This past week, the University of Freiburg was closed for Pfingstpause (Pentecost Break), and my friend and I decided to take advantage of our time off by traveling to Prague, Vienna and Budapest. The trip was phenomenal—we got to experience the culture and history of three incredibly different cities and meet a lot of interesting people along the way. One of the best (and sometimes most stressful) parts of being in Europe is planning our own trips. We get to decide which cities we want to visit and figure out how to get there in the cheapest way possible. It’s a little bit like a puzzle, and I’ve had fun being a “travel agent.”
Our first stop was Prague in the Czech Republic. Prague is absolutely gorgeous and its history is incredibly interesting. Our hostel was right behind the Charles Bridge, so we could walk everywhere and we tried to explore as much of the city as possible. On our first full day there, we took two walking tours of the city and learned that Prague is a city of bridges, great food, and defenestrations. The tour really brought up some AP Euro memories as our guide recounted how on two occasions politicians and clergymen were thrown out of windows because of disputes.
One of my favorite parts of Prague was interacting with the people there. Everyone was incredibly friendly and very proud of their city. We wandered along the Charles Bridge where artists sold paintings of the city, caricatures, and crafts and where musicians played instruments ranging from violins to African flutes. Our tour guide explained that she was the definition of a Czechoslovakian because her mother was Czech and her father was Slovak. She was able to provide us with a great understanding of the relations between two formerly united countries. During the “Velvet Divorce” the two nations decided to separate without any blood shed and now they are as peaceful as ever.
After Prague, we headed to Vienna for a day where we ate Wiener Schnitzel (which is a Viennese dish), watched a wonderful ballet at the Opera House, and wandered around the city. As someone who loves international politics, I really enjoyed seeing the capital cities of different countries and I found it fascinating that I could basically walk up to the front door of the parliament building with minimal security stopping me.
Finally, we took a bus to Budapest where we got a small taste of Eastern Europe. Budapest is the capital of Hungary, so I enjoyed taking a tour of the Parliament Building (which is the second largest in the world—only Great Britain’s is larger) and seeing the US Embassy. Being in Europe and seeing the American embassies abroad has given me a different perspective on American relations with other countries. For example, I had not really considered the US’s relationship with Hungary, but after visiting the city, I learned that the US is among the top foreign investors in the country and many American companies have facilities located there.
This trip also made me realize how lucky I am to speak English as my native language. One of our concerns going into the trip was that we really struggled to learn even basic words in Czech and Hungarian. The languages and pronunciations are so foreign from English and German that despite our best efforts (especially in Czech) we could barely say hello. Thankfully nearly everyone that we met spoke English, making us feel relieved and also slightly guilty. Throughout my time in Europe, I have developed an appreciation and deeper respect for how difficult it must be to come to or study in the United States with minimal understanding of English because English is the only language that most people can understand. In Europe, especially in touristy areas and big cities, I can always fall back to English no matter the native language which has definitely been helpful.
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