Europe Tales Part 2

After Amsterdam, I left the other girls and flew back to Vienna. Flying from one country to another and not having either of those countries be America was a peculiar feeling. I was sitting on a plane with mostly Dutch and German speakers and all I could do was laugh. One old man was playing Bejeweled Blitz on an iPad before the plane started to descend, the flight attendant warned him to turn off the game and he nodded, acting like he was just about it. Another flight attendant came by and told him the same thing. He nodded and acted like he was closing the cover until they walked away. This happened a few more times and while the plane was landing he was still playing his game. 
For some reason my phone had been deleting music to make room for all the pictures I had on it. I spent five hours in the airport, two on a plane, and another hour on a train back into the city all the time listening to about 30 different songs. Do you know how frustrating that is? I love my iPhone but having it mess up like that and not having any way to fix it, plus not having access to wifi at all? That is twenty-first century hell on earth. 
When I finally got off at my subway stop, I felt like I was at home. After nearly two months of living in Vienna, I realized that it had actually become like home to me. I can't explain the joy of being able to walk down familiar streets after so much time in unfamiliar cities. My parents were scheduled to arrive in a couple days so I got to recharge with some downtime and Netflix. 
When my parents finally flew in, it was time to start showing them my city. My dad gave me a card when they arrived that had a bright orange leaf from home pressed inside. I have it up on my wall here in Vienna to remind me of my parents and home in the middle of this experience. I told them the couple local stories I knew and pointed out a lot of famous buildings and landmarks. The great thing about Vienna is how most everything famous is concentrated in one area about a mile long. My parents and I toured the imperial apartments at Schönbrunn Palace. I became fascinated with the history of the Hapsburgs and bought a book called The Reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamman. 
After a couple days spent in the city of music, we boarded a train to one of my least favorite places: Prague. I was not very in love with Prague the first time I went but I was willing to give it a second chance to redeem itself. I showed my parents the few sights I had seen in Prague such as the Prague castle, the Charles' Bridge, and the astronomical clock. 

We went to see a quartet that played some lovely classical music. We went to a few restaurants that were very good and the people were a little nicer than they had been the first time I visited. But I still I stand by my original feelings about Prague: Prague is beautiful from above. When you look down over the city, it looks like a fairytale. But when you walk down into it you are surrounded by the effects of years of communism.
After a little too much time in Prague for one lifetime, we were headed for Berlin. Once again I found myself feeling relieved to see and hear German after the disorienting language of Czech. The first night I knew Berlin would be better than Prague was when I saw this: 

That pink sign was like a beacon of nostalgia. At home, Dunkin Donuts are everywhere. It would not be uncommon to see two across the street from each other. Unfortunately, while I was in Berlin it was freezing so the iced coffee I had been craving since leaving home did not sound as appealing. The hot chocolate they had was absolutely lovely and was the absolute perfect temperature for drinking right away (why can't they do that in America?!). They had donuts there that were the size of my face and lavishly decorated. I loved the Berlin Dunkins but they were missing the flavor shots I love. 

My favorite part of Berlin was getting to see famous sights like the Brandenburg Gate above. Traveling makes history come to life in a way that books and movies will never be able to. Being able to walk in the same spots that others long before us did is powerful. In Berlin there is a famous memorial known as the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. The memorial consists of 2,711 concrete blocks that vary in height. As you walk through these slabs of concrete you feel like you're suffocating. It is one of the most uncomfortable feelings I have experienced while abroad. It put a lot of things in perspective and helped me gain a better understanding of how art can play on your emotions. 

My parents and I flew back to Vienna to spend one last day together. We visited Belvedere Palace on our last night together. 

My parents and I had a tearful goodbye and as my time is winding down I am counting the days until I can see them again. Afterall, there's no place like home for the holidays and the holidays are coming up faster than I can believe. 

Yours until the end of the Internet,

Eiggam