Europe. Contiki. Need I say more?

I am so excited to be back in Europe! I absolutely love it here – if it was easier to get a visa, I swear I would move here. Everything is so beautiful and ornate, even buildings like the post office are just so intricately designed. It’s not like at home where all the buildings are put up as quickly and cheaply as possible – there’s so much character! I’ve also enjoyed it from a food perspective. Morocco had absolutely no variety in food but Europe has everything – in the last week I’ve had Italian, Thai, Mexican and I’ve got my eye on a sushi restaurant. Oh, and I’ve had Eastern European of course (think schnitzel, goulash and strudel). Food is such a huge part of the travel experience – I can eat Chinese food at home but it’s so different the food they actual serve in China. Thinking about all this food sure has made me hungry!

I’ve already seen much of Europe so I wanted to do something I had not yet visited before, so I chose Eastern Europe. We are visiting Germany, Czech, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland in just under 2 weeks. It’s so fast paced but I love it. It's been so interesting to learn so much about both Communism and WWII. It's also different to be in a part of Europe that is dominated by Jewish quarters - I'm so used to everything being Catholic, it's a new dynamic for me. I was fascinated to learn about the Berlin wall and everything the people went through - it is so sad to think that they suffered for so long. What remains of the wall now does have some cool art work covering it.

I had already been to Vienna and Budapest so I was most excited for the other cities. Imagine my surprise that my favorite city so far was Budapest! I feel like I breezed through it so fast last time that we didn’t really get to enjoy it much. This time, we had quite a bit of free time so I was able to enjoy it at my own pace. I went with one of the girls in the tour and we just got lost. I love doing that – just going for a wander, not looking at the map, stopping for a coffee or a gelato, then trying to figure our way back home. That’s exactly what we did yesterday – did a little bit of shopping, had some food, sent some postcards and just relaxed. I loved the laid back feeling of Budapest, I could really see myself living somewhere like that. The best part of the day was in the afternoon I found my way to a movie theater and finally saw Harry Potter! I know, I know, it’s been out for ages, but I haven’t had the opportunity to go to a movie. This one was actually in English with Hungarian subtitles, so I’m pretty sure I’m fluent in Hungarian now as well! It was such a good movie but I was a little sad for the end of the Harry Potter era. I also missed seeing it with my sisters….it was sad to go without them! (Love and miss you girls!)

Of course, since this is Contiki there are also lots of late nights and early mornings. Some people hate on Contiki because it is for people 18 – 35, it’s a large bus with 50 people and there is lots of drinking and wild nights that happen. However, I really enjoy the Contiki type travel. I wouldn’t want to do it all the time, but it’s nice to be with people who are your own age and everyone is outgoing and nice. You get to know so many people in such a short period of time, and it’s like you’ve known them for years. It’s so much fun to go out dancing in Prague or go to a beer festival in Berlin, then you have a 5 hour bus ride the next day where there is nothing to do but sleep. I’ve got enough serious times on the trip, like hiking on Everest,  that I love having a variety as I see the world. I love Contiki and the people on my tour are so much fun!

Since this is the Europe section, I’ll leave you with the two most common tourist places here – a castle and a church. Enjoy!