brief post-semester Europe summary [20 December - 6 January]
My mum wrote a summary of our time in Europe while I was in New Hampshire, which I've stolen borrowed and slightly altered for this post. So thank her and her insistence on writing down details for every single day. My own thoughts are at the end and scattered throughout the notes.
London, 20 December - 24 December
Prague, 24 December - 28 December
Athens, 28 December - 2 January
Paris, 2 January (sort of) - 6 January
My favourite place was London, though I'm not quite sure I'd want to live there. I adored wandering through the ancient and green areas of Athens, which also had barely any security, but the modern city was too much of a contrast for me. Prague was interesting, but not as old as I had imagined (the Jewish Quarter, for example, was completely rebuilt in the 1800s) and rather cold. Paris was my least favourite, though I suspect part of that reaction was from feeling like I had seen all the architecture before after having already visited London and Prague and having just come from Athens' completely different atmosphere; another part was from feeling homesick and longing for New Hampshire. Still, the Louvre was very impressive.
Prague, despite having the least favourable winter climate, easily had the best food; Paris and London had the worst, at least from what we tasted. Athens had the nicest public transportations, followed by London; Paris had the worst and was insanely crowded and complicated, though we didn't go on Prague's because we couldn't figure it out (everything was in Czech). Athens was also the easiest place to get around in general because almost everything was bilingual. (Most things in Prague were bilingual [or trilingual -- Czech, English, and German], too, except for the transportation systems and the non-tourist areas. I also omit London since I don't known how easy it is for foreigners to get around there seeing as English is my native language.)
Both London and Athens had wide areas of green space, whether they were hills, ancient areas, or parks. On the other hand, the modern side of Athens was somewhat cramped and appeared the most unpleasant of the four cities on the outside.
Our nicest hotel was in Athens, though the neighbourhood was the most seedy and the bathroom in our London hotel was probably better. Airport-wise, London had the worst, while Prague had the nicest. Prague also had the best airline -- Czech Air.
Interestingly, both Prague and Paris dub almost everything on the television except for opera and a few other music-related programmes. Athens is the exact opposite; everything foreign is shown with Greek subtitles except for children's cartoons and nature documentaries.
Overall, the only place I probably wouldn't go back to is Paris. Prague I'd only go to again if it wasn't in the winter. Even Athens is a question mark; I'd like to see more of Greece and Macedon. For the UK, too, I never really visited the country areas aside from our short trip to Avebury. That, and I never got up to Scotland.
Still, I'm about done with international flights and airport security for at least a few years, I think . . .
And Kim and Kun's mum were right; almost as soon as I arrived in the States, it was like waking up from a dream to a place I'd never left.
London, 20 December - 24 December
- Thursday, 20 December -- Walked to Whiteley's Mall from the hotel and ate Italian.
- Friday, 21 December -- Walked through Kensington Gardens to the Royal Albert Memorial; spent five hours at the National History Museum, which also had an ice rink and booths set up outside for Christmas; briefly visited the Science Museum; spent two hours at the Victoria and Albert Museum; walked to Harrod's and went up its 'Egyptian' escalator; ate fish and chips in Piccadilly Circus; walked through Chinatown.
- Saturday, 22 December -- Spent a couple of hours at the British Museum; attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey; walked along the Thames River to Tower Bridge; ate at Wagamama's (a Japanese chain).
- Sunday, 23 December -- Only in downtown London very briefly due to switching hotels to one closer to Heathrow for our early flight to Prague the next morning; my first London fog.
Prague, 24 December - 28 December
- Monday, 24 December -- Left London at 7:35 AM; got lost trying to find the hotel; walked around Wenceslas Square; ate Italian for dinner.
- Tuesday, 25 December -- Christmas, but everything was open; walked to Old
Town to see the Astrological Clock and climb up the Clock Tower; had lunch at an amazing crêperie; took a guided walking tour of the Josefov (Jewish quarter); ate dinner at the U Golemu/The Golem restaurant (I had deer leg -- Thief reference). - Wednesday, 26 December -- Went up Petřín Hill to the Strahov Monastery; visited Prague
Castle and Charles Bridge; went to a string concert at a church; dinner at a pub. - Thursday, 27 December -- Walked by myself past the Giant Metronome and Dancing House to Vyšehrad Castle; dinner at Pizzeria Venezia.
Athens, 28 December - 2 January
- Friday, 28 December -- Left Prague at 11:25 AM; wandered around the hotel area and ate at a Greek restaurant.
- Saturday, 29 December -- Went to the Acropolis, the Temple of Dionysus, the Areopagus (Mars Hill), the Agora, and the Athens Flea Market; had dinner at another Greek restaurant.
- Sunday, 30 December -- Spent nearly four hours on the hills around the Pnyx; had lunch at a very pricey restaurant near the Acropolis called 'Dionysus'; stumbled upon a Greek rap concert and festival in the National Gardens; had baklava for the first time.
- Monday, 31 December -- Visited the Keramikos (ancient burial ground), the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Library, Plato's Academy, and the National Archaeological Museum; walked past City Hall and saw the New Year's set-up; watched the midnight fireworks from the hotel windows.
- Tuesday, 1 January -- Took the metro to Piraeus (Athens' main seaport); saw the 2004 Olympic Stadium; at lunch at the huge, 4-story Mall.
Paris, 2 January (sort of) - 6 January
- Wednesday, 2 January -- Left Athens over an hour behind schedule; missed connecting flight in Prague; put up by Czech Airlines in local four-star hotel for the night.
- Thursday, 3 January -- Left Prague at 10 AM; ate dinner at a Pizza Hut in Charles de Gualle Airport; walked around the Place des Vosges and Place de la Bastille to the Seine River, though failed to find Victor Hugo's exact house; had Chinese for dinner.
- Friday, 4 January -- Took a one-hour boat tour on the Seine; ate crêpes for lunch; spent over five hours at the Louvre (which has a better Greek vase collection than all of Athens); ate Italian for dinner.
- Saturday, 5 January -- Took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower and walked up to the first floor; ate lunch at an overpriced French restaurant near Notre Dame Cathedral with bad 1990's American pop music playing in the background; visited Notre Dame, thus walking into a wedding by accident (yes, they kept letting tourists in during the wedding).
- Sunday, 6 Janaury -- Left Paris around 10:30 AM; Boston and on to New Hampshire!
My favourite place was London, though I'm not quite sure I'd want to live there. I adored wandering through the ancient and green areas of Athens, which also had barely any security, but the modern city was too much of a contrast for me. Prague was interesting, but not as old as I had imagined (the Jewish Quarter, for example, was completely rebuilt in the 1800s) and rather cold. Paris was my least favourite, though I suspect part of that reaction was from feeling like I had seen all the architecture before after having already visited London and Prague and having just come from Athens' completely different atmosphere; another part was from feeling homesick and longing for New Hampshire. Still, the Louvre was very impressive.
Prague, despite having the least favourable winter climate, easily had the best food; Paris and London had the worst, at least from what we tasted. Athens had the nicest public transportations, followed by London; Paris had the worst and was insanely crowded and complicated, though we didn't go on Prague's because we couldn't figure it out (everything was in Czech). Athens was also the easiest place to get around in general because almost everything was bilingual. (Most things in Prague were bilingual [or trilingual -- Czech, English, and German], too, except for the transportation systems and the non-tourist areas. I also omit London since I don't known how easy it is for foreigners to get around there seeing as English is my native language.)
Both London and Athens had wide areas of green space, whether they were hills, ancient areas, or parks. On the other hand, the modern side of Athens was somewhat cramped and appeared the most unpleasant of the four cities on the outside.
Our nicest hotel was in Athens, though the neighbourhood was the most seedy and the bathroom in our London hotel was probably better. Airport-wise, London had the worst, while Prague had the nicest. Prague also had the best airline -- Czech Air.
Interestingly, both Prague and Paris dub almost everything on the television except for opera and a few other music-related programmes. Athens is the exact opposite; everything foreign is shown with Greek subtitles except for children's cartoons and nature documentaries.
Overall, the only place I probably wouldn't go back to is Paris. Prague I'd only go to again if it wasn't in the winter. Even Athens is a question mark; I'd like to see more of Greece and Macedon. For the UK, too, I never really visited the country areas aside from our short trip to Avebury. That, and I never got up to Scotland.
Still, I'm about done with international flights and airport security for at least a few years, I think . . .
And Kim and Kun's mum were right; almost as soon as I arrived in the States, it was like waking up from a dream to a place I'd never left.