Easter Break

I'm finally back from all of my Easter travels. Mom, Dad, and Wes came for 10 days, and then I took off again with a few friends to go back to Europe. I had an absolutely amazing time.

Seeing my family again was really nice, and I had a chance to show them around where I've been living for the past seven months. We went to London, Paris (totally against my will, by the way), Hastings, Canterbury, Stonehenge, and Norwich. So I got to see some new things as well, including the place where Harold Godwinson (last king of the Anglo-Saxons) was killed and the place where St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury was martyred. Oh, and Chaucer's grave, in Westminster Abbey. Dear old Chaucer.

My second trip around Europe was much, much better than the first. First of all, I much prefered the countries we visited. I didn't like Spain, France was just okay, and while I loved Italy, I wouldn't want to spend too much more time there. But I absolutely adore Switzerland (still), and really want to see more of Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Also, they have better food, but I might just think that because it's more like what I'm used to. Really, a bratwurst is not that foreign to me (though the onion sauce that I got with it was, and it was AMAZING). And neither are potatoes...

Also, traveling companions make all the difference. I didn't get as tired and cranky this time around, despite catching a bad cold. I was also much more relaxed and more confident. I didn't feel like the entire trip would fall apart if I screwed up.

So, yeah, we had a lot of fun. We didn't go see too many museums--just the Museum of Communism in Prague, the Albertina and the Freud Museum in Vienna, and the Pergamon in Berlin. I got to see the outside of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and the statue of Wenceslaus in Prague (of Christmas Carol fame. He's hiding in a mountain and will someday save the Czech Republic--what's not to like?). We sat in a field in Interlaken for 3 hours and stared at the Alps and watched and old couple and their cat. We took a 12 hour train from Interlaken to Vienna and played cards with a guy from Salzburg on the train. We strolled through a daffodil garden in Bruges. Dave accidentally got left behind in a church in Vienna. We finally found a beer Teri actually liked. Astonishingly, no one got run over by a crazy Belgian or Dutch person on a bicycle (seriously, this is a miracle).

I really would prefer to still be traveling. I really did not want to come back to Norwich. I've been back for two days now, and I feel stifled. I can't imagine how I'll feel when I get back to the States. Do I have to come home?