It is amazing to think how fast two weeks can go by when your traveling, especially across Europe. Marching through six countries in two weeks has flown right by and I have enjoyed every single part of it. Part of the process of traveling is also growing as an individual and absorbing as much knowledge as you can to help you broaden your own personal views. Every country you go through opens you to new cultures, people, and experiences that you would never have thought you'd come across. Each culture is distinct in its own ways and has its own characteristics that make it unique. This being my second time to Europe, I have become keener to realizing these cultural differences and to keep a bigger eye open for all the little details that I may not have come across the first time. There is always something new to learn when traveling.
I originally left August 12th from Denver, Colorado and landed in Copenhagen, Denmark to start my journey. My mother made the trek across the pond with me and was able to travel with me through a good majority of the countries making it an even more memorable experience. I would like to go into a little detail later on (individual blog posts) about each country I have gone through, so I will just give a broad summary of my travel itinerary thus far.
Copenhagen was definitely a city with a rich history and elegant castles that make you marvel at what humans were capable of building back then. After staying in Copenhagen for three days I took a flight down to capital of the Netherlands, the famous Amsterdam. What a great city that was. The city has a rich culture of producing magnificent artists and are probably some of the best seafaring people you will come across. Amsterdam's canals and architecture are a beauty of their own type. A train three days later took us down to Brussels, Belgium for a short day and half. This was definitely not enough time to tour this little empirical country. Being the EU headquarters and having their own glamorous history of kings the country is tightly packed together with many historical sites to visit. A future visit to this country will have to be put into the works to further learn about the country filled with delicious chocolates.
Paris came calling next and it was again a very short train ride to reach from Brussels. Paris..what's there not to love? The Eiffel Tower, Versailles, The Louvre Museum, and great food. The city map for this spectacular city was speckled with locations for you to treasure hunt your way to each day. You would need at least a week or two just to have enough time to fully appreciate every destination. Versailles is a picture perfect example of what every postcard portrays of France with its magnificence and beautiful gardens that seem to just continue on for miles. The last destination I made with my mother was to Barcelona. After a short flight into the coastal city and a bit of maneuvering to find our hotel we were able to settle in a little later than expected. Barcelona is a hotspot for its architecture and bustling coastal streets that are always filled with crazy tourists. Gaudi's architectural design skills were one of a kind and a nice difference than the usual Gothic, Romanesque churches we had been usually seeing. The city also has some great seafood that is a must if your in the area. The metro system..that was an adventure of its own.
At this point I said farewell to my mom and I continued my march further west to the beachy side of Porto, Portugal. Luckily, I have some friends in the area who were able to pick me up and guide me around the city for a bit. One of the great things about studying abroad is the connections and lifelong relationships you are able to develop with people. I was able to this last year during my stay in Lithuania where my Portuguese friends also happened to be studying at. This brings me to where I am at now, in a hotel researching to see what I will be discovering in Portugal next!
