I'm just back from an amazing trip to Paris, Prague and Munich and already miss Europe. Don't get me wrong I love America, esp NYC, but there's nothing quite like Europe. The people are so great (for the most part), the fashions are similar but sometimes more fun and unique and the food different and delish. Here's a little recap.
Paris, is well Paris, the greatest city ever. That being said, I've only been to 7 or so European cities, but so far it's holding the gold. E and I explored like we didn't explore the last time we went - walked everywhere, ate baguettes and too many blocks of fromage, drank the best vin and spoke (tried at least!) French to the locals. There's nothing like being submerged in a culture that you adore and having to speak the language; I learned so much! The architecture blows my mind, the people and the language are equally beautiful, the food out of this world, the vin and fromage is endless, the parks romantic and the mystery of the city at night draws me in so much so that I would move to the City of Lights without thinking twice. Oh and the shopping isn't so bad either.
Prague is a different world from Paris; the people, the history, the food and drinks, the style and the culture. The architecture in Praha is absolutely out of this world - I walked around looking up in total amazement for 3 days - it's completely mind blowing. The history of this city dates back to around 500 BC (not tooo old or anything) think cathedrals built in 1000, cobblestones that many a writers have stumbled on, an astronomical clock tower that the world looks to and a castle that is surrounded by a vineyard where the president now works. The city is so beautiful it puts many to shame. The streets are not great for navigating...lets just say that getting lost for hours on end is very easy to do here, good thing that there's so much to look at you don't mind walking in circles. I'd go back to Praha for a more in depth experience on the history alone.
Guten Tag Munich! We didn't have as much sightseeing time in Munich as I would have liked but what we did see was very relatable to NYC. The parks, the people (a bit more conservative though), the streets, the buildings and some of the food. The new town hall was by far my favorite building in Munich, it was the one point that you could see from far away (which def helped for those times I was completely lost with no map..opps). It's gothic architecture was unbelievable and it took over the entire width of Marienplatz with a clock that put on a 'performance' every day at 11AM and 5PM. Much of our time in Munich was consumed by Oktoberfest, where we experienced 3 different tents in two days. Now, for those of you who have not had the opportunity to experience this outrageous festival and you enjoy biere, go, Now. It's the best fun you'll have with thousands of people you don't know, who you will get to know by the end of the day. Oh, and the songs/chants are permanently stuck in your head from that point on. Too much fun.
Most europeans love NYC and when you mention that you are from here, you instantly have a handful of new friends. We had the greatest time and I'm so glad I could share these experiences with some of my favorite people. I'm only now much more excited for my next trip....hmmmm Spain, China, Brazil, Africa? Until then....
