halloween. It wasn’t scary, but we got to hear some ghost legends and it
gave us a chance to be guided around the city. We ended the tour in the
basement of a restaurant that once had tunnels connecting it to a church. The
next day we went on a real guided tour of Prague. It finished with us going
across the Charles Bridge, the most famous bridge in Prague. The bridge was
buzzing with activity. There were numerous bands, shops and overall tons of
people going back and forth along the bridge. Once across, we went to see the
famous John Lennon memorial wall. At night we were able to explore the castle
district. It was massive and nothing like you would expect. It wasn’t just one
castle but several buildings and churches in addition to the main castle. Since
we went so late we were able to see everything lit up, along with a view of
Prague itself. It was a great end to the night. The last day in Prague and of
our break we went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the National Art Museum of
Prague. It was pretty cool to see all the American culture in his work. Being
so far away I sometimes feel a little disconnected to American culture and what
is happening there now. But just seeing some of that history gave me a surreal
feeling. Once we finished we walked around Prague some more before going to our
bus to start the almost 8 hour journey back to Strasbourg.
The way home was not nearly as difficult as the way there.
It was easy to sleep most of the way considering how exhausted I had become
from so much traveling. I was ready to lay in my “own” bed.
Now that I have been back a full week it is study time here
for everyone with projects, research papers, and presentations beginning!
Thank you for sticking with me through this unusually long
post!
Your Falcon in France,
Carly
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| Museum Island - Berlin |
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| Part of the Berlin Wall |
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| Church in Old Town Square - Prague |
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| John Lennon Memorial - Prague |
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| Andy Warhol Exhibit - Prague |
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| Andy Warhol Exhibit - Prague |
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| Berlin Wall |
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| In front of the Prague Castle |
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