One of the major perks of participating in the Rotary exchange program compared to other programs is that Rotarians plan weekends and trips in which exchange students meet up and see a new city and cause general chaos in said city. Usually these get-togethers last no more than 2 days and you meet with only the students in your District (group of Rotary clubs in a general area), and you become really close with this group of international people.
Sometimes, however, the Rotary plans a major travel event for exchange students to participate in, and for students in France, we were invited to take part in the Bus Trip. While this trip wasn’t cheap, it was totally worth it. This is the Bus Trip in a nutshell: Twelve days traveling via bus, stopping in on major European cities for a day, sleeping in hostels, waking up early to get back on the bus again, all the while getting to know 50 other exchange students and their countries. Needless to say, it was a blast.
To kick off the trip, we all met in Paris in mid April. We were introduced to our four chaperones, two of which were older Rotarians while the other two were young volunteers. We toured Paris on the bus, stopping at some major sites like Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower of course.
One of my best friends from exchange, Camila (from Mexico City), and I
Day 2 of the bus trip was spent in Strasbourg, France, right on the border of France and Germany. This city has a gorgeous Gothic cathedral, along with a river that flows throughout it, which somewhat reminded me of Venice.
Strasbourg
The next stop was Nuremberg, Germany, where we visited a carnival during the first half of the day, eating schnitzel and enormous pretzels to our heart’s content. Later, we visited the stadium where the Nuremberg trials took place, and even stood where Hitler stood when he gave his speeches. It would have been a more chilling place if it weren’t for the high class sports cars zooming around the arena. I found it interesting how the Germans transformed this historical site into a modern-day race track of sorts.
The rooftops of Nuremberg
During the next day, my 19th birthday, I woke up Germany and fell asleep in Prague. I felt so lucky to have the chance to celebrate my birthday in such a beautiful place in the company of some amazing people. Of all the cities we visited during this trip, Prague was definitely my favorite. The city is simply gorgeous, and the Czech people are friendly and liberal. It has a good mix of historical beauty and a lively culture, making it a city with the best of both worlds.
The next day was mostly spent traveling/sleeping on the bus as we crossed into Austria to visit Vienna. By this time, we were all getting tired and a little bit cranky, but no one could really complain since we were having the time of our lives. Again, another beautiful day filled with much site-seeing and tired feet.
Vienna has a pretty sick cathedral too.
Venice was next on the journey. Again another wonderful city full of outrageously gorgeous buildings, even better food, and way too many tourists, but the canals make this city extra magical. Plus, our group of 50 formed a slightly-successful flash mob in Saint Mark’s Square!
Of course we didn’t miss out on a gondola ride! We’re professional tourists!
Following Venice were day trips to Milan, Chamonix (where the tallest mountain in France, Mont Blanc, is located), Geneva (where we ate really good fondue and visited the UN building), and then headed back to Paris. Parting ways was not entirely difficult for me; I was exhausted and slightly sick from a cold (as well as slightly sick of some of the people on the trip). A part from that, it really was an incredible trip that I got to share with my best friends in Bourges, and I also became closer with some other exchange students in my District. I’ll definitely never forget this trip and the people I shared it with!
The ridiculously superb cathedral in Milan
The group!
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