A Difficult Decision Made Easy

10 am. Somewhere between the Czech Republic & Slovakia:

Stewardess: "Coffee?"

Man: Yes.

S: Large? Small?

M: Cappuccino.

S: No, just coffee.

M: No.

S: Beer?

M: Okay.

I don't know if it was just the weather or the city, but Bratislava left me cold (and wet.) From the weird soviet UFO bridge to the weird soviet-rebuilt castle there wasn't much to see. Plus, I was having an embarrassingly hard time remembering which country I was in. It's Slovakia, not Slovenia or Slavonia (which also is right around here.)

A Redeeming Building

Luckily, I only spent a day and a half there. A trilogy later I hoped on a bus to one of the best named cities ever- Budapest.

 

Praha

I love Prague. There's plenty of history, gorgeous buildings and you can walk everywhere. Unfortunately, everyone else loves Prague too... And there are an incredible number of tourists.

Since I was there right before Easter there was a wonderful market going on. See that flowering tree in the background? Zipties and fabric flowers.

The highlight of the market (for me) was the 3 hours of live performances each day. I was a loyal audience and went every day. The highlight for me was the youth dance troupes. There's nothing quite like small czech children all dressed up and dancing (except for small Hungarian children, but we'll get to that in a future post.)

The highlight of my trip, however, was getting to reunite with a Czech friend I met in Malaysia (the second one in a week, as I reunited with an Italian friend I met in Malaysia as well.) It was fabulous to have a local guide, especially one who was so delightful. We went to the farmers market, a soup festival (where I sampled sauerkraut soup), and a local pub.

 

Vienna aWaits You

From the crowded trains of India to the church service on a train in South Africa, I've had some interesting experiences with trains on my trip. My night train to Vienna was by far the calmest-- and I had company which made it even better. Besides taking an accidental champagne shower and smelling like a high class dive bar, we made it easily to the "City of Dreams."

Upon arrival we ducked into a small, traditional coffee shop. Our two coffee and roll gave us a bit of a shock when it was 15 euro... Welcome to Europe.

While keeping our coffee habits in check, we wandered around and had an overall great time.

Our second night we went to the Opera. When opened, the public's reaction was so negative the architect committed suicide. Art critiques are hard.

We also journeyed to the palace, which had the most bizarrely ugly fountains I have ever seen.

Image source: Maxwell Res

Unfortunately, due to work duties, dad had to leave early and not join me on my way to Prague. But it was great to have a few days.

Happy Easter!

 

Road To Rome

The old adage says, "all roads to lead to Rome." Unexpected, mine did too. While there I got to see my dad, go into a locked room in the Vatican, talk to lots of art professors, and have one of the best meals I've had on my trip.

After months of living in dorms I got to stay at a hotel with my dad. There was even a fruit bowl (more like a fruit vat) and I was just a little excited.

The trip was largely uneventful-- which is a good thing for me, a not so good thing for the blog.

But here are some pictures:

Wine Not Whine

Living for a few months in South Africa has given me a unique view of the country that I think I would have missed if I had only been here a short time. It's multicultural, with 11 official languages. It has an incredible wealth gap, which is nowhere more evident than in the schools and the living situations of students. Yet, it is also a young nation, founded within my lifetime. Trying to figure out how to atone for the crimes of the past, while also moving forward, will take time.

Tourists are frequently worried about the crime. Within Cape Town it is evident. I've heard of a few muggings, and have seen multiple car windows smashed. However, even taking this into account, I would highly recommend a visit here.

The other day I saw an USA tourist board advertisement. It wasn't until the end, when they told me they were advertising it that I knew this (not a good sign.) I'll try to do a better job promoting South Africa.

Cape Town has a landscape few cities can match. The ocean with a mountain right next door.

View of Cape Town

The diversity of the culture comes out in unique and beautiful ways.

Carnival

The wildlife is unmatched.

Plus (and I cannot stress this enough) there's wine.

A glass of house wine in a restaurant generally costs about 15 rand or $1.25. The vineyards are close and are simply beautiful.

Now that I'm leaving, I can't wait to come back.

 

708 Feet

(Written earlier)

I have quite a few phobias-- awkward situations, being late, rodents, and height over water.

Traveling alone in foreign countries (being an young American girl just adds to this) has lead me to be in numerous awkward situations. Almost every day. Many are detailed in this blog.

Public transport, and getting lost have made me late once or twice.

I lived in India, so, rodents.

I went off my first, and only diving board at 15 because I had to in gym class. It was only a few feet high and I was petrified.

I also have a weird phobia of high bridges. For some reason my body just panics. I generally have to close my eyes, sing to myself as I go over them. If I'm driving I have to pull over and have someone else drive across. So, naturally, the other day I jumped off a 708 foot bridge-- the tallest bridge you can bungee jump off.

It is illogically high, built between two mountains.

I'm currently taking a little break (you know how hard my day-to-day my life is) and going along the garden route for a few days. Also on the trip are 4 Indians in their mid 30s and a Brazilian couple. I didn't even know bungee was an option until 2 days ago. Until this morning I gave a solid "no thank you." All the guys on the trip were all ready to go (until this morning, that is) while the remaining three of us were a bit more nervous. After being given this tiny harness and a short briefing we started towards the bridge in silence. Safe to say everyone was incredibly nervous. The small gangway that lead us to the middle of the bridge had a mesh netting so I could see straight down. It was my first time voluntarily walking across a bridge, even though I only went halfway. I broke out in a cold sweat. My body naturally gave me a warning, "we're too high, I don't like this and this could kill you." But luckily I didn't fully panic. It wasn't seeing the trees below me that got me. It was looking at the supports for the bridge and realizing how many blocks of concrete there were, all leading down to a small river. A bridge and water-- 2 for 1! Add some rats, make me late, throw in some awkwardness and then we would have really gotten some fun. Once we reached the platform we were told our order (second to last) and given our instructions-- arms out, fall forward and head up.

About this time I started a bit of a nervous dance while smiling. The first guy started to get wrapped up. They velcroed short pads around his ankles and tied a rope around each of his ankles before securing it to the middle. He hopped to the edge with two guys, one on either side. The video monitor showed us his face-- ready for battle. Quite quickly they counted down 3,2,1 and then he jumped. He didn't quite lean forward enough and he clasped his hands so went into a fast nosedive. It felt like he was falling for forever. Panic. The next guy jumped feet first and was snapped down once he reached the end of the line. Panic. The veteran of our group did a beautiful dive. Panic. The first guy returned and looked exhausted, bursting with adrenaline but still a bit nervous. All too quickly it was my turn. The guys working there were great-- efficient, and friendly. The small strap the was tied around my ankles was not so great-- it was about 2 inches thick.

They lead me to the edge while my mind started working, luckily there was no waiting. 3,2,1 and I fell forward. The worst part was the split second my feet left the platform and my body gave me a little warning, "DEATH IS COMING." But, right after I was instantly calm. It's funny what you automatically say without thinking. During my split second fear of death I screamed "oh my god," then, instead of screaming or staying silent I just said, "ohh, this is lovely." It really was. Being weightless truly is a wonderful feeling. Since I was so high up I had plenty of time to take in the view. It wasn't as fast as I thought it would be and I didn't feel as if I was falling. I felt oddly graceful. The snap (which I was worried about) was smooth. It was only once I stopped moving with all my weight firmly on my ankles that I felt uneasy. I stared at those darn supports again. Soon enough a guy who was lowered came down hooked me up and brought me back up. I wished him hello, and asked what I should do. He told me he'd take care of it and as I watched the ascent my euphoria took a little break. Luckily it quickly returned once I was safely on concrete. Funny to think that I then thought of a bridge as safe. The guys unhooking me complimented me on my beautiful fall-- I told then I had had a lot of practice falling leading up to this. The group all came gave me high fives.

I'm not normally one to buy the photos or videos of things I do, but I thought this was worth it.

Here it is:

And here are my parent's reactions:

 

Next up: skydiving, someday.

 

 

Circle of Life