The Trip of a Lifetime! And Mondays.

“Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays”…

I’d say! I just got back from 15 sunny days of gallivanting around Europe, a perfect weekend of doing nothing, and now it’s back to work. But before I start unreasonably complaining about going to back the “real world,” I should count my lucky stars for the lovely trip I went on. 

One train ticket. Two weeks. Four countries. It was incredible!

I started my trip by (slowly) making my way through the south of France to Switzerland. It took 18 hours to get there, stopping in Hendaye, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Geneva, before arriving in Lausanne, where I crashed for the night, sleeping like a baby after my epic journey. The next day I got up early to make the most of my Interrail pass and complete the trek to Glarus in the East. Yes, Glarus, Switzerland as in the predecessor of New Glarus, Wisconsin. Since I was only a little over three hours away, I had to take the opportunity to visit. It was beautiful; tucked into the Alps on the shores of the sparkling blue Linth River... definitely worth the trip! Everyone was so nice; especially the woman at the tourist office/shop/café (it really is a small town) who offered to let me keep my backpack there while I explored the land of my forefathers. I truly enjoyed my time there and got to see the Swiss Alps and Zürich on the way.

I had a similar experience when I was in Germany, specifically the Mecklenburg region in the Northeast corner of the country. This is where my father’s grandfather was from and being in Hamburg, only an hour away, again, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Since we don’t know exactly where in the region he was from, I opted for one of the three major cities, Schwerin, home to a giant castle that housed the dukes of Mecklenburg from the 12th to 19th centuries. And what a splendid palace, indeed! It looked so amazing from the outside (with magnificent towers and lush gardens) that I opted to tour the inside as well. The place was like a mini German version of Versailles, but without the hordes of tourists. The rest of the town was as charming as the castle and I couldn’t help but wonder if I crossed paths with any distant cousins while exploring.

The time between buscando mis raíces was well spent. After returning from Glarus I met up with Sara Dickey. She was studying abroad in England and after finishing her internship she was off to do some Eurotripping herself, so we planned to meet up along the way. It was so cool to see here across the pond! We were in Switzerland for three days and didn’t waste any time. The first day we spent exploring beautiful international Geneva (or Ginebra in Spanish, which also means gin… That has caused some awkward teaching moments when we’ve talked about going on holiday… “I’m sorry, you went where?”). The best part of Genève was by far the gorgeous lake.

We also enjoyed visiting the United Nations Palais des Nations and seeing the aldstat (Old Town). On day two we hopped the train again and visited Interlaken and Lucerne. Switzerland just kept getting better and better… Between the natural beauty of Interlaken (truly the land of Heidi) and amazing sights of Lucerne (frescoed buildings, medieval covered bridges), we were like little kids in a candy shop. As a matter of fact, we went to an incredible candy shop in Interlaken where I tried the what were most certainly the best chocolate truffles of my life.

We spent our last day in the Swiss capital of Bern, seeing the clock tower, Albert Einstein’s apartment and bears, oh my! The medieval clock tower is in the historic city center, all of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Breathtaking. Einstein lived in an apartment along the main street while he was developing the Theory of Relativity, so we popped our heads in to have a look and soak up some genius energy. E = mC²! We also enjoyed beautiful views of the River Aar from Bern’s bear pit. The bear is the symbol of the city and they lovingly keep four of them on display in a little riverside zoo.

After our last night in Switzerland I said good-bye to Sara and we went our separate ways; she left for Italy and I was off to Austria to meet up with David and some friends in Vienna. It was a super long journey, 10 hours on a train through all of Austria, but the scenery made it worthwhile. Also, despite my many travels I had yet to visit the bar car… it was heaven to sip on kaffee milch while watching the Alps go by.

I spent my first night in Wien flying solo, going out to dine on traditional Austrian fare and then to see a palace in the morning- Schloss Schönbrunn, to be precise. Afterwards I explored the old Jewish Quarter and the magnificent cathedral… I even saw an impromptu boys’ choir performance! Afterwards I headed to the Hauptbahnhof to meet up with David, Javi, Miguel and Bea. I was so happy to see them! And in Austria of all places! After getting settled we were off to see what is the majesty of Austria’s capital, Hofburg Palace (home to the Hapsburg Dynasty and the seat of government since the 13th century!), the Austrian parliament, and the Rathaus (or city hall, which could easily be a palace in and of itself). We marveled at these edifices and their surrounding gardens. That night we went back to the same traditional restaurant and ordered meter long sausage and liters of beer for dinner. It was delicious and just what we needed to rest up for the trip to Prague the next day.

The train ride to Prague was by far the most interesting for watching people and places alike. The Czech countryside was very picturesque, but I especially liked stopping in all the little train stations on the way and seeing the signs in this weird indiscernible language. And I loved listening to it too. It was the first time in my life I was in a place where I didn’t know a single word of the language. I mean, I don’t know German either, but I can at least say hello, please/thank you, yes/no… that kind of key vocabulary that none of us have in Czech. It was definitely fun to see my Spanish friends trying to communicate in English, because it was our only hope.

We arrived to the city and it was like nowhere else I’ve ever been. The architecture was amazing… medieval, but Eastern style. We loved it. We spent our time there exploring churches, castles, bridges, towers… anything to enjoy the breathtaking views of Praha and the Danube down below. And we drank beer, a lot of beer. It was cheaper than bottled water! And not to mention delicious J

After two days of sightseeing we set off on another interesting train ride to Berlin. We got our own car and quickly converted the chairs into beds, trying to make up for lost sleep. This was quite amusing to the 67 police officers and train workers who came to look at our passports and check our tickets.

We arrived that afternoon and checked out the impressive cathedral, Berliner Dom, and the main avenue. An old roommate of mine from Chile, Jean Paul, is living there and we met up with him too, which was wonderful. Not only was it great to see him after all these years, he was an amazing tour guide. He took us to see the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, as well as the Holocaust Memorial. I’ve said this many times about my travels throughout Europe- it’s like “living history."

Well, this paradox held especially true for the German capital… all the tragedy and tension of that period is still tangible, seeing the wall, and the bullet holes in the buildings. It was haunting. Jean Paul knows a lot about history, so that made it all the more real. I was particularly impressed by the Holocaust Memorial. It was the first work of modern art that I’ve ever been able to comprehend. The whole thing takes up about one city block and it’s a large cluster of square columns arranged in several rows.

From the outside they appear to be all about the same height, maybe a few feet or so. But once you enter this labyrinth-like arrangement they get taller and taller, as the uneven ground carries you deeper inside. Eventually you get lost or separated from the people you go in with. You look up and the columns are so tall and ominous you can’t even see outside. But suddenly, out of nowhere, the columns gradually become shorter, less threatening, and you come out on the other side. A very poignant metaphor.

After our history lessons we bid Auf Wiedersehen to JP and called it a night. Our last day was spent seeing the German capitol, or Reichstag, and other sights we had yet to see, like the Alexanderplatz and famous TV tower as well as the East Side Gallery. The next morning we packed our bags and headed to the Hauptbahnhof once again to catch our corresponding trains.

David and company were heading back to Pamplona and I was going to enjoy the last days of my lengthy vacation (perks of being a teacher!) in Hamburg and Cologne.

I was sad to see them go but I loved my last days of the trip. Both cities were so fascinating… the canals of Hamburg and the cathedral of Cologne were completely captivating. Did you know that the remains of the Three Wise Men are supposedly buried there?? I went to have a look for myself and climb the 533 steps to the top of the tower. I was so proud of overcoming my fear of heights! It was on that note that I boarded my first train (of many) home, making a stop in Paris to hop on the night train to the Basque Country (first time in a sleeper car! It was totally worth it). I made it back to Vitoria in one piece, feeling like I had been to the ends of the Earth and back. 
Back. Now it’s back to work... After such a mind-blowing experience I feel like I have to follow up with something better than returning to school. But so is life.

Until next time!