Reflections: A Year I'll Never Forget

I woke up this morning just like any morning. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and headed outside into the city on my daily walk to the architecture studio. I've done this well over a hundred times, strolling past the tobacco shop on the corner, the Perfect Bun bakery, Insalata Ricca, and the church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle. It is a walk of no consequence on any other day, but I realized this morning that it would be the last time I'd being traversing this path. The reality of the matter is, I'm leaving Rome tomorrow and my incredible year in Europe has come to an end.

I'm going to miss it. No doubt in my mind.

Looking back at all the places I've been, all the incredible architecture, and all the delicious food I've eaten, I cannot help but be amazed at how much I actually got to see and that I didn't entirely bankrupt myself doing it. I came close, but luckily I'll be able to limp back to the United States with a few dollars in my pocket. It was money well spent, though. I traveled places I had never even though about visiting at the beginning of the year and had a blast doing it. Who would have thought I'd find my way to Flåm, Norway? Definitely not me, that's for sure.

The memories of visiting Budapest, walking around Prague, exploring the fjords in Scandinavia, and island hopping in Greece remind me of what an incredible world we live in and how beauty can some times be found in the most unassuming places. I enjoyed visiting the major monuments and famous tourist attractions in cities across Europe, but I got just as much if not more enjoyment out of simply wandering the city streets seeing what hidden gems I would stumble upon. Nothing beats wandering down a side street in some beautiful European city. Around every corner there is something waiting to be discovered that the normal crowds never take the time to find. I can't even begin to tell you how many beautiful churches and buildings I've stumbled upon just walking around on some random afternoon. That is the truly amazing thing about places like Rome and other cities in Europe. You can wander off and find beautiful architecture and incredible street life just about everywhere you go. It's something I'll definitely miss when I head home.

Although I'll miss Europe in general, I will certain miss Rome more than anything. The city grows on you. I don't think I'll miss the whine of ambulance sirens at all hours of the day, tourist trap restaurants, or the inadequate kitchen we had to cook in all year, but I'll miss sitting by the Pantheon when I eat my lunch everyday and I'll miss traversing the streets amidst thousands of years of history and beautiful architecture. Living in Rome has been one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I've gotten to live within a very different culture for nearly eight months. It's a very rare and humbling experience to do something like that. I'll treasure what I have learned from my time in this city for the rest of my life and look forward to the day I get to come back. Hopefully, that day will come sooner rather than later.

In my first post way back in July I said this year journey wasn't going to be about finding the best roads to take but rather finding the significance along whatever roads I take, no matter where they lead. After these eight months I can say it was the right way to approach this year. I could have done the standard tourist thing, taking tours and visiting museums, but I decided to wander off the beaten path, explore things beyond the ordinary, and see the living and enchanting non-tourist culture of Europe that a lot of people visiting miss entirely. The architecture, the food, and the culture all left an impression on me that I'll carry for the rest of my life.

I just can't believe its finally over. After being here for so long it's finally time to pack up my bags and head back home. I may be leaving Rome, but it will never leave me.

One Last Trip: Exploring the Veneto

Looking back on how long I've spent abroad and how many places I've been, it surprises me that there are still so many places that I have yet to experience. At this moment I have a little over three weeks left in Europe before coming back home to the United States. Sadly, these last couple weeks are by no means a cakewalk and I will need to budget my time in order to finish my final design project, write a paper, and then study for finals. Before I got too caught up in everything, I decided it was time to take a trip I'd been hoping I'd make from day one: a journey into the Veneto region in northern Italy.

I decided to take a weekend to further explore one of my favorite parts of Europe and see some of the things that we unfortunately didn't get to see while there during our Fall Field Trip back in October. My goal was to see the Palazzo del Te in the city of Mantova and find my way up to Riese Pio X, the birthplace of St. Pius X, the patron of my home parish back in the States. So, I planned it out, bought some train tickets, got a hotel room, and set off on what would become an extremely memorable weekend.

I arrived in Mantova after spending the morning on a pair of trains, welcomed by bright blue skies, warm temperatures, and some beautiful architecture. After a short walk from the train station to the city center I found myself surrounded by medieval towers, incredible churches, and never ending lines of spolgiated columns (taken from old temples, etc.) arranged in loggias along either side of the street.

My first stop in Mantua was Alberti's famous and unique Church of Sant'Andrea. We had learned about this church in Architectural History class, and I was rather excited to see it in person. I rounded the corner and entered the piazza in front of the church to see its beautiful facade before me. There was a problem though...

Scaffolding...

It has been a common occurrence throughout the year to find whatever important structure I want to see under scaffolding. It's like they know when I'm coming, plan ahead, and put up scaffolding right before i get there to make sure I can't see the pure form of the building. That's just my luck, I guess. Almost every city I've visited has had at least one major structure partially or wholly covered by scaffolding. The story was no different in Mantova and would be repeated at least one more time later on in the weekend.

I spent the next couple of hours wondering around the rest of the city, exploring the cathedral, part of the palace next door, and a couple of parks, along with the local McDonalds. I was pleasantly surprised by the organization of the city. All the major buildings and landmarks were built along one of the main streets of the city, Via Broletto, and seemed to flawlessly move you through the space. The street narrowed, opened up onto a piazza, closed again under a tall brick clock tower, turned a corner, and led you from place to place as you went. It was one of the more interesting streets I've traversed over these many months.

Some of the architecture along Via Broletto

After thoroughly exploring the center of Mantova, I walked south towards the one building I've been dying to see for a long, long time: the Palazzo del Te. There are plenty of wonderful buildings out there that hold a special place in my heart, but there are none that can really match up to the Palazzo del Te. There has been a running inside joke/odd obsession within our architecture class defined by the saying, "It's all 'bout that Palazzo del Te!" In many ways it is all about the Palazzo del Te. It is considered one of the most creative classical buildings in the world, and its many Mannerist features (slipped triglyphs, keystones crashing into pediments, etc.) put it in a league of its own. So, after a couple of years a talking about this building I was excited to finally check it out for myself.

The couple of hours I spent at Palazzo del Te were incredibly nostalgic but also very informative. I couldn't help but thinking back to the days as a freshman back on campus when we first learned about the mysterious Palazzo del Te, and how for some odd reason we talked about it almost every single day, even when our conversations weren't about architecture. We truly believed that "it's all 'bout that Palazzo del Te!" I still do. I couldn't help but smile as I meandered through the famous courtyard, marveled at the incredibly painted Room of the Giants, and explored the hidden grotto at the back of the property. It was all incredibly surreal being in a place I had dreamed of visiting since freshman year. My only regret? Not getting a Palazzo del Te-shirt (get it?). But, seriously, the gift shop didn't have any shirts to speak of. A major disappointment to say the least.

Standing in the courtyard of Palazzo del Te

I could have wondered around the Palazzo del Te all afternoon but I had a train to catch. I walked back to the train station and set off in the direction of Castelfranco Veneto. It took me 3 regional trains and three hours to reach the town but I eventually made it there. Most people have never even heard of it, and you're probably wondering why Castelfranco Veneto. To make a long story short, I went becuase it is the closest train stop to Riese Pio X, the birthplace of St. Pius X, a town that I very much wanted to see. The plan was to spend the night in Castelfranco Veneto, and then walk the 7 kilometers to Riese where I would spend the day retracing the early footsteps of my home parish's patron saint.

Castelfranco was a wonderful and charming town, and will go down as one of the most pleasant and relaxing places I visited while in Europe. The town center is located within the walls of an old medieval fort and is surrounded by a moat/canal and a wide ring boulevard lined with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants. The beautiful weather from earlier in the day gave way to an equally wonderful evening. A great number of the town's residents were out strolling the streets, sipping drinks at a cafe, or just enjoying the cool evening air. After getting dinner and sampling a glass of wine a wine bar packed with locals, I headed back to the hotel to enjoy the comforts of a queen size bed, free internet, and a hearty hotel breakfast once morning came around.

A view of the walls in Castelfranco Veneto

I slept in a little later than I wanted, but after eating a quick breakfast and packing all my things I was ready to start my journey towards Riese Pio X. The road to Riese was, obviously, called Via Pio X, and I followed it until the urban din of Castelfranco died out and gave way to the sound of farm tractors in the distance chirping birds. The walk through the countryside was quite peaceful even as the sun beat down on what was one of the warmest days of the year so far. Along the way, I passed freshly plowed fields, ancient olive orchards, and old farm buildings. It was interesting to think that years and years ago the young Guiseppe Sarto, who later became Pope Pius X, walked this route everyday on his way to and from school in Castelfranco. It was enlightening knowing I was traversing the same path that was once trodden by a saint.

It took almost an hour to walk the distance between Castelfranco and Riese, and upon arrival I immediately searched out the first of two major landmarks in town, the Church of San Matteo. The church was extremely easy to find mainly because its brick bell tower dominated the skyline that consisted of mostly two and three story buildings. St. Pius was baptized in the church as an infant and it was where he developed his priestly vocation through Latin lessons with the local priest and the Mass. It was very similar to many of the other churches in the Veneto, but was special in the fact that it nurtured the vocation of a saint. This fact was celebrated in the interior, which was full of paintings and sculpture dedicated to Riese's most famous son. I was also surprised to find the old, empty papal tomb of St. Pius X located behind the main altar. It had been moved to Riese after Pius X was canonized in the 1950's and his body was moved from the Vatican crypts to a side chapel in St. Peter's Basilica. The only downside to the church was the scaffolding. Just like at Sant'Andrea in Mantova, the interior was covered from floor to ceiling with scaffolding. That was just my luck on this weekend.

The Church of San Matteo

My next stop was the other landmark site of Riese, the childhood home of St. Pius X. The home had been sold to the government of Riese under the condition that it be preserved in the way it was left, so the interior was exactly the same as it had been in the 1800s and early 1900s. The lady who opened the house for visitors spoke very little English but showed me around and tried relaying what she could to me in Italian. I assume not too many people outside the region ever venture up Riese, and I was probably the first American to visit in quite some time. We walked around the house where she showed me the kitchen, outfitted with all the original cooking wear, and then went upstairs where she showed me the bedrooms, one of which being were Pius X was born. It was incredible thinking how a future pope could come from such humble roots.

The humble kitchen in St. Pius X's childhood home

After spending the better part of the afternoon in Riese exploring the areas of interest and getting a nice lunch, I departed to once again walk the route between Riese and Castelfranco. As the sun dipped close to the horizon, I arrived in Castelfranco to stop by the beautiful Duomo to have a look around and then go to Mass. Besides seeing the beautiful architecture, I really wanted to see the Duomo because it was another site of importance in the story of St. Pius. He was ordained a priest in this church back in the late 1850s. I spent some time looking around and sketched some of the interior before Mass started. The interior was Palladian inspired like many of the churches in the region. It was a wonderful place to attend Mass and finish up what had been a great weekend. After Mass, I headed down to the train station and caught a train to Padova where I would catch a night train in order to make it back to Rome in time for class in the morning.

The Duomo of Castelfranco

My trip to the Veneto was a great way to to finish up my travels throughout Europe. I tried to do something a little off the beaten path and had a great time doing it. Sure, I would have had fun going to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, or any other major European city I had yet to see, but going somewhere few people go to see has its advantages.

I felt I got the best experience of seeing how people live outside the centers of tourism. Rome is a beautiful city full of history, great food, and beautiful architecture but it is a place where you have to deal with street vendors haggling you to buy random items of every kind, restaurants that overcharge for mediocre food, and the continual noise of traffic and hoards of tourists all over the place. The Veneto had equally incredible architecture and history but felt a more genuine. The streets were full of life and activity day and night because the locals actually lived and worked there. Rome is the opposite in many respects as the lively city you see during the day shuts down at night when everybody returns to their homes in the suburbs. I don't think I saw a single souvenir shop anywhere I went either. It was refreshing view of Italy that tends to be smeared by the touristy aspects of every day life back in Rome.

I was also glad to see all the things related to the life of St. Pius X. It convenient or times to travel with all the work I have to finish by the end of the semester, but I'm glad I decided to take the time to visit the birthplace of my home parish's patron saint. On the train back to Rome I realized that over the course of the year I've seen the birthplace of St. Pius, the church he got baptized in, the church he was ordained in, the church he was bishop in (cathedral in Mantova), the church where he was a cardinal (San Marco in Venice), and finally the church where he was Pope and is currently entombed (St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican). I'm sure not too many people have done anything like that, and I'll forever remember the weekend I spend following in his sacred footsteps.

I was sad to leave the Veneto, but my architecture projects won't finish themselves. So, for the time being I'll keep working on my designs, but I'll keep looking back on the great weekend I had in the Veneto and hope that I'll make it back at some point in the future.

The Most Random Spring Break Ever

While I was really tired on the night of my return to Rome following our week and a half field trip to the south of Italy, there was no time to rest. I had to get ready for a five day spring break trip that I would be leaving for before sunrise. I was traveling to three rather random places, Pisa, Dublin, and Frankfurt. None of them are within 1000 kilometers of each other, but the way airfare prices work in Europe they were some of the cheaper places to go. Three different cities, three different languages, three different cultures. It promised to be a very fun and interesting five days.

After a long train ride from Rome, we arrived in the city of Pisa. Everyone goes to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, but the main reason we were going was actually was to catch a flight to Dublin. The flights out of Pisa were much cheaper than the flights from Rome, and hopping from Rome to Pisa would also mean we'd get time to see one of the world's most famous architectural mess ups. Not a bad way to save some money if you ask me. We arrived with hoards of tourists making the trip up from Rome, walked from the train station to the center of town, and were greeted by even more tourists all ready there doing interpretive dance and mime all over the place.

See?

Just kidding. We all knew they weren't practicing their miming techniques. Rather, they were all taking the stereotypical "Look ma, I'm holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa!" picture. Up and down the main street there were dozens of people all posing at once. It's kind of funny to watch, that is, until you cave into peer pressure and end up taking one yourself out of fear that your mother will be mad when she finds out you didn't get a picture of you holding up the Leaning Tower when you went to Pisa.

Besides the Leaning Tower, the beautiful Duomo next door, and the Baptistry in front of the Duomo, there really wasn't all that much to see in Pisa. Sure, it had the standard beautiful architecture of most traditional Italian cities, but there wasn't anything else there we just had to see. We ended up wandering around the city for a while, bought lunch at a nearby supermarket, and then walked back to the grassy area in front of the Duomo where we ate our lunch and proceeded to take a nap under a beautiful, clear blue sky. It was spring break after all. Why not take a couple hours to just relax and enjoy your surroundings?

Pretty nice surroundings if you ask me.

Following an enjoyable and relaxing day in Pisa, we spent the night at a cheap but comfortable hostel in town, and then made our way to the airport to catch our early morning flight to Dublin. We actually walked to the airport. It was conveniently located right on the edge of town a couple of minutes walk from the hostel. Still tired, we boarded a plane comforted by the fact that in a few short hours we would be in Ireland.

We landed in Dublin after a relatively bumpy flight, and were greeted by chilly gusts and a cold rain as soon as we stepped outside the terminal. Typical weather in Ireland. It ended up raining plenty while we were in Dublin but that didn't stop us from having a good time. After the bus ride from the airport into the city center, we got situated in our hostel and ended up making it to a pub for a full Irish breakfast and our first pint of Guinness before noon. There is something special about having a Guinness in Dublin. It's hard to describe but it just feels right.

Enjoying a pint at the Guinness Storehouse

The architecture varied throughout the city, and if I could compare it to any place I had been before I'd say was very similar to a lot of the stuff I had seen when I was in England. There was a mixture of Gothic, Neoclassical, Modern, and everything in between. Lots of brick buildings and lots of framed window panes. The one that that sets Dublin apart, through, are its brightly colored doors. While many of the rowhouses along the various streets were very similar in design and articulation, their front doors are painted every color under the sun from bright reds and yellows to deep, bold blues and greens.

In the two days we were in Dublin we explored much of the city and saw many of its most famous sights. We sipped on a pint or two of Guinness at a couple of different pubs, toured the Guinness factory, ate Beef and Guinness Stew, and did other Guinness related activities. We walked around the famed Trinity College that educated the likes of Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, saw a couple of churches, and took a stroll along the River Liffey. We also took time to visit one of Dublin's most famous landmarks, Leo Burdock's Fish and Chips. It was one of the largest, most delicious meals I had eaten in a long, long time. They give you the biggest piece of fried cod you've ever seen along with a couple big handfulls of thick cut french fries, wrap it up in butcher paper, and send you on your way. We walked out of there, each with a football sized package of steaming hot food, and went across the street where we found some benches. We then proceeded to devour our food in about 10 seconds.

So delicious...

Although I certainly would not have minded staying in Dublin a little while longer to enjoy more of its delicious food and culture, we had to leave and catch a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, the last stop on our odd and seemingly circuitous spring break. We ended up spending the night in the brand new Dublin airport in another attempt to save a little bit of cash. It was actually a pretty comfortable night as we were able to find some couches we could sleep on. In the wee morning hours we got on an Aer Lingus flight bound for Frankfurt. I was returning to Germany for the third time since coming to Europe.

The incredible skyline of Frankfurt

I had originally planned on traveling to Frankfurt over Christmas Break, but I did not get the rail passes I was to receive in the mail on time and had to scrap half of my planned trip to Germany, including a day or two in Frankfurt. Luckily I was able to work a trip to Frankfurt into my spring break itinerary. I was really excited to see the city, not only for the many incredible skyscrapers that dominate its skyline but also because it is the largest city in my favorite German state, Hessen. I'm sure you can put two and two together and figure out the reason why.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Frankfurt. The architecture was awesome, the weather was perfect, and to top it all off I got to again enjoy bratwurst, frankfurters, and all the other German foods I had come to know and love during my earlier travels of the Fatherland. One of the coolest experiences I had in Frankfurt was going up to the outdoor observation deck on top of the Main Tower (pronounced 'mine' for you non-German speakers), a 200 meter tall skyscraper. On that bright and sunny afternoon you could see for miles in every direction. It was truly and incredible sight to behold.

Standing 200m above Frankfurt with the Commerzbank Tower in the background

I enjoyed plenty of brats, drank some good beer, and saw some incedible buildings while in Frankfurt, but when Sunday afternoon rolled around it was time to get packed up and head back to Rome. Before catching the bus to the airport, I grabbed a pair of huge bratwursts at a stand by the train station. It was sad realizing that I might not get to have another brat in Germany for quite some time. Hopefully, it won't to too long before I go back to Germany sometime in the future.

In all, I traveled almost 2500 miles on my spring break, saw three very different cities, and saw some great architecture along the way. The food wasn't too shabby either. The only thing more I could have wanted was a long spring break. If I had a couple of extra days I would have loved to explore other parts of Ireland outside of Dublin or maybe the Black Forest south of Frankfurt. I'll save those for another adventure, though, and for the time being just think about bratwurst, fish and chips, delicious pizza, and all the randomness that created a unique and fascinating spring break experience I'll never forget.

Spring Field Trip: Journeys in Sicily and Southern Italy

The strokes of my brush moved rapidly over the surface of the paper in swathes of pigment. Why won't you dry? The sun was setting, colors were blending together all over the page, time was short, and I needed to get this watercolor finished before they closed the site for the day. At this time the day before I had been back in Rome sitting through eight hours of projects reviews, but now I found myself sitting on an ancient wall frantically working on a watercolor of the ancient Greek temples at Paestum, a couple hours south of my adoptive home. Although I was stressing over the watercolor on my lap, it wasn't going to get me down. I was encouraged by the fact that Paestum was only the first stop on a long journey across land, air, and sea that would let me see even more of the beauty Italy has to offer.

Now if only my watercolor looked like this picture...

After spending a day exploring the various temples and the museum at Paestum we moved towards Naples and took a day to visit the incredible an ancient city of Pompeii. It was simply amazing to explore the huge collection of artwork, architecture, and general culture that has been preserved there following the tragic eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. As we walked along the original cobblestone streets amongst the remains of row after row of ancient homes and shops, one couldn't get a real sense of what it was like to live in an ancient Roman city. The homes, in many cases, were preserved to the point that the frescoes on the walls looked like they were freshly painted. Today, many of the artifacts have been moved to various museums, but I can only imagine what it would like to uncovered so many incredible pieces of history untouched since the were buried thousands of years ago.

One of the more interesting things about Pompeii is that today its only full time residents are the dogs. Where Rome has temple cats, Pompeii has dogs. Everywhere you go there are dogs lounging about, walking along side you playing the role of Man's Best Friend, or running around barking up a storm. While working on a sketching assignment in the Forum, there was a group of three of four dogs that just wouldn't leave me alone. They kept barking and walking around me the entire time I sat there. I realized later the reason for this was because they probably wanted the sandwich I had left in my backpack with the intention of eating later. One of my friends made the mistake of eating a sandwich in front of them and ended up losing half of his sandwich and his watercolor assignment to a hungry dog. It has to be one of the few time the "my dog ate my homework" line was actually applicable.

Me and a couple of my dog friends

From Pompeii we traveled to Naples and were greeted almost immediately by two of its most famous features: beautiful churches and lots of trash. I haven't quite figured out the reasoning for the trash but according to our professors and other sources, the piles of garbage all over the place can be blamed on plenty of sanitation worker's strikes and insider mafia deals with sanitation departments in northern cities. Naples was definitely a bit grungier than most of the places I have been this year but the beautiful architecture of its churches and other important buildings more than made up for the dirt and grime. Many of the churches, such as Gesu Nuovo and the Sansevero Chapel (look it up, you won't be disappointed) rival the architecture and sculpture of even the most famous churches in Rome. Although there was a persistent cold rain during most of our visit, walking through Naples and seeing its wonderful interiors, artwork, and museums was well worth it.

San Domenico, another beautiful Neapolitan church

After completing our tours of Naples we headed to the port to catch a boat to Sicily. It was a fun evening of rocking back and forth across the Mediterranean aboard the large ferry. We stayed up on the deck until the lights from the mainland fell out of our view and a cold rain began to fall. So, we retreated to our rooms below and lay in our bunks chatting and eating cookies until we eventually fell asleep. The next morning, I awoke to brilliant sunshine pouring in through the porthole of our room. The clouds, rain, and wind of the night before had moved on, leaving a bright sunny morning to welcome us to Sicily, where we would be for the rest of the trip.

After a long time waiting in the corridor on the ship, they let everyone walk down the gangplank and we stepped foot into the city of Palermo where we spent the day exploring its various architectural sites including its beautiful cathedral and a wonderful 19th century theater called Teatro Massimo. Although Palermo is a very historical city with architecture dating back hundreds of years, it was heavily bombed during World War II causing much of the city to rebuilt in a less architecturally pleasing style during the 50s and 60s. It would have been nice to see Palermo the way it looked a hundred years ago, but even the various pockets of architecture spread throughout the modern fabric were pleasant surprises to stumble upon.

The Sicily leg of our trip found us walking up our fair share of hills, and this was very true of our next two stops at Segesta and the hill town of Erice. Segesta was an ancient Greek settlement similar to Paestum other than the fact that was set on top of a hill a couple miles inland from the sea. After a pleasant walk up the entrance, you are greeted by one of the most well preserved temples anywhere. Its surprising to think a building could stay in such great shape even after a couple of thousand years. The just don't build 'em like that nowadays. We also took a hike up to the top of the hill were the old fortifications and theater stand. It wasn't an easy hike but we all made it to the top without incident. The views from the top of the hill to the valley and ocean beyond were epic. I thought it was one of the most beautiful views I'd ever see, but I was proved wrong when we arrived at the top of the mountain that Erice is located on later that day.

The beautiful temple at Segesta

The theater at Segesta

The bus ride up the side of the mountain towards Erice seemed to go on forever. The road continued to climb and climb along the edge of the mountain, and the towns and homes beside the ocean below continued to grow smaller and smaller. The bus finally pulled into the little parking lot at the entrance of the town, and upon getting off the bus we noticed it was much colder. Erice, because of its location on top of a mountain, has a micro-climate different than the rest of Sicily. Its one of the few places on the island were pine tree forests grow naturally. We also had the experience of having a sunny day turn into completely foggy when a low lying cloud decided to run into the mountain late in the afternoon. Besides interesting weather, Erice had beautiful architecture and even more stunning views. We got lucky and arrived when the weather was clear, affording us great views of the ocean and the rolling green hills of Sicily has far as the eye could see. We spent the night in that wonderful town and even got a free dinner at the hotel. A pleasant experience to say the least.

A view of the Mediterranean from Erice. Now, that's a view.

Although we didn't want to leave the beauty of the secluded mountaintop, there was still plenty of Sicily left to see. So, we piled back into the bus and headed back down the mountain to see some of the towns in the southern and central parts of the island. Our first stop was in Salinute were we saw more temples, completed another watercolor, and took a plunge (at least I did) in the still cold Mediterranean. The weather was spotty at best. It was chilly, windy, and cloudy for most of the day, but at least the sun came out when it was time to watercolor.

Besides the temples, the thing I will remember most about Salinute was getting directions from a sheep herder. There are a bunch of different temples at Salinute organized in two different areas about half a mile apart, one area is in the ancient town center near the sea and the other is across a deep gully that was once an ancient riverbed that has long been silted up. We had to walk across the gully to get between the two areas, and to be blunt the paths didn't really take you where you needed to go. We found this out the hard way as the path we were on suddenly veered off in the wrong direction leaving us to trudge through a bunch of nearly impassible bushes and trees in search of the temples that lay somewhere beyond. I'm sure 44 architecture students trudging through the brush was quite a sight to behold, especially if you're a simple sheep herder. There was a guy herding sheep (yes, people still do that) down into the gully, and I'm sure he had a good laugh watching us try and find a way through the bushes. I remember looking over and seeing him wave his arms in our general direction and point to a little break in the undergrowth up ahead where we found a narrow dirt path led all the way the the ancient town and its temples. The sheep herder ended up doing double duty that day as he not only herded his sheep but also a lost group of lost architecture students.

We spent the next couple of days exploring the rest of Sicily, seeing Enna, the highest elevated city in Sicily, more temples in Agrigento, the lovely town of Taormina, and even the Carnevale parade in the city of Acireale. Those towns were great to visit, but what put the icing on the cake was the day we spent in Catania. Catania is one of Sicily's largest cities and is nestled beneath one of the most beautiful natural features in Sicily, the snow covered peak of the volcanically active Mount Etna. We had a wonderful time in Catania exploring its wide variety of religious and secular baroque architecture. We were all care free and just enjoyed each others company and the architecture as we walked up and down the streets and alleys. While it was a sunny and warm day, it was kind of bittersweet because it was the nicest day on our entire trip. I finished the afternoon by sketching the cathedral and playing some hackysack in the piazza in front of the cathedral. A good way to end a great week in Sicily.

The cathedral in Catania

Later in the afternoon we boarded a plane bound for Rome and that was the end of our field trip. In all, we had visited a dozen or so different towns and cities in a week and a half. While it was great to see all the great architecture throughout Sicily and southern Italy what I'll always remember are the interesting, odd, and funny things that happened along the way. I'll always remember sampling octopus in Salinute and actually liking it and watching a friend accidentally kick a soccer ball onto a hotel roof and then climb over a balcony railing to retrieve it. I'll never forget getting lost in the wrong part of Acireale looking for the train station or exploring an abandoned castle perched on the edge of a cliff with some of the guys. It's not everyday that you can do stuff like that. That is what made my trip to Sicily, like this whole year, something I'll treasure for a long, long time to come.

3 Months Left...

It hit me the other day that I only have about three months left here in Rome. I remember back in September when it seemed like spending eight months here would be an eternity. There has been a lot of time between then and now, but when I look back it seems to have just flown by. I've traveled a lot of Europe and seen some incredible architecture and culture so far, but there is no way I'll be able to keep up that pace simply because there is a lot more work to be done this semester and I'll probably run out of money if I go at the same pace as my winter break. So, I will probably not be traveling as much. The consolation, though, is the fact that I get to spend another three months in Rome where, even after so many months here, there is plenty left to see.

Rome never ceases to amaze me. Love it or hate it, one cannot deny the beauty of its churches, the far reaching history of its past, or the peace that comes from a walk through any number of neighborhoods throughout the city. Rome truly is a timeless city. You can walk along the same road day in and day out and see a new building you've never seen before along the way, or decide to wonder down a side street and come upon some beautiful little church tucked away in a corner. There are restaurants, little shops, and markets of countless number just begging to me perused. There are just so many things to see. One could spend all their time just wondering around and never have the exact same experience twice.

Many people in the architecture program are creating Rome "Bucket Lists," in hopes of seeing and doing all the things they have thought about but not yet made a reality. There are plenty of things I want to do and places left to see but I find it much more worthwhile to go about my daily life and see what comes up along the way. I like the surprise of stumbling upon something rather than simply going to see something everyone else has already seen. Some of the most interesting things I've seen in my travels have no mention in any travel guide or textbook. Beauty can usually be found in the most inconspicuous places, and I'd much rather wander the back streets and humble neighborhoods than participate in monument chasing with the hoards of tourists.

This second semester abroad will continue to fly by, but it will not stop me from exploring and seeing the architectural beauty that Rome has tucked away around every corner. There are only three months left and I will get the most out of them that I possibly can.

Christmas Break: Part Two

I've been swept up in a whirlwind of activity since returning to Rome following Christmas break including a rather intensive one week project and a eight day visit by my parents. It is only now, after turning in my project and the departure of my parents that I finally have a good amount of free time to sit here and tell the tale concerning the second half of my Christmas break traversing many more far and distant European countries.

So, here it goes...

After spending three days back in Rome ringing in the New Year, watching Notre Dame win the Sun Bowl, and getting some much needed laundry done, I set out on the 2nd half of my Christmas Break travels. Instead of leaving Rome by train, I instead boarded a plane on heading to Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

My time in Belgium was much different than time spent elsewhere. I had specific sites, churches, and other places I wanted to visit in places like Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, but in Belgium, along with other many places I would visit on the 2nd half my trip, I didn't have a real set itinerary. Instead, I decided to randomly explore whatever city I was in and see what my wanderings would turn up.

In the two days I spent exploring Brussels, I found it to be a charming city with a diverse array of winding streets, wide boulevards, tiny row houses, and ornate monumental buildings. Like many cities I had previously been to, there was a compact medieval center that had once been surrounded by the old city walls. Within this center was the vast majority of everything worth seeing: plenty of churches, a beautiful central square with a massive Gothic town hall, tons of Baroque rowhouses, and tons of chocolate shops.

I smell chocolate...

Luckily, the weather had warmed up from the previous week. Instead of trudging through snow drifts and frigid winds, Brussels was rather pleasant. I didn't even wear gloves most of the time, whereas that would have been a one way ticket to frostbite the week before. I had a great time enjoying french fries, waffles, and some Belgian chocolate in the comparatively mild temperatures of Belgium, but I knew it would be short lived. We would soon leave Belgium for the frozen tundra and ice of Scandinavia.

Everyone said the group of us going to the Great North was crazy. "The sun is only up for like and hour up there." "You're eyelids are going to freeze shut." "Beware of the yeti..." Stuff like that. We didn't care, though. We wanted to see the fjords of Norway and see a little bit of Sweden. So instead of flying somewhere warm like normal people, we headed north for an experience we would never forget.

From Belgium we flew to Olso, the capital of Norway with the intention of then taking a night train to the tiny hamlet of Myrdal where we would being our journey towards the famous and scenic Norwegian fjords. The flight from Brussels was rather uneventful and after two hours the plane touched down at snowy Oslo Rygge airport. Expecting a cold blast of Arctic air upon stepping out of the plane, we were instead welcomed by temperatures similar to what one might find back home in Indiana in early January. I felt right at home, other than the fact that I was in Norway where everyone is named something like Asbjørn or Gunnvor and a can of Coca-Cola cost three times what it does back home.

After an hour long bus ride from the airport into central Oslo, we made our way to the train station and boarded the night train that would take us into the heart of Norway and closer to the much talked about fjording adventure we would partake in the following morning. The train itself was much nicer than anything I had ridden on up to that point. The train cars had incredibly comfortable, reclining seats in a very spacious and quiet interior. They know how to travel in style in Norway. The ride went by fast and before we knew it the conductor told us we were at the Myrdal station and that it was time to get off the train. It was somewhere around 5:15am.

I knew from trip research that Myrdal was small, but I was surprised to find out how small it actually was when the train abandoned us (we were the only ones that got off the train) at the equally abandoned station in the cold early morning hours. I thought Myrdal would at least be a town. One could hardly call it that. The town was composed of three houses, the train station (which didn't have anybody actually working there during the winter months) and a gigantic mountain. The train to the fjords left at 9:40am so for the time being we were stuck. Luckily, the station had a heated waiting room, so we went inside and proceeded to fall asleep until it was time to catch the train once the sun finally came up.

The trip to the fjords was just as scenic as seeing the fjords themselves. The train that goes from Myrdal to the town of Flåm at the end of the Aurslandfjord is considered one of the most scenic rail lines in the world along with one of the steepest climbs of any railway anywhere. We hopped aboard and spent 40 minutes traversing some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid eyes on. Everywhere you looked there were tall, jagged mountains, deep valleys, frozen waterfalls, and lonely homesteads. The only thing that would pull your face away from the windows were the interment pitch black tunnels that came up ever so often along the way. After starting the journey at over 2000 feet above sea level, the train pulled into the town of Flåm just a meter or two above sea level. We had finally arrived at the fjords are would soon be greeted with some of the most breathtaking scenery one will ever witness.

Incredible reflections on the water

The few hours we spent in Flåm were like a step into some other world. The water was crystal clear and calm offering incredible reflections. It was also extremely quiet. Flåm itself only has a couple hundred residents and during the winter very few tourists come to visit. Beyond the occasional car passing by or baaing sheep , it was totally silent. It's difficult to describe what a trip to the fjords is like. The combination of the calm waters, steep peaks of mountains rising in every direction, and church-like quiet is something I had never experienced before. It is truly unlike anything else out there. The trip to the fjords has to be one of the most unique things I've ever done in my life.

The Aurslandfjord

The rest of my Scandinavian adventure went by in a flash of light. Literally. By the time we left the fjords around 3pm the sun was already beginning the set. We took a train from Myrdal to Bergen, Norway's second largest city, where we planned on spending the night before traveling to Stockholm, Sweden. We arrive in rainy (yes, rainy) Bergen a little after 5pm. It had already been dark for well over an hour. We got a nice seafood dinner, and then went to bed. The next morning, still in the dark we head to the Bergen airport, caught a plane to Oslo and then a connecting flight to Stockholm. By the time we reached Stockholm, it was already after noon and would only had about 3 hours of sunlight to explore Sweden's capital before night set in once again.

Stockholm was another beautiful city. Although I only got to see it during the day for a couple of hours, I still found it to be a wonderful place. It was incredible how much water was everywhere. Channels and inlets dotted the landscape in every direction. The central, historic part of the city was actually on an island. We made good use of those three hours of sunlight, traversing a good portion of the central city and took some time to walk up one of the hills to get a good very of the city from above. Before long, the sun set and thus ended my time in Scandinavia. I was off to Germany for a second time in the morning.

A view of snowy Stockholm

Even after spending a week in Germany during the first half of the break, I was excited to go back because I was going to have a totally new experience. I was going to spend a weekend with Germans and stay in a German household. In a long story made short, my friend Andy and I had met a group of Germans students staying at the same hotel as us on their class trip to Rome during the Fall Semester and they invited us to come visit during Christmas Break. We took them up on the offer and made plans to visit them in their hometown of Augsburg, an hour or so northwest of Munich.

I flew from Stockholm to London and from there to the town of Memmingen, which has one of the smallest airport terminals I have ever seen. It made South Bend Regional Airport look more like O'Hare. I've been in a Walgreen's that was bigger than the Memmingen terminal building. I took a bus from Memmingen to Augsburg and met up with Andy and the Germans outside the main train station. Thus began an epic weekend that would see me ride a bike since the first time since the summer, experience the life of a normal German teenager, eat some good food, and see some pretty cool stuff.

After seeing the sights in Augsburg, we spent our final day with the Germans by taking a day trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein. I had already visited the famous Bavarian castle on the first leg of my Christmas Break, but I was very glad to go back because this would be a very different experience that before. It was a clear, cool day this time around, whereas when I visited a few weeks earlier everything was covered in a foot of snow, visibility was poor, and it was freezing cold. We decided to forgo going inside the castle, deciding to be daring, ignored a sign reading"trail closed" and made our way up to the Marienbrücke, a bridge overlooking the castle that offers the best view of the castle. The path leading up to the bridge is usually closed during the winter but there was no one around to enforce it so went anyway. Sure it was icy but it wasn't anything hazardous or life threatening. The hike was well worth it. The picture below proves it.

Worth it.

We then went down another closed path that followed the stream that flowed through the valley beneath the castle. It was a little more difficult to traverse but the beauty was something we couldn't pass up.

Waterfall beneath the Marienbrücke

Like all good things, our weekend in Augsburg had to come to an end and on Monday morning we caught a train to Salzburg to begin a short forray in Austria. Salzburg, famously known for being the home of Mozart among other things, was a little bit disappointing mainly because we got unlucky with the weather. Salzburg is a beautiful city but a lot of its beauty can only be experienced in the summer. All of the gorgeous baroque fountains in its various squares were covered up to protect them from the rain and snow. The trees on the hillsides were bare and everything seemed gray. It was rainy and foggy the entire time I was in Salzburg proving that even beautiful architecture can't brighten up a gray and rainy day.

After Salzburg, spending a couple days in Vienna was a pleasant change. The weather improved a great deal and the sun finally decided to come out for a change. Exploring the architectural treasure trove of Vienna and appreicating all there is to offer takes way more than the two days we spent there. I was surprised by the sheer amount of architectural gems Vienna had to offer. Every corner of the city had something to offer. The cathedral, the town hall, the opera house, and plenty of other churches spread through the city we all gorgeous. Vienna was one of the cities I would have really enjoyed spending more time in, mainly because there was so much to see, but it my blitz trip around Europe there was always something else to see. After two good days in Vienna, I hopped on a bus and continued on my way, this time going towards the Czech Republic.

I found myself back in Prague yet again, but even though I had been there only a week or so earlier I still had quite a bit to see. It had been a really cold Christmas Day when I was in Prague for the first time. A lot of the sights were closed and it was not a whole lot of fun being outside in the cold and wind. This time around, the weather was much nicer and everything that I hadn't seen yet was open to visit. The main thing that I hadn't explored in Prague was the Castle that sits upon the top of the hill on the far side of the river. I had certainly seen it (it dominates the city) during my first visit but I hadn't actually gone up the hill to see the Cathedral and various palaces that make up the entire complex.

The Prague Cathedral was one of the most expansive churches I had been in so far. I had been in bigger ones, but other that St. Peter's and some of the larger churches in Rome, it had the most stuff worth seeing inside of it. There were well over a dozen side chapels full of beautiful paintings, sculptures, and various other pieces of artwork. The uses of stained glass was extensive and the panes were some of the largest I had seen yet. I also enjoyed exploring the various palaces surrounding the Cathedral, especially the highly elaborate reception and banquet halls decked out in all sorts of tapestries and other gorgeous decorative elements.

The nave of Prague Cathedral

After Prague came one of the more emotionally difficult experiences I've ever had in my life. We decided as part of spending the final weekend of our break in Poland to take a trip the the infamous concentration camp at Auschwitz. We originally arrived in Krakow and then took a minibus out to Auschwitz. People will tell you that a trip to Auschwitz is a very difficult and even painful experience, but it is well worth it just to experience and get a first hand look at what atrocities mankind is sadly capable of and remember those who lost their lives because of it.

We spent a good five hours walking around the grounds of two of the three parts of the camp. The first part, the original camp built at the beginning of the war, contained the museum full of many shocking exhibits while the second part was the semi-preserved remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp that was built a few years later and contained a vast majority of the housing and the horrible gas chambers. It was a eye opening experience to walk the same upon the same ground that some one million Jews walked for the last time before being systemically exterminated. It was incredible to think how mankind has the ability to be so cruel. The feeling you get on those hallowed grounds is something you can only experience through a visit. All I can say is that I will never think about the Holocaust in the same light ever again.

Somethings cannot be described by words

I then spent the next day and a half back in Krakow exploring its many churches and other beautiful architectural sites. Krakow has a historical center, like many of the other cities, contained within the old walls along with a pretty amazing castle on a hill that overlooks the city. Supposedly, there are dragon's bones stowed away in a cave system beneath the castle. You can go into the caves, but unfortunately for us they are closed during the winter months. It would have been interesting to go spelunking but just getting to see the castle was a treat enough. It had diverse architectural styles ranging from Gothic, to Renaissance, to Baroque throughout its many different buildings including the Cathedral where John Paul II served as a bishop before eventually becoming Pope.

Krakow was another city I could have spent a couple of more days in but the first day of classes of the second semester was looming closer and I still had one more city to check off my list before heading back to Rome.

Warsaw, Poland was probably the biggest surprise for me on my various travels. I really didn't know what to expect when I went to Warsaw. I didn't know much about its architecture other than that fact it was home to the Palace of Culture and Science, a Cold War era skyscraper I had seen a few times in books and such. I could only speculate and hope it would be a city worth visiting.

Upon arrival, I half expected to find a depressed, ramshackle shell of a city that had suffered through years of hardship, war, and charging political ties. Instead, I found a city on the move with plenty of new development along with the rebirth of its former historic center. Surrounding the Palace of Culture and Science were half a dozen modern skyscrapers in what had become a very properous looking business district, including the incredible Złote Tarasy mall, one of the first ultra-modern buildings that I have really found architecturally pleasing. It was one of the more innovative and interesting buildings I have been in and added to the many pleasant surprises I kept finding all over Warsaw.

Złote Tarasy Mall

Something else I wasn't expecting to find was a well preserved and redeveloped old town. Most people see Warsaw as a very stereotypical Eastern Bloc city with tall, plain concrete apartment blocks along expansive boulevards. There are certain parts of the city that definitely fit the stereotype but as I discovered there is a part of the city that has been painstaking preserved and restored to the way it originally was, a sort of time capsule to see the city as it looked prior to World War II and the era of Socialism. The Old Town, including the Cathedral, opera house, royal palace, and other traditionally styled buildings, totally contrasted with the rest of the city. Whereas most districts redeveloped in the late 1940s and 1950s contain huge apartment blocks and heavy traffic, the Old Town was much more compact, pedestrian friendly, along with a high diversity in both housing, businesses, and various public buildings. I enjoyed myself immensely as I walk through this wonderful section of Warsaw.

By this point I was throughly tired of traveling and was excited to get back to Rome. After living out of a backpack for the better part of a month, I was finally heading back to Italy for yet another semester of study. I thoroughly enjoyed my travels throughout Europe and saw plenty of places I never thought I would find myself in. The architecture was incredible, the food was exceptional, and the experiences will stay with me for a life time. There is so much out there for one to see, and it is amazing to think that I saw such a great deal of it during my Christmas Break.

Chirstmas Break: Part One

In a flurry of activity I finished up my finals, packed my bags, and set off on a two week free-for-all that saw me travel through parts of six different countries, change languages five times, and switch currencies three times. I slept in a different place almost every night and took a lot of train journeys, even by European standards. It was an incredible experience, and I enjoyed getting to see a lot of different places, eat incredible food, and meet some pretty interesting people along the way. The best part about it, though, is the fact this was only the first half of my journey. Part two is coming up next...

December 15 - December 19: Munich, Germany

I didn't wait long to start my journey. On the 15th, I finished my last final at noon and was on a night train from Rome to Munich by 7pm. What an experience it is to fall asleep on a train in Italy and wake up the next morning in Germany, even if it isn't the most comfortable ride ever. After a long night on the train, we arrived in Munich early on the morning of the 16th, dropped our bags off at our hostel and went out to explore a place I've been waiting to see for many years.

Munich is a beautiful city to visit, even in the dead of winter. Known for its shady beer gardens and parks, the rustic charm of its historic city center, and the many entertaining beer halls, Munich had a wide variety of things to see and do that for the most part can be experienced year round. Of course, the beer gardens were all under a foot of snow, but that didn't stop us from having a good time.

The major streets and squares, as we would find in many of the cities in Germany, had been turned into vibrant and expansive Christmas Markets selling everything from the standard yet delicious bratwurst to little handmade trinkets for the kids. We spent hours wandering the markets, sampling the different food, and just enjoying the general atmosphere. It was great to mingle amongst the locals and see what great German culture and wares were right before our eyes.

Munich's town hall and the Chirstmas market below

The architecture of Munich was equally enjoyable, especially the churches. There was a spattering of architectural styles ranging from Gothic, vernacular wooden structures, to the breathtaking Baroque. I particularly enjoyed the many Baroque churches in the city center. The exterior of these churches were nowhere near as ornate as some of the facades that exist in places like Rome but the interior decoration is something rather different and extraordinary. The ceilings were painted with incredible frescoes and had the most detailed plasterwork you've ever seen. White and bright pastels reign supreme and the altars were accented with lots of gold leaf and beautiful sculpture. It was incredible to see just how much went into creating such beautiful structures.

The Interior of Alter Peter, a beautiful church right in the center of Munich

In the four days I spent in Munich, I got a chance to explore a lot of the city, seeing many of the outlying architecturally interesting structures including Allianz Arena, built for the 2006 World Cup and now home to the Bayern München soccer team, and the groundbreaking Olympic Park and Stadium that were built to host the 1972 Summer Olympics. Both were fairly revolutionary when they were built, especially the Olympic Park. Even 40 years after its construction, its radical cable-stayed acrylic roofing stuctures was something worth seeing.

We also took a day trip to see the ever famous Schloss Neuschwanstein, one of the worlds most recognizable castles. After a two hour train ride, we arrived at the foot of the Alps in the town of Füssen and after a short bus ride and a walk up a hill we found ourselves right below the castle. The castle, built by King Ludwig II in the latter half of the 19th century, sits on top of a low mountain overlooking the sweeping valley below. It truly was a fairy tale castle in every sense, and was built to be just that, majestically set in some of the world's most beautiful scenery. The inside was equally amazing, but unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures because every view inside the castle is copyrighted by the Bavarian government. We were especially luckily because we got to see the castle and surrounding mountains covered by the fresh snow that continued to fall throughout the day.

It was simply breathtaking to see in the snow

Munich was a great first place to go on my travels. I got to see a lot of great architecture, famous sights, and experience what makes Germany such a fascinating and interesting country to visit.

December 20-21: Cologne, Germany

After another night train journey, I found myself in Cologne in the industrial northwest of Germany. At 7:00am, groggy and tired from a rather uncomfortable night on the train I emerged from the train station to see this right in front of my eyes:

Welcome to Cologne!

The sight of the Cologne Cathedral immediately woke me up and threw me into full fledged architecture mode. I wanted to go see the cathedral and go explore the rest of the city right then and there, but it was still too early in the morning. It was only 7:00am. So, we instead checked in at the hostel, got in a quick nap, and then set off to see what architecture Cologne had in store for us.

The cathedral is obviously the most well known architectural feature of the city, dominating the skyline at 516 feet tall. We spent a good two hours exploring it from top to bottom, seeing everything from the crypt underneath, the main church, the various side chapels, and finally the top of the bell tower. The interior of the church simple soars upwards, making one feel rather insignificant against the massive columns and gigantic stained glass panels.

Climbing the tower was an experience within itself. Like the Duomo in Florence or the bell tower of the city hall in Siena, one has to climb up a winding spiral staircase deep within the structure. It seemed to go upwards forever, but eventually it came out onto what I assumed was the highest level, but it wasn't even close. At that point, we had to climb up a set of metal stairs another 80 feet or so to reach the final level just below when the towers start to taper inwards towards the final spire. The views from the top were incredible. You could see for miles in every direction.

I can see the Netherlands from here!

We spent the rest of our time in Cologne exploring the many beautiful Romanesque churches and multiple Christmas markets spread throughout the city. Many of the churches had been bombed during World War II and had been either partially or completely reconstructed within the last few decades. Some of the renovations were rather crude, but most did a good job to preserve and imitate the original prewar structures.

December 22-23: Berlin, Germany

Getting to Berlin was just as much of an experience as the time spent in the city. We took yet another night train to Berlin from Cologne; however, to the dismay of us and about 40 other people, the car we were supposed to be in was for some reason not on the train. They flat out forgot to put our car on the train. So, after about 90 minutes of standing around in a corridor of a sleeper car the conductors figured things out and sent us down to the other end of the train were there were luckily a couple of open seats in some of the cars.

After the interesting transportation mishap and another long train ride through the night we arrived at Berlin's central station and ended up sitting around in the station's Burger King waiting for the sun to come up. Once it got light outside, we left the station, caught a bus to our hostel, and then went out to explore Berlin.

Berlin was much different than the other cities we had been to so far. It didn't have the old world charm of the inner districts of Cologne or Munich. It certain felt much more eastern European, which makes sense since the Berlin, apart from its western half, was under the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War years, creating a lot of very gray and dull architecture that even after the fall of Communism still exists throughout much of the city.

Although, there was a lot more bloc architecture in Berlin than in other places, it still had a lot of beautiful buildings within the historic Mitte district including some beautiful churches, museums, and other civic buildings. The most striking was the Berliner Dom, a very beautiful church capped with a soaring dome. The detailing and tectonics of it were just incredible. Any architecture major like me would have a field day just trying to take all of it in. Inside and out, it was extremely ornate, and I think it was probably my favorite church, architecturally speaking, that I saw in Germany.

The beautifully articulated Berliner Dom

Berlin was a yet another great city to visit. It was rather different than Cologne and Munich but still had the expansive Christmas markets, beautiful churches, and great food that I seemed to find all over Germany.

December 24: Dresden, Germany

The last stop I made in Germany was the city of Dresden, a couple of hours south of Berlin near the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. Dresden was home the Royal Palaces of Saxony, but is most famously known nowadays for being nearly completely destroyed by Allied bombing during WWII. After considerable reconstruction that is still on going throughout the city today, many of the damaged structures have been returned to their former glory and have once again have made Dresden an architectural gem worth seeing.

I was unfortunate, as I very quickly discovered, to visit Dresden on the one day where everything closes early, Christmas Eve. I can understand stores and restaurants closing around 6 or 7pm like they do back home, but I wasn't expecting the entire town to shut down by 2pm. The Christmas markets, all the stores, and all the museums and monuments worth visiting, and even the McDonalds all shut down right in the middle of the afternoon. So, I ended up spending my Christmas Eve walking to and fro looking at all the architecture in the cold and snowy twilight.

My only real relief from the snow and the wind was attending Midnight Mass at Dresden's cathedral, the Hofkirche. It was originally built as the main church for the Saxon royals who lived in the palace right next door. It has a beautiful stone Baroque facade and is covered with dozens of small statues and other interesting elements. The inside of the church was equally as impressive and had a lot of similarites with many of the Baroque churches that I saw while in Munich. The Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Dresden, and concluded with the singing of Silent Night, of course, in German.

The Hofkirche on Chirstmas Eve

I had a long day of walking here and there and everywhere while in Dresden but really enjoyed getting to see a lot of beautiful architecture. I especially enjoyed the fact that many of the architectural wonders, such as the Frauenkirche and the Semperoper, both of which were piles of rubble after the bombings, were completely rebuilt only a decade or two ago. I'd love to go back to Dresden at some point, not only to see more of the architecture, but also to see what it is like when everything isn't shut down.

December 25-26: Prague, Czech Republic

While the rest of the Europe opened presents on Christmas morning, I took a train from Dresden to Prague. The transition between Prague and Dresden was much more dramatic than the other legs of my journey, even it was the shortest distance I had traveled so far. I went from Italy, where I understand some of the language, to Germany, where I understand most of the language, to the Czech Republic where I understand none of the language. I definitely knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore when I got off the train and saw advertisements on the walls and couldn't understand a single word. Luckily, all the people I had to interact with spoke at least a little English and I was able to get by.

Prague itself is a very beautiful city and has plenty of architecture to see, much of it related to the town's position as a capital both now and in past times. Castles, beautiful Gothic churches, along with a bunch of Baroque, Renaissance, and Greek Neoclassical are spread throughout the city. I spent a day and a half walking around Prague, even though the wind chills fell into the single digits while I was there. Even with my fingers and ears numb with cold, I enjoyed the countless hours I spent on Chirstmas Day seeing all that Prague had to offer.

I was saddened to find Prague a lot more touristy than the other cities I had been in thus far. Many of the churches I would have liked to go see were closed down for the day in order to sell tickets starting around $20 for hour long evening concerts. I didn't go to any restaurants because most seemed like those in Rome that try to coerce people to coming inside for a meal with "specials" that probably aren't all that special. I ended up just buying food at a supermarket and having a relaxing meal back at the warm hostel.

I'm heading back to Prague during the second part of my Christmas Break. Hopefully, the weather cooperates a bit more while I am there and I can see even more of a city that I feel I barely scratched the surface.

December 27: Bratislava, Slovakia

For anyone who has even seen the movie EuroTrip, Bratislava has a bad wrap among a lot of people. The movie portrays Bratislava as a dumpy remnant of the Eastern Bloc, full of derelict buildings and lots of poverty. Nothing could be no farther from the truth. Sure, there were the random abandon buildings here and there, but Bratislava was a beautiful, thriving city with a pleasant mixture of old and new that made for an overall pleasant stop over between Prague and Budapest.

My favorite thing in the city was Bratislava Castle, perched high above on a hill along the Danube. It affords beautiful views of the city below, the river, and the surrounding hills and countryside. The castle itself wasn't anything over the top but had quite a bit of historical significance. It was said to the be the childhood home of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

A statue of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in front of Bratislava Castle

The rest of the city was dotted with plenty of churches and other important civic buildings including a couple of beautiful theaters and the ornate presidental palace (Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia). There was also a mix of modern architecture, including a very interesting cable-stayed bridge that had a restaurant on top of its one tower that has a striking resemblance to a UFO.

I was really glad I decided to go to Bratislava. It was a beautiful city off the beaten path that had all the architectural stuff I like to see with a little bit of a Slovakian twist. I can also be the first kid on my block to say I've been to Slovakia.

December 28-29: Budapest, Hungary

The final stop on my first round of travel was Budapest. I switched things up and took a bus to Budapest instead of a train. Budapest is only about two and half hours from Bratislava so it wasn't too bad of a bus ride at all.

My time in Hungary got off to a rough start. It all started when I couldn't get any money out of the ATM at the bus station. Hungary unlike most the places I went to isn't on the Euro, so I had to get some Hungarian Forints before I could do anything. To my dismay the ATM at the bus station either wasn't working right or didn't have any currency in it so for the time being I was stuck on the outskirts 5 miles from the city center without the right currency. I ended up walking about half a mile towards Budapest before I came upon the next ATM. Luckily, I was able to get some money out of this one. I got 15,000 forints. It seems like a lot of money but when the conversion rate is about 210 forints per US dollar that puts things in perspective.

My troubles didn't stop there. After taking the subway the rest of the way into the city, I had some difficulty finding my hostel. First I walked in the wrong direction and ended up having to back track. Eventually, I found the street my hostel was on but couldn't find it anywhere along the street. That was when my luck turned around completely. The guy running the hostel I was staying in just happened to be passing by on his bike, directed me in the right direction (the entrance was actually on a side street), and got me all checked in right then and there. I was then free to explore Budapest for the next two days.

Budapest really is a tale of two cities. Buda and Pest used to be two separate cities on opposite sides of the Danube before unifying as one city in the 1870s. Buda is very hilly while Pest is flat. Each side of the city had different things to offer and over the course of my time there I got to see quite a bit of both sides.

The beautiful Chain Bridge that connects Buda and Pest

The architecture of Budapest was a lot more beautiful and diverse than I expected it would have been. I had heard of a couple of its more famous buildings such as the Hungarian Parliament before, but there were many I had not heard of that blew me away. The Buda side had some incredible structures that I was not familiar with including the Matthias Church and the nearby Fishermen's Bastion.

The Matthias Church is a gorgeous Gothic church with a bit of Byzantine mixed in. A lot of the buildings in Budapest had a mix between Eastern and Western styles due to its geographic position. This mix created a lot of very interesting buildings. The exterior of the Matthais church was very Gothic while the interior could have belonged to a church in Greece or something in Turkey dating from the Byzantine Empire. The mixing of styles made for some beautiful architecture unlike anything I'd seen yet. The Fishermen's Bastion is a castle like "fortification" at the base of the Matthias Church that runs along the edge of the hill. The Bastion itself is beautifully articulated with towers and arched openings but the views over the rooftops of Buda look towards the river and Pest are what really put the icing on the cake.

A view of the Matthias Church from the Fishermen's Bastion


The Hungarian Parliament from the Fishermen's Bastion

Budapest was probably my favorite city I visited on this round of travel. The main reason being that I was surprised to find a lot more architectural beauty there than I was anticipating. It seemed everywhere I went there was a different beautiful building to look at. A pleasant surprise to end a great two weeks of traveling, for sure.

I headed back to Rome late on the night of the 29th to rest up and get ready for round two...