The Sights and Sounds of Summer

Roses at the Rudolfinum

Towards the end of June I was finished with more than half of my exams, but still had several essays to complete. A few of my English classes also ended, including the ones with kids which had been both more fun and more tiring. I got to spend more quality time with two of my closest friends from school, NS and MP, but it was bittersweet because they both had to leave Prague.

Senate Gardens

A white peacock!

NS's last weekend was a blast. We spent time acting like tourists and re-seeing the sights, and I even saw some new ones. We went to the flea market and farmer's market, walked along the Vltava, saw the peacocks at the Senate gardens, and had a lovely home-cooked dinner with friends before a night out dancing. Luckily NS is from France, so I expect to see him again soon!

Llama: Silvia Perez Cruz
and Ravid Goldschmidt 

In early July, MP and I got to catch a couple performances at the Bohemia Jazz Festival. It was set up in Old Town Square, a fantastic setting for a concert - a fantastic setting for anything, really! I was mesmerized by the last performance, by a Spanish duo called Llama, which I wouldn't have labeled as jazz, but who cares what you call it. It was music that got into your bones and your heart and pulled at the tears behind your eyes. My recording isn't great, but it will have to do.

A few days later was MP's birthday and one of her last days in Prague, so we frequented our favorite cafe, Cafe Calma, near Hradcanska, as well as our favorite beer garden, Letna. It was very hard to say goodbye, as we'd become fast friends when standing in line the first day at our Geopolitical Studies orientation, commiserating over our awful visa experiences before heading off to lunch where we discovered our shared love of smazeny syr (fried cheese). Luckily these days saying goodbye is made much less painful, thanks to technology, but it's still the only part of traveling that I hate. 

Exams, Erasmus, Events and Exhaustion: June in and around Prague

Prague

The timing of the Mediterranean trip, as I mentioned in Part I, had seemed less-than ideal. It was the beginning of my exam period, so I could have stayed behind and taken about 7 exams in a week (I was taking 13 classes at the time...sounds crazier than it was), and been more than halfway done with them. But traveling was much better for my soul; it let me refresh my mind, reconnect my heart, and take a break from the stress in Prague. When I returned I was ready to take on the exams and essays. At the same time, the school I had been working for part-time had a vacancy, so I took on several new classes during the week, all of which involved a commute of 30 minutes or more each way. Two lessons took more than 2 hours of commuting each way...

Prague

In addition to the piles of work it was also a month full of goodbyes, since many Erasmus students were heading back home after the end of the semester. I had just begun to spend more time with a fantastic group of Italian students, thanks to my language tandem partner, MB. It began when I was invited out for pizza...and discovered I was the only non-Italian in a group of 37 people! My Italian began improving immediately! I was thrilled to be communicating more in Italian with such a fun and welcoming group of people, when suddenly it was time to say arrivederci :(

Karlstejn

A few friends who were leaving were taking short trips around the Czech Republic, and sadly I was so busy - and broke - after my trip to the Mediterranean, that I only had time and money for one day trip that month. 

Karlstejn

A group of six of us caught the train and headed to Karlstejn Castle, just a 40 minute ride outside of Prague (shorter than the commute to one of my English lessons!). It was a charming village, with a pleasant walk uphill to the castle.
There was not a student discount price, and it was such a lovely day anyway that I personally had no real desire to pay to join a group tour of the inside of the castle. Instead we had a picnic lunch that we'd brought along, and we enjoyed the pleasure of each others' company in the shade of the castle walls. After lunch we wandered around outside the castle, taking pictures and enjoying the nice day, before heading back to Prague.

Karlstejn Castle

That same evening there was the United Islands Music Festival happening around the city, with performances from around the world playing different genres of music at different stages, plus food tents and other good for sale. 

Old meets new:
10th C. castle, 21st C. music festival

My friend MO and I spent a few hours just trying to find each other in the throngs of people. Luckily during that time I caught a great salsa band's performance. After meeting up we headed to Jazz Dock, a place I'd always wanted to check out.

MO and Me
(before deciding the music was bad)

The music was good, but low key, and was wrapping up, so we headed to a big stage where the last show of the night was happening. We were hopeful, but after a few songs neither of us were impressed, so we headed home early, tired from a long day - one of many in an exhausting, yet fulfilling, month.

May in the Mediterranean Part III: Bologna and Venice

Bologna

Bologna

After returning from Greece I spent a few more days in Bologna, Italy with my travel buddy before heading back to Prague. As I mentioned in Part I, the city was completely transformed in my eyes without snow obscuring the scene. Some things were more beautiful while others had been softened and romanticized thanks to the fluffy whiteness. It certainly felt more Mediterranean this time!

Graffiti in Bologna

I spent a good amount of this time sitting at home, working on final essays, though, while my travel buddy went to his final exams, so I didn't explore the city as much as I could have. I hope to have the chance to go again sometime to see St. Luca and other peripheral sights.

We had been able to take a day trip to Florence in the winter, and wanted to take a day trip to Rome or Venice this time. Rome proved to be far more expensive, so we got cheap round-trip tickets to Venice and got up early Saturday to head to the floating city.

We arrived midday and decided to take the last train back that evening around midnight. This meant we had a good number of hours to meander through the tiny streets, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. It was a perfect, cloudless, sundress-wearing day.

I had visited Venice with Girl Scouts on our trip in 2005, and had expected to be blown away but found it overwhelming, smelly, crowded, and unpleasant - not least because by then my travel companions and I were beginning to tire of one another as well, I think, and had different ideas about what we wanted from out trip.
I was very much looking forward to a day trip with my favorite travel companion to realign Venice with my original high-expectations, and this time I was not disappointed.

We chose, as always, to keep things inexpensive, bringing along sandwiches we'd made at home (thanks mom and dad for teaching me that early on), and sticking to walking to explore rather than spending an exorbitant amount on the boats traversing the waterways.

While there were numerous times during the day when we wanted to reconsider this decision, tempted by the plethora of gondolas, we managed to stick to our instincts and stay on our feet. In fact, eleven hours later when we boarded the train back, I'd only spent money on one gelato and one calzone, plus the 12 euro round trip train. Venice is probably the cheapest trip I've taken this year! It can be done!

What can I even say about Venice? It's like no city I've ever been to, thanks to the lack of cars and the hundreds - or thousands, probably - of boats and waterways. The alleys twist and turn, inviting you to get lost and not care (hard for a cartophile* like myself), and sometimes bringing you to a sudden drop-off into the water, or a dead end in a tiny courtyard, or, if you're lucky, to your desired destination.

My travel buddy and I are both photoholics, so we spent a good deal of time just snapping one picture after another, which, in hindsight, look like similar scenes but at the time each one seemed new and different from the last - a gondola ride, eves hanging over the water, the narrow alleys with clothes hanging from balconies, the piazzas, and, of course, the water all around.

I had the same map I'd taken in 2005, with my notes from that time, so I enjoyed being able to retrace my steps. I even rediscovered the street where our hostel had been, though there was no sign of the hostel from what I could see - our outbreak of bedbugs and the lack of services at the time meant that I wasn't really surprised by it's absence.
I also found the mask shop where I bought my Venetian mask, but it had changed quite a bit in 7 years and I saw no sign of the old man and old woman who had worked there then, who had shared their stories about learning to make the masks, and how they were made, and about their long, long years together as owners and artisans in that shop.
We found a different shop this time, though, and enjoyed trying on the masks there, where the craftsman even gave us his black cape to intensify the effect of the masks, and I enjoyed being able to speak with him in Italian about the stories behind the masks as well.

We passed by the Rialto, checked out a museum of musical instruments which were incredible and unique, traversed multiple lovely piazzas, passed through a few markets, found our way to St. Mark's and the Bridge of Sighs, by the Academy, and basically went wherever our feet took us.
It was a relaxed day for the most part, and since it was May the crowds were only just beginning to grow, unlike the trip in late June 2005 when I could hardly see the streets, as in Florence. This time we had streets to ourselves at times, and were able to move without constantly running into people or feeling the need to follow the flow in order to simply get anywhere.
I am incredibly happy to have had the chance to go back this second time and appreciate the city more. I hope to visit again someday with more cash in my pocket so that I can indulge myself in a gondola ride!

For now, just visiting with my travel buddy made it yet another wonderful trip in Europe :)











*cartophile is not in the dictionary, unless you count the urban dictionary, which defined it as I do: one who loves maps!

The Blog Where I Plead and Beg You to Travel (and give you links to help you get started)

Athens, Greece

Greece was a dream trip, and one I'd thought was out of grasp for many years. For those of you who still imagine Greece as a far-away place, too expensive to go to, know this: once in Europe, these kinds of trips are affordable. My ticket, round trip, from Bologna to Thessaloniki was 14 euros, plus 11 euros in taxes: 25 euros total. 

Florence, Italy

From Madison, WI to Chicago by bus is 26 dollars...each way! From Ithaca, NY to NYC was more! Traveling from one country to another in Europe can be cheaper than a trip to the O'Hare airport from my family's home in the States, or from upstate New York to the city. Perspective is everything.

Dresden, Germany

I have loved living in Europe in large part due to this amazing fact of the affordability of travel, and also the culture of travel that this continent seems to encourage (though on a discriminatory basis, to be sure). For students or youth under 26 years of age, especially those with an ISIC card, most countries in Europe are cheap to travel through thanks to student discounts on buses and some trains. 

Vienna, Austria

Hostels are generally widespread and affordable, though I've relied primarily on Couchsurfing instead, which is free and offers the opportunity to meet hospitable and diverse locals and other travelers who add to my travel experience without taking away from my wallet. Many museums and attractions are also free for students, like the Acropolis in Athens, or have discounted prices. 

Krakow, Poland

In other words, I am saying, especially if you are young, TRAVEL! If you can find a round trip ticket to Europe, and can take time off of work, then don't let yourself make excuses - GO! See new places, hear people all around you speaking a different language, get confused, get lost, find yourself, find new friends, new places, new experiences. Taste new foods and drinks. 

Paris, France

Wait for buses, wait for trains, get frustrated when you can't communicate, get sad when you miss home, and then get amazed when someone helps you out, or when you figure out how to read a map or read a sign or learn a new word for "Thank you" that helps every interaction. Take the time to get outside your comfort zone and find that you might be even happier without those old boundaries limiting your choices and perspective. 

Thessaloniki, Greece

I don't know if I can say I have no regrets in life - but I can say with 100% certainty that I have never once, not even for a second, regretted the decision to travel. Every trip I've taken has broadened my mind, my heart, my eyes, and my self, and made me feel more in awe and more in love with the world - and with myself and the people around me. 

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

We have a whole world filled with billions of people, and never before in history has it been so easy to explore it. Besides, I expect it will only get easier to travel, because humans have learned that travel is incredible, and we have worked to invent new ways, faster ways, to get from place to place, to connect ourselves as social beings, to experience this planet that we call home. 

Prague, Czech Republic

So, while I know that not everyone has the freedom to travel, I also know many people who make excuses, who let fear, or uncertainty, or temporary limitations prevent them from even exploring the option.

Venice, Italy

I beg those of you to stop holding yourself back, open yourself up to the possibility, let yourself imagine the experiences you could have if you take the chance and just GO. 

USEFUL LINKS AND TRAVEL TIPS!

Getting to Europe:

Oxford, United Kingdom

The Search Engines:

To find a cheap flight to Europe from the US or beyond can be difficult. I recommend doing searches on any sites you can find, whether they are the airline websites or consolidation websites, or search engines. Two that I didn't know about until after I'd left the states the first time are AirlineConsolidator (this is where I found my Chicago-Prague ticket last year, one-way for $486 - all taxes included) and Vayama.. Of course there are also the more well-known: Orbitz, Kayak, Expedia, and so on. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland

A trick I learned about these sites is that you need to use a different browser to search sometimes, because if you keep looking with the same browser day-after-day, the site will stop showing you the lowest price. When I got my ticket to Prague last year, I thought I'd lost my flight because I waited two weeks to see if I could find a better option. Then my friend warned me about this, I changed browsers and, viola, my cheap flight was still there after all! So don't let them fool you!

Traveling within Europe:

London, United Kingdom

Bus:
Most trips I took this past year were by bus. Student Agency is a great bus company based in the Czech Republic, with buses to/from destinations all over Europe - I took a 20+ hour bus to and from London, even, for a round trip cost of about $50. Yep. Really. They also serve hot drinks - coffee, cappuccino, tea, or hot cocoa - on the trip (included in the ticket price), as well as showing movies/TV with your own controls at each seat to choose your language, or to listen to the radio. The seats are pretty comfy and recline some, so you can get rest. There is a toilet on the bus, and they also stop for rest/smoke/bathroom/food breaks every 3 hours or so. Basically it's the best bus company I have ever encountered. 

Karlstejn, Czech Republic

Another good option is Eurolines. They offer 15-day or 30-day passes, with student prices, to travel across parts of Europe. Summer costs are higher, so if you can plan in advance try to travel in off peak times - that way you won't face tourist prices in your destination cities, either! Other bus options include, but are not limited to, Orangeways (operating out of Budapest), Tourbus (operating out of the Czech Republic), and more. 

Budapest, Hungary

Low Cost Airfare (within Europe): 
We got our Italy-Greece tickets with Ryan Air, but other options also include Easy Jet, Wizz Air. I don't like traveling by plane as much, but it certainly can be faster and with these companies it's often affordable, too. Even major airlines have great deals at times - I flew Prague to Toulouse for 60 Euros with AirFrance, and my friend bought his a week earlier for 40 Euros - so timing can be everything!

Bologna, Italy

Rail:
When I visited France, Switzerland and Italy in 2005 with Girl Scouts ;) we used a rail pass for students that was the best deal for the trip we took, because they have a plan specifically for those three countries. In general, though, I've found that buses are often cheaper and faster for single trips from point A to point B. However, trains can also offer special deals, or different trains could have different prices. For example, a trip from Bologna to Venice on the higher speed newer train could cost up to 60 euros per person, but we took the regional slower train for 10 euros per person. 

Plzen, Czech Republic

Checking websites for all the options can give you more prices and times, if you are flexible about when and how you travel. Most countries have their own rail websites, often with the option to change the language to English (another reason why people from the US should have no excuse not to travel - the world is so open and accessible to English speakers; we're lucky, and we should appreciate it!). For Europe-wide deals and info, check out Eurail. 

Carshares and Hitchhiking:

Bratislava, Slovakia

While I have not personally used either of these options, I know many people who have. Several of my female roommates in Prague had hitchhiked, alone, across the country or even to other countries, and considered it a reasonably safe, fast, and cheap/free form of travel. I think I'm too cynical to really believe them, but if you're more optimistic and daring than I, go for it! 

Toulouse, France

My travel buddy used a carshare when he missed a bus connection, and found that it wasn't as cheap as the bus, but was cheaper than train or plane. In some cases, it also may offer a connection between places that you couldn't otherwise make in a single trip by mass transit. Germany seems to be a leader in this mode of transport, but that may just be my limited perspective. They have several other websites like this plus this one about the concept and safety of carsharing. You can also Google/search for carshares in the region you're interested in to see if there are options available. 

May in the Mediterranean Part II: Athens and Aegina

After Thessaloniki we took the train overnight to Athens, thinking it would save us travel time in the day and let us get the sleep we needed. We were wrong. While most of the time I think of train travel as the most comfortable and quiet means of traveling, in this case the opposite seemed true. We boarded around midnight, and found that we had seats in an overcrowded car, with several groups of people constantly walking through the cars, talking in the corridors and across aisles. In addition, the bright overhead lights remained on for the entire 6 hour journey, which became longer as we faced delay after delay.
Our friend MK was stuck next to a smelly man whose face we never saw because he had completely hidden himself in a coat...it was awkward, but nothing out of the ordinary for a train or bus journey. My travel buddy and I had seats together, but his long legs and my broken seat kept us both uncomfortable enough to keep sleep just out of our grasp. In the end I may have napped for about an hour? In any case, despite the lack of rest we were groggily thrilled to arrive in Athens - partly because it meant we could get off the train, and partly because IT'S ATHENS!

I went through an obsession with Greek mythology around the age of 12 - as I imagine many other nerdy book worms did - and ever since have waited for the day when I could see the land where the Gods and Goddesses reigned, where the heroes were born and where the myths grew. I was not disappointed.

We refused to let our exhaustion get the best of us. We had just under 3 days in Athens, and didn't know what the weather would be like. It was a bit overcast and on the chilly side in May, and the day we arrived was sunny and hot, so we wanted to profit from it. On Day 1 we went to the Agora, the Acropolis, walked around Plaka a bit, and strolled through the marketplace. In the evening we passed by the Parliament and watched the changing of the guards as well.

For dinner we settled in at our Couchsurfers' place, along with another American woman who was Couchsurfing with them, and enjoyed Greek pizza and a football (soccer) game on TV. It was fun to meet such a wonderful group of people while traveling there, and we were so grateful again for the hospitality show to us by our Greek hosts. All six of us got along well, and it was fun to see the sights with them, and to just share good meals and great conversation. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in Athens.

On Day 2 the six of us headed to a nearby island, Aegina, where we could go swimming - IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! Another dream come true :)

We caught the boat for 13 euros round trip for the day trip, which was very affordable - especially compared to the more famous islands which people usually think of when they hear about Greek Isles. 

The boat ride was enjoyable in itself, seeing the land fade and the islands pass, sailboats and cargo ships passing by, seagulls flying around, and the bluest blue water swirling all around us. 

We had about 3-4 hours to spend on the island, and spent a good part of that time at the small beach, swimming, playing backgammon, and sunbathing. Even I picked up some color - and it wasn't red! MK, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. 

After our time on the beach we walked around the small streets, enjoying fantastic local pistachios and grabbing a bite before heading back to the boat for the return trip.

On Day 3 the group split up to see different sights, and our Couchsurfers headed to work. My travel buddy and I started the morning at Plato's Academy, a sight my travel buddy had a great deal of interest in since he studies philosophy. Sadly, the Academy, now mostly just foundations of ruins, has been neglected. It lies tucked away in a "bad" neighborhood, in a public park, rundown and mostly covered in weeds and hidden in thickets. It seemed a shame.

From there we headed back to the city center to explore the Agora more, and hiked up Filippapos Hill to get a fantastic view of the Acropolis. We made our way back down to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Roman Stadium, the National Gardens, and the new Olympic Stadium. Then we headed through the city to pass by the university and library buildings.

In the afternoon, we took a trip to Kifissia, a neighborhood at the end of the subway line, in a fancy part of town. There is no attraction that brought us there, aside from a personal one: this was the area where my mother and her family had lived when they'd lived in Greece in the early 1970s.

This is the place I'd grown up seeing in pictures: dirt roads with donkeys, small mom and pop stores selling food and basic goods, my mom smiling with her long, straight blonde hair, parted down the middle, lanky and glowing tan in her patterned dresses. My grandfather, always with the same brushed back hair and Navy stance, my grandmother with her curled bob and cat-eye glasses, my uncle looking the part of the annoyed younger brother, forced to be along for the family trips.

This was the image I grew up with: so when I stepped off the metro into the Kifissia of 2012, I was shocked. There were no dirt roads or modest mom and pop shops; instead, the cleanest and newest paved streets I'd seen yet were lined with fancy name-brand stores selling high end goods - Prada and Gucci - with boutiques and specialized cafes in-between.

A beautiful public park with a gated entrance and fountains lay about 25m from the metro. We had been getting hungry, but the prices we saw here were high enough to make us almost lose our appetites, so we meandered a bit so that I could snap photos, before walking back to our Couchsurfers' place. 

I found the third day striking, an example of how much the passage of time can alter a setting. On the one hand you have Plato's Academy: once a center of learning and a place where people could exchange ideas, where Plato himself shared his own; now a run down park, unkempt and bordered by abandoned warehouses and worn-down apartments. On the other hand there's Kifissia: just 40 years ago, part of the outskirts of Athens where visiting Navy families and locals could find affordable and low-income housing; now an upscale suburb for elites who can afford to live just outside of the bustling metropolis. It left my mind full of questions about geography, place, time, memory, and meaning...The kind of questions great trips should leave you asking.