I watched It’s a Wonderful Life last night with one of my good friends here at Oxford. We glanced at each other knowingly when George Bailey spoke of his dream to travel the world and again and again had that dream go nobly unfulfilled—we had just returned from a ten-day trip around Europe. It doesn’t feel right somehow that I have had all these wonderful opportunities at so young an age.
At the end of my European adventure to Milan, Verona, Venice, Vienna, and Prague, I realize more than ever that travel is less glamorous and more expensive and exhausting than it is made out to be—especially for a student on a budget. Nonetheless, I had a wonderful, fabulous trip; I still can’t believe it happened.
Milan was surprisingly disappointing. I suppose it makes sense that the city is known for fashion but that main attraction is hard for visitors to experience really. Yes, I visited some designer stores but they were the same as they are in any other city. I suppose I anticipated something remarkably fashionable about the city or some way of observing the design industry. I will say that Milan had beautiful Christmas lights, especially in the center of town near the Duomo—the big, beautiful church at the heart of Milan. Overall, I ate lots of gelato, enjoyed an Italian mass at the Duomo, and experienced a few sight-seeing let-downs in Milan (the most noteworthy of which is that we were unable to see Da Vinci’s Last Supper because it was booked weeks in advance).
We headed to the train station early to travel to Verona for a day trip en route to Venice. At the information desk we were told that the next train did not leave for two hours, and then we checked the departures board to confirm. After seeing a train for Venice, stopping in Verona on the way, left in two minutes, we sprinted over to the platform and leaped aboard. Unfortunately we had to pay an 18 Euro fee for being on a EuroStar train without a reservation, as it was not completely covered by our EuroRail passes. We arrived in Verona despite the set backs and enjoyed walking around the rainy city, with quaint, multi-colored streets. Juliet’s balcony was a bit anticlimactic and after grabbing the statue of Juliet's breast for good luck, we wandered around aimlessly for a few hours before boarding a train to Venice.
Venice itself was by far my favorite city. What can be said about it? The city exudes romance and mystery and is utterly picturesque. Utterly. Every single little winding waterway beckons to be captured on film. The buildings are genuinely crumbled with age and are beautifully weather-beaten with character. Faux vintage buildings elsewhere can’t begin to compare. We took the vaporetto (water bus) to our hostel and the fog hung over the water, shrouding the city. The next morning we set out to sight-see with the foggy mist hanging over the water and kissing the gondalas. The water was a striking green color and flooded the main walkways in the mornings before receding as the day progressed.
My time in Venice will be with me forever, I think. I visited the Doge Palace (which has amazing artwork), went to the Academia Galleries, explored San Marco’s Church, followed Steve Ricks’ advice in getting lost among the maze of tiny alleys, and took the vaporetto across the lagoon to visit some of the islands. My most adventurous meal of the trip was on one of the islands, where I ate spaghetti with a squid ink sauce, which was surprisingly delicious with a mellow flavor. During our last afternoon in Venice, the sun broke through the afternoon gloom and shone on the Grand Canal; following the glorious afternoon, Venice provided us with a stunning sunset for a fitting farewell.
We then boarded a night train to Vienna, which is about nine hours from Venice I think. My two friends and I shared a little compartment with three beds, one on top of the other. Sleeping to the motion of the train was incredibly soothing: I’ve dreamt of sleeping on a night train for quite some time. It’s funny to think of how many miles I traversed across Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic, and yet I saw so little of the countries simultaneously. I saw poor housing on the outskirts of Milan, barren fields near Verona, warehouses on my way into Venice; I spent hours and days in their bigger cities; and yet, I saw so little of the country itself. At times it feels like I have a checklist of destinations, and as soon as I enter the city and take a few pictures, I can tick it off. That’s not how I want to travel or think traveling should be—I just kept realizing on this trip that it’s difficult to tap into the rich culture of these cities and countries with such a short visit.
We were provided a small breakfast and then ventured out into the snowy streets of Vienna. Like each of the cities we visited, Vienna was garbed in Christmas décor and had at least one bustling Christmas market. After dropping our belongings off at our hostel, we took a tram around the Ringstrasse, soaking up the energy of the city. Vienna has beautiful architecture, and I loved exploring the Hofburg Palace and the Kunst Museum. We attended a ballet, Marie Antoinette, in Vienna, which was beautiful. I had never seen a ballet before, and I loved watching the music flow through the graceful, powerful dancers.
The next morning we headed to our final stop of the trip, Prague. It did feel rather counterintuitive to continually head north in the dead of winter but it was worth it. Prague was a close second to Venice, with a wonderful upbeat energy, diverse architectural styles, loads of history and sight-seeing, and affordable prices. With our two days of exploring, I feel as though I saw a good deal of the sights. We also attended an advent concert in the Old Town Square area, which was beautiful.
Overall, I would say my trip was incredibly fun and successful. I realized a few things throughout. The first is that traveling for more than two weeks would be too much; I now plan to break my final six-week break at Oxford into 2 two-week trips around Europe. The second thing I noticed surprised me a bit: I never expected that while I traveled around Europe I would hunger for home quite so fiercely. I kept wanting to return to my cozy room at Oxford and to finally return to Kansas. God blessed me twice over, then, in this trip: He gave me a trip that many people would dream of and many will never experience, and secondly, He brought home to me in a new way how wonderful it is to have a loving family.
Tomorrow I return to the States for the first and last time during my year abroad. I absolutely cannot wait.
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