• Beer is cheaper than just about any other beverage. I love this, but the weight I’m gaining begs to differ.
• Everyone I have encountered in Europe, whether it be friends or friends of friends or random strangers, have been lovely, with the exception of those I encountered in Prague. They say that if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all, so I will say absolutely nothing about the Czechs I encountered in the Czech Republic.
• I’ve gotten a little more used to paying for bathrooms now, but I still can’t stand those who unabashedly beg for money by the bathroom even if they aren’t the ones who clean it! (This is directed at the old Russian man who hurled Russian insults at me as I scurried away from the bathroom, desperately trying to get away from him.)
• Salzburg might possibly the prettiest city in Europe I have ever seen.
• There is an abundance of fresh bread here, all day everyday. I can’t wrap my head around this. Back in the States, there are bakeries that will try to pass off yesterday’s bread as today’s fresh bread, which is unheard of here!
• Even though I haven’t visited Italy this trip, I have seen more Italian restaurants than any other kind. This greatly pleases me, as Italian food is my favorite kind of food. (My family jokes that I should have been born an Italian, so great is my love for Italian food!)

Tags: europe

The best: that even though there are so many countries with widely varied languages, cuisine, and culture, it’s so easy to zip over to another country and/or major city to do some sightseeing. How cool is it that you can live in Germany and say, “Hey, how about let’s go and visit Austria and Switzerland for the weekend!” Much cooler than living in Chicago and saying, “Hey, let’s go visit the Wisconsin Dells for the weekend.”

The worst: why the hell do they charge for going to the toilet here? I understand paying ten or twenty cents if the toilets are really clean and well kept, but when the toilet is smellier than a public toilet in the summer heat of NYC and I have to pay thirty cents to use it? I do not understand.

It’s hard to type on a German keyboard as the keys are different than what I am used to and I’m so busy going from place to place that I find myself checking the Internet only sporadically. I can’t believe that a week of my vacation has already passed – the remaining two weeks are sure to fly by!

Tags: europe

I’m flying out to Europe tonight, which is where I will be spending the next three weeks. I will be staying with family friends in southern Germany, as well as going on various mini-trips to nearby countries and major cities to do lots of sightseeing. Obviously, I am very, very excited! I’ll have intermittent Internet access while I’m away, so I’ll be able to be contacted via email and I’m hoping to be able to post to my blog semi-frequently like I did when I went to the East Coast.

I’ll be returning home the third week of August, where I will have a very short turnaround from my return from Europe to my departure to China for study abroad (not to mention my birthday to celebrate!). Nothing like wrapping up my summer vacation with a bang!

Tags: europe