global trot part 1

the travels of may.


I kept trying to figure out how to summarize all that I did and experienced, and I simply couldn't. So rather than trying, I will just say this. I had an amazing time, met some amazing people, and experienced 4 very different places.

Berlin was a beautiful city, that embraces its rather unique history. It felt very green and open, with wide streets lined by trees, giant parks you could get lost in, and large open spaces allowing you to focus on a few very unique places. It was a quick visit, shortened even further by my delayed flight. so all in all I had less than 48hrs to experience the whole city. But thanks to my host family, I was able to do just that, have some delicious food, and practice german the whole time as well.

PICTURES from BERLIN

Paris was absolutely gorgeous, fun things to see everywhere you look. I was graced by the most perfect weather from start to finish, which made walking around the city all that much better. Thanks to a family friend, I had a wonderful place to stay and I also met up with one of my friends from college, who has been doing a year in Paris. I enjoyed wandering the streets, eating pastries, and enjoying the gardens, and river side activities. In addition to seeing all the sites of paris, I also took a trip out to Versailles (incredible!) and was able to squeeze in a trip to Roland Garros to see some amazing tennis exhibition played before my flight took off. 5 days was just enough time to realize that there was so much more to be experienced in the city, so I will most certainly have to go back!

PICTURES from PARIS

Barcelona was a city full of energy and art. I arrived in the evening in Barcelona, to a crowd of people protesting of sorts against the many activities of the government. I walked down La Rambla several different times and was amazed at the constant mass of people going to and fro, performing, and enticing you to evening performances and clubs. I had a very fun experience visiting a friend on the Norwegian Epic (Cruise Ship) and was given VIP treatment. It was so much fun to see her after so many months and to see her on the ship I had heard so much about (really quite impressive). I saw the city's sights from a hop on hop off bus tour and thoroughly enjoyed all of gaudi's creations giving the city some flare and encouraging it to embrace the arts. 

PICTURES from BARCELONA

Cyprus was absolutely amazing because I was able to meet so many people - my Schleifer relatives in particular, who I hadn't seen since I was either ~4years or ~2months old and had mostly only heard about since. I totally lucked out because so many were there :)! Cyprus is a beautiful island of course, with some amazing history, but the best part by far was just hanging out and getting to know everyone. I spent hours playing and swimming with my cousin's daughter (just tooo cute!) and had an amazing afternoon with my other cousin visiting the turkish part of Nicosia where we encountered a couple groups of kids who just lit up with joy and uncensored emotions in front of and behind the camera. It was for sure an experience I will never forget. Most of the time I was bad at whipping out my camera, so my album is mostly filled with adorable kids :). It was an unbeatable experience, and I only wish I had had more time to spend with them all!

PICTURES from CYPRUS

Right now I am in Austria, at the Raßberg, heading to the Narzissenfest tomorrow, though most of the flowers have gone by so we shall see how it is....either way, the area will be beautiful.