Woche des Reisens [week of traveling]

First I need to apologize for my lack of pictures on this blog. I stupidly left my camera cord in Potsdam, but once I get back, I'll upload some pictures from my adventure. Anyway, it's been a while since I've blogged. I was gone for a week, traveling across three countries with my friend Julia. I'm currently staying with Julia and her mom here in Leipzig. So much has happened, and I've seen so much; I think the best way to tackle this is to recap the main stops I've made. 


Leipzig, Germany
As I mentioned before, I'm using Leipzig as my home in Germany until school starts in Potsdam in April. Julia and her mom have an amazing apartment in the city. And what a beautiful city Leipzig is. East Germany can have the reputation of being poor and dirty, but you don't see it here in Leipzig. There's so much history here, too. After reading Faust in my German literature class this fall, it was cool to visit Auerbach's Keller--the cellar where Goethe spent time writing the famous piece and also where a scene in the play takes place. I also got to see the modern side of the city, when I went to a German electronics store to buy a cellphone. Now I have a way to contact my fellow Europeans. And the price was right: less that $20 for the phone, and I pay by usage. 


It has also been exciting to meet a lot of Julia's friends. Julia and I seem to speak English when we're alone, so it's probably good for me to have her friends around to speak German. I went to a birthday party one night, we had a vegetarian picnic in the park another day and last Saturday night we went to Moritzbastai: the largest student club in Germany. 


Vienna, Austria
I always knew Vienna was beautiful, but you really have to see it in person to appreciate it. While there, Julia and I stayed with Alice and her host mom, who was so welcoming and kind. She lives  a ways from downtown, so we were able to commute every day into the city via bus, tram and subway. No, I didn't get fined this time. 


A highlight was when we went to a ballet of Don Quixote at Vienna's Staatsoper [Opera House]. Now, I'm not someone you'll normally find at the ballet, but the show was quite spectacular, and just sitting in the opera house was spectacular. It was also fun to hang out with Alice and some of the other students who are studying in Vienna from the University of Montana (Kate, Chelsea, Kelly, I'm talking about you guys, right?). The night before we left, we all got together at Kate's house and watched Germany's Next Top Model; one day in the future, I'll give my opinion on Germany's version of one of my favorite shows. Although we were only in Vienna for about four days, it felt like weeks because we did so much and saw so much of the city. I definitely must return one day.


Prague, Czech Republic
I've never heard a bad thing about Prague. That's why I was a little concerned that I would be let down because my expectations were so high. But Prague definitely lived up to its reputation. First of all, the city is breathtaking--absolutely stunning. I had to stop myself from taking pictures in order to save my camera battery. What I was also so impressed by was the Czech people. There were many times when the language barrier was steep, but not one Czech person was rude. When we were wondering whether or not we could park along a certain street, Julia got out of the car to ask a few middle-aged women, and although their English was severely broken at best, they tried so hard to help us and eventually let us know where to park. 


We only spent a couple days in Prague, but we went on a tour of the city (including a boat ride). On the way back to our hostel the first night, we walked by the Hard Rock Cafe and decided to eat dinner there. I walked in and felt like I was back in America. Although I've been gone less than two weeks, it was so much fun to sit in a booth again and get free refills of Pepsi. The waitress even greeted us with (in a thick Czech accent which made it that much better), "Hello! My name is Irena, and I'm a going to be take care of you tonight!" 
I'm at the point where I'm loving everything Europe is offering* and recognizing what I love about my home in the States. Hopefully I can keep this balance the whole time. 


*Okay, not everything. I really miss my dryer. Hanging your clothes out to dry on the balcony just doesn't do it for me--even if it is saving energy. I'll never complain again about my jeans taking too long to dry.