please...no. more. learning.
i'm having trouble believing that we're leaving Europe tomorrow. It's been over 10 weeks since we left New York and landed in Madrid, and we've gotten into the travel rhythm. I've gotten used to the verdant fields filled with cows and sheep from trains. When I see pictures from the first half of our tour it feels like ages ago.
The second half of our Germany tour fit quite nicely into the historic narrative of German history. We first frolicked through the fairy tale of Germany's pre-20th century past, but were thrust into the realities of recent history when we got to Berlin. Berlin is an overwhelming experience for history buffs. We could have spent another three or four days just going to more museums, without even knowing that it's also an awesome city. We were lucky again with our couchsurfing hosts, who took us to sweet neighborhoods that felt almost like home, or more like what we could picture a great place to live (and strengthened our resolve to learn German).
The second half of our Germany tour fit quite nicely into the historic narrative of German history. We first frolicked through the fairy tale of Germany's pre-20th century past, but were thrust into the realities of recent history when we got to Berlin. Berlin is an overwhelming experience for history buffs. We could have spent another three or four days just going to more museums, without even knowing that it's also an awesome city. We were lucky again with our couchsurfing hosts, who took us to sweet neighborhoods that felt almost like home, or more like what we could picture a great place to live (and strengthened our resolve to learn German).
i am such a pain
Finding a metropolis like that, we were reluctant to leave and resume the "quaint towns of yesteryear importance," so Dresden and our return to Munich were plagued by the Copenhagen wall. Unfamiliar? Let me explain.
When we arrived in Dresden, we had left Zagreb a little over two weeks prior and I hit a wall. It seems that we have to change things up about every two weeks, or we get glassy-eyed, start dragging our feet, and cannot handle seeing one more beautiful thing. When we'd gotten to Hamburg in August, we'd been bussing, training, and hosteling through Europe and Northern Africa for over three weeks. We made a pitiful attempt to see the city in one rainy day, and took a handful of pictures. By the time we'd hit Copenhagen, we tried to fill our time with the usual sightseeing, but the joy was not there, and everything seemed a little more difficult. But when we hopped on a flight and rented a car - voila, our energy and excitement was renewed. By the end of our two weeks in the UK, we were happy to return our beloved car and hop on another flight and get on a train. The next two legs were broken up into a week by train, and two by car before we headed off to Munich to start Germany.
When we arrived in Dresden, we had left Zagreb a little over two weeks prior and I hit a wall. It seems that we have to change things up about every two weeks, or we get glassy-eyed, start dragging our feet, and cannot handle seeing one more beautiful thing. When we'd gotten to Hamburg in August, we'd been bussing, training, and hosteling through Europe and Northern Africa for over three weeks. We made a pitiful attempt to see the city in one rainy day, and took a handful of pictures. By the time we'd hit Copenhagen, we tried to fill our time with the usual sightseeing, but the joy was not there, and everything seemed a little more difficult. But when we hopped on a flight and rented a car - voila, our energy and excitement was renewed. By the end of our two weeks in the UK, we were happy to return our beloved car and hop on another flight and get on a train. The next two legs were broken up into a week by train, and two by car before we headed off to Munich to start Germany.
check out that snow
So the past week I have been kind of a pain. Not only was I tired, but I blew through a couple hundred euro to replace the backpack-that-swallows-necessary-items-while-rushing-for-transport, and the hiking boots that I lost in Croatia, and mail back 2.6 kgs of stuff back to California. But unlike Copenhagen, Erin wasn't distracted by the Hunger Games trilogy (see astrix below), and our couchsurfing host in Munich insisted on us seeing at least some of Munich (same one who got us into Oktoberfest. Talk about dedication), so we made a good push through our waning days here. We took a tour up to Dachau, which was a sobering experience. And in Hallstatt we even walked for a few kilometers in the pouring, freezing rain to go on a cheesy tour of the salt mines (we patted ourselves on the back for being such good tourists). But Erin finally succumbed to exhaustion as well, and we largely spent the last two days making the most of the internet at our cozy hotel.
So while it seems unbelievable that we're leaving Europe, I'm ready. As fall comes, it's time to get to warmer climates, and tan these white legs in Israel and Bali. Here we go!
-SB
*if you're looking for your next Harry Potter / Twilight / Young-Adult series obsessed over by adults, then read the Hunger Games Trilogy. It's the love triangle of Twilight set in a 1984 dystopian society with Mad Max's Thunderdome (without Tina Turner).
So while it seems unbelievable that we're leaving Europe, I'm ready. As fall comes, it's time to get to warmer climates, and tan these white legs in Israel and Bali. Here we go!
-SB
*if you're looking for your next Harry Potter / Twilight / Young-Adult series obsessed over by adults, then read the Hunger Games Trilogy. It's the love triangle of Twilight set in a 1984 dystopian society with Mad Max's Thunderdome (without Tina Turner).
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