3 weeks. 1 backpack. 9 cities. Possibly the most liberating thing I have ever done. Amongst the 4 of us (on the PSU program), we organized the entire trip with every sight and travel all on our own. We were together for the 1^st week of cities and then I followed a roommate (Aviva) to Barcelona to join her family and then left to fly to another roommate (Joelle) in Italy.

In this post, I want to give my overall to-the-point blunt impressions and experiences in each city. I use a scale of 1-5

1: When do I go back?!

5: Don’t recommend ever coming.

And details are to come in my next blogs about specific places and events that stood out. With that:

SPRING BREAK 2015

Innsbruck, Austria (1 day): 3. perfect amount of time, most scenic city in the Alps as mountains soar into the sky around the entire town. We took the Nordkettenbahn (gondola) to the top of the Alps for the breathtaking views and in one day were on the next train to our next destination. Visiting once is enough for Innsbruck as it is a relatively small and expensive city, but the views are unparalleled.

Salzburg, Austria (2 days): 4. home of Mozart and “The Sound of Music”. We spent Palm Sunday in a cathedral that played Mozart, visited the old and cute shopping street Getreidegasse and the Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooking the city. Most of the movies’ filming locations were scattered outside of the town and “Sound of Music” bike tours were highly reviewed/advertised to take to them. However since we came during the tail-end of winter, the tours hadn’t started yet. Otherwise, Salzburg was just another small European town; one day would’ve been plenty.

Vienna, Austria (3 days): 1. gorgeous, ready to visit again! Visiting around Easter, the city was peppered with Easter markets full of treats and trinkets. The streets were lined with regal and grandiose architecture – including the opera (where Jo and I scored the 3 euro standing tickets to see Swan Lake at the Vienna State Opera – talk about once in a life time experience). Favorite museums were the MOMA (modern art museum – saw some Andy Warhol) and the Albertina (gorgeous exhibit from the private stock rooms of Musee d’Orsay – Degas, Cezanne and Seurat). Schoenbrunn Palace tried to compete with Versailles, and although it had gorgeous gardens the visitor very quickly can tell who really won.

Also, this was our 2^nd stay at a Wombat’s Hostel and their hostels are excellent! True social hostel experience packed with Viennese info/recommendation packets lying across the lobby around the lounging travelers.

Prague, Czech Republic (4 days): 1. go go go, would definitely visit again. Plus, AFFORDABLE; from the beer (0.50 euros/ bottle) to the food. Reminded me a lot of Eastern Europe. Visited the creepy bone church – Sedlec Ossuary – decorated with between 40,000 – 70,000 bones. Very fun, friendly, and quirky city. “New Europe Free Walking Tour” is a must. Awesome tour guide, Chris, who entertained us with history and stories of Prague for three hours through the windy and freezing day. The tour guides merely ask for tips at the end and to “pay only what you think the tour was worth”. This way you are ensured to have a great tour as the guides work for their penny. We learned the history of the city and some helpful hints for our stay.

Barcelona, Spain (4 days): 1. Can I say LOVE? Barcelona was one stop on our Spring Break that I didn’t have to plan or research as I joined the Doery family, so I was completely surprised by the Catalonian capital. It actually felt like this was the REAL vacation (maybe that’s why planning trips is so hard…). Barcelona is the relaxed, fun-loving vibe that just literally envelops the entire city. (I saw people just rollerblading through the tiny alleys of Barcelona with a pizza) I’ve never seen such a vibrant life-filled beach city. The city is peppered with art and architecture by Barcelona’s beloved Antoni Gaudi – the mosaicked Park Guell – the cathedral the Sagrada Familia still being built. The markets, the tapas, the warmth – GO BARCELONA.

 

Rome, Italy (3 days): 3. hot and full of tourists (even in the off-season at the beginning of March). Rome holds the Vatican City, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum but the rest of the city didn’t impress. The people aren’t nice, the public transport is awful, the city is not walk-able, and I can’t stand large crowds of people. All in all, not a fan.

Florence, Italy (2 days): 2. A smaller walk-able Rome with better transportation and less tourists. Took a fun bike tour and loved the leather-store lined streets. Home to the Duomo and Michelangelo’s David. Took a half-day trip to Pisa for pictures. Cute little homey city.

Cinque Terre, Italy (2 days): 2. Post-card colored pastel houses perched on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera. The 5 water-side towns were a lot smaller than I expected, merely just a street you can see in an hour. You could also tell some of the houses needed a paint face-lift. However, we stayed at 5 Terre Backpackers Hostel, which was by far the best hostel we’ve ever stayed in. The owner, Francesco, formally introduces himself and welcomes guests upon arrival and is available for any help you need during your stay. From daily home-cooked family style meals to evenings playing Jenga on the back porch overlooking the Italian Mountains, it was like staying at a distant relative.

Of course, I could say more about each city, but my blog doesn’t do my trip justice. I was liberated, driven, and learning. Seeing a new place every day was just remarkable and doing it all on my own was ridiculous fun. Through visiting every destination, I found my favorite cities to be Vienna, Prague, and Barcelona. I’m so glad to have seen every destination and it sure makes a story I can look back on proudly.