A very long post. Bear with me.
At the end of our internships at TU Graz, Shannon and I parted ways with the guys and headed off on an adventure. Our first stop was Salzburg, where we planned to spend a day before heading to Prague in the evening. Our trip got off to a rough start when we missed our train to Salzburg by just a few seconds and had to wait in the Graz train station for four hours for the next one. This did give us the chance to get one last kebap from Pammukale though! When we finally made it to Salzburg, we found out that the train we wanted to take to Prague was not, in fact, an overnight train like we had assumed, but instead had a five hour layover in Germany. Our other option was to take a train that would arrive in Prague at the same time but leave Salzburg at 4 AM. Since we had only just gotten there, we decided we might as well stay and see Salzburg by night. We wandered around a bit and saw one of the Sound of Music sites, but our plans were altered further by the cold and rainy weather that we weren't quite prepared for. I think I've mentioned before that most places close early in Austria, so when we found ourselves tired and hungry after night had fallen our options were limited, and we were overjoyed to spot a McDonald's where we could drink coffee and kill time until it closed at 2. We slept for a few hours huddled on the floor in the train station before the next leg of our trip.
Prague is a gorgeous city. We had forgotten how disorienting it is to be in a foreign country on the first day when you don't know the language (and we realized how much German we actually do recognize), but after we figured out where the train station was on the map we were able to find our way. We stumbled upon a Lego museum and some incredible street musicians, as well as getting to see part of the Jewish quarter, the astronomical clock, and a whole wall of graffiti dedicated to John Lennon and peace. Our hostel was a converted gymnasium with 70 beds in one room and was an experience in itself. From there, Budapest. Budapest felt much different from any of the other places we had been. Kind of run down, but I really liked it. We visited a (very depressing) museum about nazism and communism and took a tour of the two sides of the city (during which we temporarily lost our tour group, don't ask me how).
Shannon then returned home, and I spent one more day in Budapest to check out a thermal bath before taking a night train up to Berlin. I had already checked "ride a train" off my bucket list at the beginning of the summer, but being crammed into a cupboard-sized compartment with five other people and all of our luggage sealed the deal. My decision to go to Germany was very last-minute, and at this point I still didn't know what I would do in Berlin or where I would go after that. But since I was on my own, I was glad to be back in a place where I could at least read a menu or understand signs. The first day of traveling alone (and the realization that I really was in Europe by myself!) was intimidating and I was pretty unsure of myself. I also didn't have nearly enough time to feel comfortable in Berlin, since I was only there a day. I did get to see some pretty amazing street art though, as well as the more well-known sights like the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe and the remains of the Berlin wall. The next day, I went to Leipzig, which I picked mainly because it was on the way back down to Austria. I had an all-over wonderful experience there. It was somewhat bizarre to go to a sit-down restaurant by myself, considering I don't think I've ever done that in the States. I went out in the evening by myself and found a fantastic student club, where instead of feeling as awkward as I had feared, I actually got quite a confidence boost putting my social skills to the test. I only stayed one day in Leipzig as well, but I almost have the sense that if I had stayed longer, I would have been disappointed that I couldn't replicate the good time I had on the first day. Munich was my last stop before going back to Graz. Unlike in Leipzig where everything had gone wonderfully smoothly, I had a bit of trouble finding a hostel and so was fairly tired in the evening. One of the best things about traveling on my own (despite Shannon being a fabulous companion) was that I could do exactly as I pleased without having to discuss it with anyone. So that night I went to bed early. The whole time I was traveling I was trying to find the balance between not missing out on opportunities and caring for myself. At that point, I was ready to go back to Graz, where I knew I had food and a bed waiting for me, and where I could get some rest.
It was lovely having one more day in the place I had grown to love over the summer. I spent most of the time packing all of my things up to prepare for the trip home. I did get to spend a little more time with our Serbian friends there, and we visited a castle I hadn't had the chance to see yet. On to Vienna, where some very friendly people from Romania helped me carry my luggage and then just happened to be staying at the same hostel as I was. I spent my very last day doing a wine tour by bike of some of the countryside near Vienna. It seemed like my wine tastings in Graz actually taught me something, although of course there was a lot of new information too. It was so refreshing to spend a pleasant day biking through vineyard-covered hills, and my picnic lunch and swim in the Danube didn't hurt either. I had spent all but 29 cents of the Euros I had, but luckily I was able to get the last few things I needed (like a train ticket to the airport!) with a credit card.
Looking back over my summer now, I am so glad I got the chance to go on this adventure. At times it was lonely, but overall I had a great time. Sometimes I couldn't help comparing this experience to my cross-cultural and struggling with the lack of meaning. The summer was a lot of fun, I learned a bit about science and a lot about myself, and I have something new to put on my resume, but those don't always seem significant enough when I think about the semester I spent in Guatemala/Mexico learning about justice and things that really MATTER. I also didn't feel like I spent the summer with the degree of intentionality that I would've liked. Being apart from the EMU community and other people who care about doing things for a purpose made it hard. The summer brought up questions I thought I had answered about myself.
As I begin my last year of college, what's changed? I already knew I loved this place and these people, but being in such a different setting made me value them all the more. I'm scared of not taking full advantage of the community I have here this year. I still want to learn German. I still don't know where I'm going from here. I keep trying to remind myself to choose only that which is worth choosing (I stole that from somewhere, but I can't remember where). This semester I'm taking my senior Honors class, in which we're supposed to be able to craft some kind of worldview. I don't know what the end product of that process will be for me, but I don't think it could come at a better time as I try to find and refind my place here and in the broader world.
"A proper education enables young people to put their lives in order, which means knowing what things are more important than other things; it means putting first things first." --Wendell Berry
