Vienna

so we made it to vienna, after a four hour train ride from prague. we had quite a good, relaxing time. maybe there was nightlife in vienna, but we didnt find much... nonetheless the city was quite impressive, very renaissance, and clearly wealthy when it was the heart of the Hapsburg Court/ Holy Roman Empire/ Austrian Empire/ Austro-Hungarian Empire. everything was over the top, classical, baroque. and again, really good luck with the weather

always gotta start the day off right- gelato!

Votivkirche, neo-gothic cathedral. it was under some renovation though. i think every building we visit is more or less undergoing work. all the time.
in honor of... mozart!
a journalist approached us and took a photo, for an article about spring in vienna!
feeling quite at home in this fountain
the Pestaule, one of Vienna's most famous sculptures. it was created for mercy against the plague.

Prague

Prague! one of my favorite cities i'd love to go back to. its not really sprawling, so everything is within walking distance of the center of the town. its all very gothic/ medieval looking. a lot of fun, for sure! food wasnt as cheap as i had imagined, but that's because the dollar has lost half its value in the past 5 years against the czech crown.
National Museum at Wensceslas Square.
my easter bunny cookie i devoured.
old clock tower. Astronomical Clock really gorgeous detail work

Tyn Church


Prague Castle from afar!

View of the city. it was beautiful... really what i'd imagine a European City to look like 500 years ago.
St. Vitus Cathedral. the last stop on an intense 3 hour walking tour!
relaxing in the park


czech beer!

Berlin!

Berlin was thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing. most of our highlights in the city were from a great free walking tour, getting a good overview of some sites and history. the first night we were there we found they dont really serve "boots" drinks in berlin, though they still sold a lot of those shotglasses.

i started my morning off right with currywurst and strawberry milk. yum? the combination probably wasnt the greatest idea but it was something to try

brandenburg gate. you're pretty much a nobody until youve passed through the gate. all important international conquerers/ dictators/ leaders of germany have done so.
memorial for the Jews lost in the Holocaust. its very close to the parliament building, and other key sites- this was done intentionally
the hotel where michael jackson felt the urge to dangle Blankets Michael Jackson out of a window.
a mural depicting the wonders of socialism and communism. the reality was far from this dream.
berlin wall- this was the reality Germans faced when the East was shut off from the west. It would divide families and Germany until 1989. The Soviet Union by then had run out of funding- it was just economically inferior to Western Europe and GDP per capita was many times lower


Berliner Dom. looks old, but actually built in the 20th century! the weather was perfect!

the railing of a bridge in berlin
turkish pizza! germany has a huge turkish immigrant population

Santorini!

Santorini is only an 8 hour ferry ride from Athens... being college kids we purchased the cheapest tickets possible, leaving us on the deck exposed to all sorts of crazy- wind, chilly temperatures, and other Americans who felt it was appropriate to blast their music on speakers.

one of the islands before getting to santorini. we wanted to visit because of all the stories we heard from other friends how wonderful the island is. and the girls had to check out where "sisterhood of the traveling pants" was filmed

our quaint little hotel


blue domes!

gyros- hands down my favorite food from all of the eurotrip. i suspect the pita was deep fried as well =]
Oia at dusk

sunset over Oia. we were unfortunate enough to run into clouds so the sun never hit the water before it dissapeared.
the ship that took us across the waters to a local volcanic island

the view from the volcano. i suspect if the weather were nicer we could see Oia and Fira perfectly.
Fira!
and the 600+ steps the donkeys would climb before reaching Fira from the port.
more oia, it was really beautiful.
aha- Frappe, a most delicious iced coffee and sugar concoction. the original frappachino i suppose

Athens!

A long delayed post (the first of many) from my 17 day Eurotrip spring break! it all started with a 5 hour delayed flight that brought us to Athens... the city was so much fun, and the food inexpensive and delicious.

the fruit stands in Athens were splendid- look at the mountain of strawberries!

A view of Athens from a hill near the Acropolis

The entrance to the Acropolis
Remains of a theater
Parthenon of course!
remains of Zeus Temple

our group of eight, minus two

yes it rained one day in Athens. we expected sunshine all 17 days, but that wasnt too realistic an expectation
doing some gymnastics in front of old olympic stadium!