Saved the Best for Last!

I am done! Wow... time has flown. I felt like I just arrived here in Vienna, and now I am already leaving! I have some great times here abroad and have learned a lot about life and myself. Definitely would have changed nothing. I will then leave you with my memories that I have of my time here...

Me and my host parents! Loved their hospitality and their food is amazing! :D

 I went to Graz and had an amazing time their. I took the trip by myself and it was nice to just wander through such a large city. Graz is the second largest city in Austria. 1st is of course Vienna.

In Graz, the old fortress is built on a mighty hill... too bad the lift wasn't working. So instead I climbed my way to the top.... and on the way I had amazing views!

Budapest.... Had an amazing weekend their. It was interesting being in Hungary for certain. Beautiful city!

 I don't think the people knew I was having a bad morning... so this just made it a lot better! I love it when someone does a little something special which turns your day around.

 This was taken two days after I came to Vienna. I just look back at what experiences I had... Amazing times that I will never forget!

 I leave you with Vienna Oktoberfest. It was a great time here in Europe.






















And now.... I SEE MY FAMILY! I leave in the morning for Warsaw. I get to see my sister and mom. We will travel from their to Krakow and see Auschwitz. I then get to see my brother and his gf in Prague! From Prague, we will go to Munich, then to Salzburg, and then back where it all began: Vienna! We will stay with my host parents, where my fam can gain some Viennese cooking skills.

Buda or Pest: What is your favorite?

I traveled to Budapest this past weekend and it was absolutely amazing. I can understand why is it called the city of bridges.

The set up of the city: the city is divided by the mighty Danube; on one side Buda and on the other side Pest. I stayed in Buda at a quaint little hostel. The first day was spent checking out Old Town Pest. We saw many sights and it was great just to be there.

The second day was Buda, with its huge castle. It was amazing to look across the city from the castle hill.

 The Parliament building

 The bridge

 The city at night.

 Again

 The bridge and the castle on the hill...

 Me with the castle

 The bridge

 The bridge...

 Main square..

With a ski slope in the middle of it...

Overall is was a great experience.

Me, Myself, and I

A week ago I went to Ireland... by myself, completely alone.  I left on a Friday and returned the next Tuesday. It was an amazing experience. I was relying on myself and have never felt that before. I got myself around and didn't need to worry about what other people wanted to do. I could do exactly what I wanted to do.

When I was on the plane going to Ireland, I was extremely nervous. I didn't know what to expect since I had never gone on vacation with just myself. Would I get lost? How do I get to the hostel? A million different things ran through my mind. I landed and it all dissipated. I had made it and I could do what ever I wanted to do, whenever. It makes you feel empowered when everything is up to you. I felt like a free bird.

I hopped on a bus that took me to my hostel and checked in. I then went on river cruise and booked two different excursions. The first one took me to Northern Ireland, and some amazing scenery!  We went to a little island that had a ricketty old foot bridge to it. It was made because the salmon would swim between the mainland and island, so they fished from it. Many pictures looking into the Irish Sea.

And the next day I went to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. It was just amazing!!

 Yes... that is right. I met people on my little day tour. Both times. And it is a very small world because I met people from around the TO area! Crazy!

It was an amazing experience going on the excursions! I had soo much fun and met so many great people! It was a lot of walking and the rain didn't bother me a single bit. It was actually really refreshing.

The last full day of my vacation was spent in Dublin. Turns out it was the same day as the Dublin Marathon... so the streets were shut down. I navigated myself to the Killmainham Gaol, which was about 5 miles away. I also passed my Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and St. Stephen's Green. Let's just say it took me awhile!

 Tuesday was also spent in Dublin. I visited the Guinness factory, which just reminded me why I don't drink it. I also went to the Jameson Distillery, which was interesting. I never knew the difference between whiskeys or how it was brewed. It was thoroughly enjoyed and I know why I like whiskey!

All in all: It was an amazing experience. Traveling by myself was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yes, traveling with friends is great, but you learn a lot about yourself when it is just you. It is thrilling. I met a lot of people, from my hostel and from the day trips. I also am very pleased with the hostel. It is a great way to meet people and a cheap place to stay. I hope to someday visit Ireland again.

2 flights, 1 bus ride, 1 boat ride, 2 beers, and 1 manicure later

That is right! I am in Ireland! I am so stoked to be here right now. Definitely a little nervous traveling by myself, but in the end I made it safe and sound. I am amazed at how much I missed English! I hear it and understand and and love it!! I think of this as my vacation, within a vacation!

The flights were not especially bad or anything, but I have decided that I want to go to western Austria and look at the Alps! It was a beautiful sight, flying over them. The bus ride was actually so easy to find and took my a block from my hostel. Finding the hostel was another problem... There are tons of hostels littered on the street, but I found it in the end.

The boat ride was just something to fill time and it was definitely a fun experience! I got to learn a lot about the city just from the river Liffey?? I think that is what it is called...
I obviously had to go get some beer... so I got food at well in the Temple Bar (area). Basically Temple Bar is an area of at least 20 or so bars and shops. I went to the Elephant Castle. They had some good burgers, really big too.

And then I was walking home and walked through a department store and they had manicures! I have been trying to find one in Vienna for awhile and haven't been able to... So i had to get them done because they were becoming horrible! It was my rest and relaxation! Definitely a good start to an excellent vacation! I will add pictures when I update this... Just wanted to let you know how my time was so far!

Poland: My brethren!

This past weekend I was able to travel to Poland. It was an amazing!

We began our journey on Friday morning, around 7:30 am. The train ride was especially fun. The group had some fun bonding times. We had to switch trains in Katowice and therefore had about an hour in town. I figured out that the exchange rate from Euro to Zloty(the polish currency) is 1:4. Amazing! I just walked around and found this nice fountain to take a picture next to.

Random fountain in Katowice by the train station.

We then got a little Podunk train…it had plastic seats that were not so comfy. We also had to scramble from one platform to the next because they changed our platform. It was an interesting time.

The train ride from Katowice to Krakow was around 2 hours and 30 minutes. Not too long.

Then trying to get all 15 of us, with all our baggage on the light rail was a great sight to see. Of course none of us stamped our tickets. I will get to that later.

Where the trumpeter plays from

We arrived at the hostel and put our luggage down and then proceeded to go out for a great city tour. We got to see the tower where the trumpeter of Krakow plays. We also went to an "authentic" Jewish restaurant. I happen to get some fish. Let's just say it was staring back at me!

I had no idea it would have a face. Kinda creeped me out...

The next day we went to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkeneau. It was quite an experience being in that place. It was filled with many different emotions. We stood in the places where many people were selected to either live and be worked to death, or to die in the gas chambers. It was definitely worth it in the end. One experience was especially haunting. The Nazi collected many things from the Jews when they were brought to Auschwitz: articles of clothing, shoes, baggage, combs, brushes, etc. One thing I was not expecting was the hair. There is a room filled with people's hair. The tour guide it could have been from up to 30,000 people. He explained that they took the hair and made cloth, kinda like a burlap. Just something that was interesting to actually see with my own eyes.

The collection of shoes that was left when the Nazi's left Auschwitz.

Auschwitz I

The memorial

The tracks inside of Auschwitz, to the left is where the selection process took place.

Women's sleeping space, each bunk would have 4 to 8 people sleeping on it.

We then returned to Krakow and had some delicious dinner, with the help of Dr. Simpson's friend. She led us to a traditional Polish restaurant. It was down in the basement, where none of us would have ever looked for a restaurant. Most delicious!

A traditional Polish drink, warm red wine with cinnamon and an orange.

The square all lit up at night.

The last day of my adventure included going to the castle that still stands in the city and going to the Jewish ghetto. And also the Schindler factory! Definitely a nice thing to see!

I was hanging my head out of the train... It was fun.

And that concluded my trip to Krakow. One last thing... We actually got a ticket for riding the light-rail without a ticket. They should have charged us each 108 Zloty (around 25 Euro) but they just charged us for two people, we had 7 people altogether. Lesson learned! The ticket only costs 2,80 Zloty. So if you ever in Europe... just buy a ticket.