About a month ago I got to go on an awesome trip to Europe courtesy of my mom. We traveled to Austria (Vienna and Salzburg) and the Czech Republic (Prague and Klatovy/Pilzen). There are a few things I don't like about traveling, mainly long flights and stupid American tourists, but even those downsides can't overshadow the thrill of getting lost in another culture and coming back to tell everyone about it. There are too many details to tell the whole trip here, but I can spare some highlights and some pictures. I can't say that I have one
favorite place or event from this trip, but one of the most thrilling things for me is navigation. Just getting from place to place, finding travel options and blending in with "the locals". Give me a map and a list of places you want to see and I'm happy. Both Vienna and Prague were very easy to get around in. They had plenty of restaurants, history filled buildings, and "government buildings" according to my mom. If you're looking for hot European shopping, Vienna is most definitely NOT the place to go. With my mother in that city for 5 days, we found no good shopping areas and that is impressive. Prague however had tons of places if you're looking for either cheap touristy knick knacks or
beautiful crystal or garnets.
An insightful thing to think about is how you deal with pictures while traveling. Are you the type that wants to take a picture of everything even if you don't know what it is, or won't remember what it was when you get home? Or are you the type that prefers to enjoy the moment and then hopes that someone else got a picture of where you were? I definitely fall into the latter until I get home and try describing the trip to people and have few visual aids. Then I wish I were more of the former. I was somewhat lucky in that the three other people I was traveling with on this trip all took pictures of everything, so eventually I could have pictures of everything times three.
In summary, I make a good, cheap tour guide... hire me for your next trip! Just make sure to hire someone else as a photographer.
Here are some pictures from this adventure:
Me and Amy in Grinzing, Austria with the Lamm sign
St. Stephans Church in Vienna
Charles Bridge seen from Prague Castle
Changing of the Prague Castle guard (in the pouring rain)
1 comment:
I know that I fall within a minority with my feelings on photographs, but in my opinion having far fewer photographs of far more important locations, events, or people tends to make the experience all the more enjoyable and meaningful when remembering it.
You may call me old fashioned, but aren't the emotions, atmosphere, and wonderment of an experience what make it joyful? Photographs cannot capture these things, but your memory can.
Post a Comment