Month: February 2020

One place I really want to visit is Athens, Greece. I feel like I say that exact sentence at the start of every single blog post but that does not make it any less real. The reasoning behind Athens is my obsession with the Greek Gods. Greek mythology is so interesting. I think I always had a slight fascination with them because of the multiple god aspect of the Greek people. When I was younger, I found it extremely interesting. I know now that there are still religions that believe in multiple gods but when I first learned about the Greeks, I just thought it was so different from what I knew.

I think it all started in sixth grade. My teacher Mr. Williams assigned a god or goddess to everyone and each person had to do a project on this specific god. This project really solidified my love of Athens. My project was on Athena, the goddess of wisdom. I spent hours researching her and learning all I could about her. She is definitely the goddess that I idolize the most. I don’t believe in the Greek gods in case you were thinking I did by that sentence but Athena is honestly the best goddess and you cannot change my mind on that. Since, Athens is named after Athena, I have to visit.

First, the Parthenon is there. This beautiful temple was not only dedicated to Athena but it is truly a great piece of architecture. It has been standing for over two thousand years and that in it self is a miracle. It truly shows the accomplishments of the Athenian people. The Parthenon is located in the Acropolis. Not only does the Acropolis of Athens have the Parthenon, there is also the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Greek people truly were ahead of there time and their accomplishments will live on forever.

Just like My Big Fat Greek Wedding said, “There’s two kinds of people: Greeks and everyone else who wants to be Greek”. That might be slightly true in my case. The history that is behind Greece means that I will have to one day visit and I will definitely visit the best city-state (I know it is not called a city-state anymore). The capitol of Greece needs to be explored and experienced at least once by every person. I guess I really do want to be Greek but I will never admit that to anyone.

Rome is another one of my many travel destinations must haves. The reason why Rome is on this list is a pretty funny one. I have to take you back to my senior year of high school. During my senior year, I worked at an after school program called Scope. From 2:45 to 5:45 every school day, I would drive myself to Old Country Road Elementary School and put out snack, interact, and help kids learn. I really was just a glorified babysitter. There was this one kid and honestly, at this moment, I cannot tell you his name and I am so disappointed in myself. I can tell you what he looks like but I cannot, for the life of me, think of his name. In my head, I see his face but nothing. Any way, he was gone on a family vacation for two weeks and when he came back he had all these stories to tell. One of the places he visited was Rome. Every week on Friday, he would bring in another souvenir that he got from Rome or the other places that he traveled to during this trip. He brought in a miniature Colosseum, a little gladiator, little gems, and so many more things that he never ran out of a new thing to show me.

I always paid a special interest to him because he didn’t really have any friends at this after school program and the first thing that he would do every Friday was come up to me to show me what he brought in because he knew I was interested in them. I would always pretend to be so jealous and honestly I might have been a little bit. I would pretend to steal his trinkets and claim that they belonged to me now. I would say that I needed them and at times he actually offered me one because he had two. I didn’t take even though he was so sincere and sweet in his offer.

Based on the stories that he told, I knew traveling to Rome was a necessity in my life. If you haven’t been able to tell, through the many times I mentioned it, I do love history. Rome is one of those places with so many cool things to see. They had sewers before sewers were a thing. Once in Rome, I would go visit the Colosseum, obviously. Also, there is the Pantheon which is a mandatory stop. It is so beautiful. Everything that was built that long ago and is still standing is a miracle in my mind. The architect that went into it, is insane. I find it truly inspiring that hours were spent planning and creating all these amazing architectural designs.

When I do visit Rome, I will make sure to track this kid down, once I remember his name, with a statue of a gladiator to say look I have one now. Rome is one of those historic sites that no matter how many years go pass, the beauty and people’s interests in it remain. The achievements of the Roman people will forever be insurmountable and amazing.

 

 

Update: His name was Arusch. I just thought of it but I thought it was funny to leave my confusion in.

Germany is a country that has recently appeared on my list of must visits. I have recently become intrigued by the culture and history that surrounds Germany. Being German, and yes, so far all the places that I want to visit have been part of my ethnic makeup, the history of all that has happened has continued to gain a huge perspective in my mind.

My great grandparents moved to the US from Germany right after World War I. In the US, they tried hard to further themselves from their ancestry. During World War II and after they pretended that they were not German. They decided to claim they were Irish. They’re last name was Schultz and they started to claim they were the O’Schultz, as if the O makes you Irish. My mom actually only found out they were born in Germany when my grandma stumbled across they’re birth certificates. I’m also German from my dad’s side, so I did always know I was German but it’s just a funny story that explains a part of my desire to visit Germany.

 

While the Holocaust was a horrible time in history and especially German history, the remnants of it are extremely fascinating. The concentration camps scattered across all of Germany will be horrifying but I feel that everyone needs to experience it. Everyone needs to see how bad it was and how far the world fell. It should be a constant reminder that everyone is a person and no one should ever be treated like that.

Another stop that I need to see, is the remains of the Berlin Wall. The crumbling of this wall represents the end of the Cold War and Soviet domination. The Berlin Wall is another dark part of German history but the history behind it is exciting. The separation of West and East Berlin is a crazy thing to even think of now. There is also, the Berlin Cathedral. The Berlin Cathedral is so beautiful and I think I would spend a whole day just staring at the architect of the building and still not notice everything. The time and effort spent building it is crazy.

Honestly, I don’t know why I want to visit Germany. Is it to fulfill my wish of visiting every country in the world (where I won’t die) or if it is because of my ancestry but I do know that it is a must stop when I eventually visit Europe. Maybe it will be a quick two day trip or maybe it will be a long three week trip but I do know that I will enjoy every minute of it.

Continuing down the path of future travels, I am going to look towards my future trip to England. As a child, I always dreamed of being a princess. I know this doesn’t actually relate to England but the idea of royalty has always been extremely interesting to me. I know realistically that I will never marry a prince, at least from The UK, because the age gap between the immediate royal line will not work in my favor. Moving on from that, England has always been on my list and yes, it is also on the bucket list.

I have always had an obsession with the royal lines. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I find the way that the royal family works and the lineage that goes along with it has always intrigued me. If you were wondering, there is a YouTube channel called Useful Charts that will provide you an in depth look at the lineage of not only the British royal family but of most if not all royal families that are currently reigning or that once reigned. Yes, I have spent way too many hours watching his videos and have almost watched them all.

Following along this path of obsessing over the British monarchy, I have recently started watching The Crown. The Crown is a show on Netflix that follows the royal family and mainly Queen Elizabeth on her journey of life. This has further convinced me that I need to see all the palaces and places that these people have frequented.

Once in England, I would love to go to Buckingham Palace. During only select months of the year, they have tours that allow you to enter and see the Palace. I have looked into it and know that I would need to take the Royal Day Out option which allows you to see the state rooms, the Queen’s Gallery, and the Royal Mews. I would love to go inside and just experience the awe of it. Big Ben is also on top of my list of stops because I have always wanted to just say that I saw Big Ben. Windsor Castle is also a mandatory stop. If you haven’t realized by now, I really want to see where the magic happens. I can then eventually claim that I walked the same path as Queen Elizabeth.

I now that my desire for visiting England might seem very silly to some people because it’s based on the mystery of royalty. I honestly think that the intrigue comes from the US not having a royal family. Our closest royal family is the Kennedy’s and they always seem to die. The mystery and prestige that the royal family lets the public see makes me want to know more. Having your destiny being set in stone since the day you were born must come with real consequences in their personal lives which just makes me want to visit London even more.