European Top 5 Pt. 2

OK break time from homework.

3. BARCELONA

They kind of spoke Spanish here, but not really. The water was hardly drinkable. The public transportation there sucked. There was a beach but it was too cold to enjoy it (wow why is this even on the top 5?) Well, there was so much to do and a lot of really cool places we drank at. Amy's sister studied there last spring so we knew where we were going. We saw a fountain show, ventured through bustling market streets, ate paella and tapas, climbed a mountain, stormed a castle, saw the famous and unfinished Sagrada Familia, saw the Barcelona soccer team's gigantic Camp Nou stadium and so on and so forth. No museums. No tours. Just a lot of fun at our pace and our time. It was a good midway point in the spring break trip. I wanted to see more Spain and go to sunny Madrid but we spent too much time in France.

4. SALZBURG

I had to throw in something from good old Austria. Since Vienna is out of the running I choose Salzburg, the Disney World of Europe. Yes, I suffered the Sound of Music tour here. However, we had a really good group of people with us. There was a really cool fortress/castle thing was saw, that even had a torture chamber. The scenery was beautiful. The Augustiner Brauhaus was AWESOME and there I learned that "Ein muter Trunk Macht alte jung". Plus we saw the largest ice caves in the world. The trip lasted 5 days so we were able to take out time. All in all a very memorable trip.

5. BASKA

Sneaking in at the end of the Top 5 is the island town in Croatia. This was a fantastic trip. Our true Spring Break of 2008. A tiny town nestled at the southern tip of the island of Krk (possibly the largest island in the Adriatic, I'm not sure) was the perfect getaway from the stresses of one class a week. The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the sheep were roasting. It was peaceful and relaxing during the day, and then at night the party started. European rock bands, beer that tasted like it was from back home, and delicious lamb. I could have stayed there for another week, especially because of the exchange rate. I really need to stop thinking about these places because I'm getting a little melancholy that this semester is over.

Honorable Mentions:

Munich

Munich was fun because the town was basically founded on beer and that's really all you have to do there. I couldn't put two German cities in the top 5 because I wanted to spread it out and not show a bias towards Deutschland (even though there is one). The walking tour was guided by a newbie and he was terrible, so my experience is tainted a bit. I did get to reunite with old friends and I really enjoyed that.

Bratislava

Ok this one is mostly a joke but I went there three freaking times (not by choice) so the joke here is that I secretly love it. The poor city does get beat up on a lot (think the movies "Hostel" and "Eurotrip") Yes it is still getting itself together after the iron curtain went down, and yes, some of the buildings are falling apart, but hey, gotta love that exchange rate. Great food, great drinks, and a near-death experience I will never forget.

Graz

A very cool day trip to the capitol of Styria in Austria with one of my favorite museums and the best schnitzel I've ever had.

By principle I did not include anything about France but I did enjoy Nice and Paris. Not so much Avignon.

"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."

-Michael Scott