So I've been given a small bit of encouragement to "keep it coming" so here goes (now I will actually try to be brief haha)...
Vienna: So, after an hour and a half of sleep, I woke up to leave for 2 and half days in Vienna. When my alarm went off at 5:30, all I could think about the 8 days ahead of me was "Maybe I just won't go," that's how bad I wanted to keep sleeping haha. But Cristina, Ruth, and I somehow made it onto the flight and blah blah blah traveling inconveniences and confusion over maps, but we got to the Wombat Hostel. Highlights of this trip include walking around town and seeing how random this city was, the Albertina museum, asking for a menu at this really cool old coffee shop where "great minds" used to go and debate, only to be stared at and told they had no menus because "this is a coffee shop" (incidentally their coffee was ok but their plum cake was awesome), using sehr klein Deutsch (Nederlands has killed me), staring at important people in their important dress on the night of the Grand Opera Ball (as Rajesh would say, we embraced the urban fabric), wondering why no one was taking a certain street until we realized it had horse crap all over it, not being able to see "The Magical Flute" because it was for children only and eating sachertorte mit heisse schokolade instead, but then going to see "Orpheus in der Unterwelt" at the Volksoper and loving every minute of that scandalous show from box seats (at 3 euros), being so tired we couldn't muster the strength to go out so we just sat with our free drink in the Wombar, the vending machines in that hostel, the KunstHauseWien and its wavy floors, annnd that's all I can think for now...Onward!
Prague: I was feeling much more awake for this second leg of the trip! Our hostel, the Clown and Bard, was this really really old building but it was pretty sweet because we basically had our own little apartment kind of deal even though the showers were that really abysmal drain-in-the-floor-and- the-toilet's-two-inches-away type of deal. We arrived a bit later and by the time we got situated it was already getting dark, so we went to go get dinner at this restaurant close to our place. I don't remember much about it; but I remember how I got a huge plate of beef stroganoff with fries and a gynormous glass of beer for 6 euros, and I was never happier. Waited up for Natalia and Sara, and they were a sight for sore eyes! They had already had quite an adventure getting to the hostel, but I would let them tell the story first haha...Highlights of Prague are of course the Charle's Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, the Castle, the old Jewish cematary, getting caught by the Czech police for trying to cheat the metro and having to pay a 28 euro fine (cough cough), the unbelievable length of their escalators, their unbelievable disbelief in customer service, the Spanish girls lagging behind, the Spanish girls being fiery, the gigantic hostel breakfasts, all of the strange people we saw or talked to or avoided at "Sports Bar" (a group of American guys who came to visit the house last weekend went to the very same place and also had an experience), taps at your table, all of their advertisements, Oh! and one night we met up with Andrea, Louise, Cookie, and Kimmich for one of the Prague ice hockey games! Can I just mention how promiscuous everything about their culture seems to be from the outside: their movies and advertisements, but when it comes to playing hockey they don't even touch each other?! We were calling for a fight the entire game and ya know what? It NEVER happened. Not ONE fight. Oh yeah and then we all went out to dinner and I had duck and dumplings haha...I couldn't finish it-I'm not huge on the carnivorous side of existence. And the Mucha museum was awesome-I had no clue about Art Noveau but I really really enjoyed it and even bought a 2 euro card from the gift shop, so you know I enjoyed it haha. Oh yeah and I have to mention the hilarious night without a hostel in Prague. Since we had an early morning bus to Budapest, we figured we'd just stay out. We get cheap sandwiches, bread, beer, chocolate, and chips from the supermarket, then hunkered down in this little square outside to eat dinner. We're freezing and Sara is walking around and trying to bust the caps off the beer using drain pipes while trying to avoid detection because we would have gotten yet another fine if the cops saw because of open container laws there. Finally this other guy who's standing around eating in the same square takes pity on us and opens up the beer bottles with his ring. So we eat and drink and none of us were surprised at all at doing this. SO then we head to the club, and it's all ridiculous techno and younger kids on one floor and more of the dance/rap/whatever music we're used to and more creepers downstairs. I ended up falling asleep on a table upstairs from the bar at 4 am while Natalia and Sara doodled and Cristina and Ruth kind of drifted. Ok so much for Prague...
Budapest: we took a 6:30 am bus from Prague and we got to Budapest probably around 1:30. Our hostel was awesome although I'm pretty sure I got some type of bug bites from the bed I slept in there. It was called the Aventura Hostel and we stayed in the "Indian Room," which was way roomy and decorative and had two floors. A Belgian couple (about 19 years old I guess) were staying in the private Japanese room next door; they were from Gent and exploring the city as well so it was cool to compare the day's plans over breakfast. Highlights of these plans include: picking out fellow Americans based on their dress alone (although we do that everywhere and it happens to us all the time), going up to the Buda Castle and getting a fantastic view, liking Buda more than Pest, being excited over how cheap everything was but then still ending up buying kebabs/McDonald's for dinner, Heroes' Square, the Chain Bridge, the House of Terror (museum on Soviet occupation of Hungary-two thumbs up, although I wished I knew Hungarian throughout), the Parliament building, St. Stephen's Basilica, using the Opera House as the ultimate reference point, going to the Turkish baths at Kiraly and going topless in that smelly lukewarm mineral water, meeting up with Kinga and Erika!!!! They took us to this awesome little joint around the corner where they had 2-euro beers and half-price cocktails (I got a Moulin Rouge and it was fantastic and strong as hell), where you could sit and talk and watch TV, or sing karaoke, or go into this other room with a crowded dance floor and great music. Ahhh it is SO good to know people from the area when really wanting to have a good time. If not for Erika and Kinga, we never would have even thought of that place. Cristina, Sara, and Natalia left Thursday afternoon, and thus Ruth and I trucked on together, as we had been doing since Barcelona (we were definitely joking by the end that we this had might as well be our honeymoon). We took our last day easy and walked around Heroes' Square and the park behind it, where we saw kids playing ice hockey and a dog park and stuff. Next day, we made the long trip back from Charleroi to our beloved Leuven. And I've stayed here since!
Classes have started, and I'm pretty sure I know which ones I'm sticking with: Russian Philosophy, Comparative European literature, Ethics of Globalization, and Flemish Art. They seem pretty good-I actually have some weekly work to do for 2 of them, but I figure that's actually really good news because I don't want to be absolutely devastated when September comes around and I have to work like no one's business again. Last week was the Valentine's day/huis party, and we attempted to play American drinking games but really the only one we managed to get off the ground was Flip Cup. The next two days some American guys who are studying in Barcelona came to visit (one of them grew up in the same neighborhood as Kimmich and he brought a bunch of his friends). So there was some more entertainment, including a hospital visit on the last night they were there.
This past Thursday night was the wine and cheese party and a chance to see everyone together, although thankfully I got to meet many of the new people as soon as I got back or at the Valentine's Day party. But just like last semester, the wine and cheese party seemed to be a good forecast. So yeah, in general, things are moving right along just like they always do, except now it's a little stressful because I'm basically preparing for my re-entry into Loyola life, picking out my classes for fall semester and my housing and deciding on a thesis topic. It's strange how I guess in terms of the big picture it's "right around the corner" but at the same time it's a very familiar procedure compared to what I'm doing here. And Kevin just got to New Zealand. And my family is moving in 5 days. And I'm trying to help Mom and Eddie arrange their visit here so yeah...busy times, but happy times!
Anyway, I'm probably forgetting tons of things that I should mention, or would want to, but yeah, I think I'm approaching a dangerous length again, so I'll cut it short now! I'll update soon-promise! I want to try to get back into being semi-regular with this, unlike the gap in last semester haha. Next weekend is Munich/Salzburg, and the weekend after is London/Oxford, but I will try to update ASAP after I get back from that!
Later!
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