The Far East Movement

“Here we go, come with me, there’s a world out there that we should see.”

The band sure did have a point that I eventually turned into my mission while studying abroad: try to see as much of the world out there.

I last left off telling you that I’d be gallivanting to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria for my second spring break. Well, I’ve traveled, returned since then, and have been bogged down with presentations, papers and final exams. Apologies for this later-than-usual blog.

My Eastern European trip began with a flight from Sevilla to Barcelona, followed by a 13 hour layover. Yes, I said 13. I invested in the airport WiFi (10€ for 24 hours) and decided to be productive with my time. The next morning I got on a flight to Vienna (bc it was cheapest to fly into and out of) and then took a 6 hour bus ride (yes, 6) to Prague. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I met up with LW at the bus stop, so we headed to our hostel.

Backtrack: LW and I have been friends since I started giving tours at Indiana University. We bonded over our distaste for the business school’s challenging class and professors…and its been friendship since then! J LW is studying in Budapest, Hungary this semester and thought it would be great if we could do a 3 city tour over my break. She didn’t have to ask me twice.

We spent three days in Prague (Praha as the Czechs refer to it), enjoying the city in a relaxing manner. We took guided tours and explored on our own to see:

·         Charles Bridge

·         Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

·         Jewish Museum

·         Jewish Quarters

·         Lesser Town Bridge Tower

·         Lesser Town

·         Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock

·         Prague Castle

·         Spanish Synagogue

·         St. Vitus Cathedral

·         John Lennon Wall

·         The TOY MUSEUM (with a Barbie Exhibition!)

Throughout the whole trip, I was trying to understand why people LOVED this city so much. I mean yes it was cute and yes it was charming but that WOW factor that everyone always referred to didn’t hit me. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many cities and stark differences are a bit more difficult to spot now.

I did have a WOW moment, though. Prague was more of a religious experience for me than anything. I toured all the synagogues in the city, visited a Jewish Museum, saw the aftermath of Nazi rule and also attended mass for the Celebration of the Infant/Cannonization (he’s on his way to becoming a saint) of Pope John Paul the 2^nd with LW.  During our downtown time, LW asked me a lot about what it meant to be a Muslim and Ismailism (she remembered I was an Ismaili from a while back, props). I found myself in a melting pot of all three religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was great to be able to converse with someone about religious history, spirituality, morals and ethics after such a long time (literally, so long). It was very refreshing and I felt like I got my religious mojo back (after having it go dormant post Religious Education Class graduation some 3 years ago).

Eventually we got on a bus to Budapest and said our goodbyes to Prague. LW had class for part of the two days that we were there so I explored the city on my own…going on tours, accidentally getting lost, you know…the usual.

I pretty much visited everything shown in Katy Perry’s music video for “Fireworks” (yes, it was filmed in Budapest) and much more. Here goes:

·         Budapest Parliament (modeled after London’s)

·         St. Stephen Basilica

·         Heros’ Square

·         The Castle District

·         Fishermen’s Bastion and Matthias Church

·         Gellért Hill

·         The Great Market

LW and I cooked meals, when we weren’t eating Budapest’s awesome food and had another relaxing leg of this trip.

And then we were off to Vienna on a 6AM bus ride. Our stay in Vienna was a short one, but we managed to see the following:

·         Schönbrunn Palace

·         Hofburg Castle

·         St. Stephen’s Cathedral

·         Karlskirche

·         Naschmarkt

·         Vienna Opera House

·         Jewish Memorial

After which LW and I parted our ways, since I had to catch a train to the airport and she had a few hours before taking the bus back to Budapest. My train ride to the airport was quite interesting. I met a John Doe (never asked him for his name) who was on his way to Barcelona (on my flight!) to enjoy the long weekend with his friends. We had quite the lovely chat for an hour or so which ended with me taking a picture of him with his favorite gum…a WRIGLEY brand J (I know, I’m ridiculous).

Vienna to Barcelona, a 4 hour layover and then home to Sevilla.

Needless to say, I was exhausted from this trip. I’m kinda glad this was my last trip because I’ve been feeling the fatigue of 4 day school weeks and 3 day traveling excursions. For now, I’ve got 2 days to soak up as much of Sevilla (and its sun) as possible, as I approach D-Day (the day on which I return back to the States, yuck) Friday at 5AM.

I’ll try to have a post or two headed your way before I switch continents and time zones.

As always, thanks for reading…it makes writing more enjoyable!