Prague:  I think this has been my favorite city that I’ve visited thus far in my travels while abroad.  I was just so pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness, architecture and immense detail.  I also didn’t realize the history that resides in the gothic looking city.  Wandering through the Old Town Square seeing the dark ominous historical structures were balanced with the surrounding pastel colored intricately detailed buildings.   We walked through the crowded square then followed all of the tourists between he swirvy cobblestone streets lined with shops, bakeries and restaurants until it finally opened up to the Charles Bridge.  Breathtaking.  The bridge is lined with tall dark statues and at each end there are tall archways guarded by men in costume (a bit cheesy but funny nonetheless).  Then over the right side of the bridge was my favorite view.  The glistening water enhanced the view of the Prague Castle which resides at the top of the hill, it’s dark detailed steeples surrounded by white and cream palace walls were like no other palace I’ve ever seen.  All I could think when I first saw it was, “Yep I’m going to live there someday.”

                Although the architecture and monuments are really something to remember in Prague, I absolutely loved the Lennon Wall.  It took us two days to find and multiple encounters of getting lost through the streets we finally found the graffiti wall that represents Peace and Love.  Although it was just a wall covered in graffiti the meaning behind it is what made the Lennon Wall so great.  I was told the wall represented freedom and having our own rights and celebrating our ability to be ourselves.  So after a lot of pictures of the wall Camille, Taylor and I decided to make our mark on the wall.

                “21.3.2011 A.H., C.D., T.D. If you’re too afraid to fail then you’ll never do anything original” we were trying to put something other than a peace sign with peace and love written by it.  But overall the Lennon wall was incredible such vibrant colors and beautiful graffiti.  The wall just enhanced my experience of Prague.  I loved the city and can’t wait to return to it.

Vienna:

On our second day in Vienna we ventured out to the Schonbrunn area to see the Hofburg’s summer palace.  The palace was beautiful and it was really interesting to walk through especially since we had an audio guide so we got to learn a lot about Austrian history, which I happened to love learning about. 

                But the part of Shonbrunn that was my favorite was definitely the zoo.  We had been spending days and days touring important historical buildings and seeing all the sights you are “supposed” to see in the cities we visited.  And I loved seeing them but we were at the point where we weren’t absorbing anything we were seeing and needed a break from it all.  So off we went to the Shonbrunn zoo.  And was it the perfect time of year to visit a zoo, there were a ton of baby animals everywhere!  My favorite however was the baby elephant, I named him Joey or Joe Joe.  I was so content sitting watching the baby elephant play with a tire while soaking up the sun.



Olympic Stadium



Munich:  Boy was Munich filled with stories…and incredible experiences.  The best part about Munich was being able to spend time with my cousin Elizabeth!  It was so nice being around family and sightseeing with her.  We enjoyed the open air market, German beers and buildings of Munich. 



Elizabeth sneaking in...



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Checking to see the coast is clear

 



            Unfortunately Elizabeth left before she could experience Springfest.  I headed to the German Springfest with a few girls I’m studying over here with and boy was it quite the experience. 

Springfest!

            I walked into the room and everyone was wearing the typical German gear, suede shorts with suspenders and flower patterned dresses with frilly blouses.  Groups were standing on tables singing and dancing with their friends while cradling their liter mugs of beer.  Making my way over to my friends I notice that they are intermixed with Germans enjoying the festivities.  So after about an hour I have my beer in hand and I’ve met most of the other people at our table.  Then I had to smile when I noticed one particular German enjoying Springfest. 



            He was identical to my cousin…Peter Christ.  I ended up sitting next to him and couldn’t help but feel like I was actually with Peter.  He was constantly smiling, cheers’ing everyone (or as the Germans say Prato) and of course singing along with the typical German songs being played.  I only wish that I had taken a picture with my new friend who I kept calling Peter even though it wasn’t actually his name (which I can’t remember).

            Springfest was a great ending to an incredible week of adventure.