Today
marked the end of Spring Break. Tomorrow, we will return to class after what
has felt like a two-week vacation.
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| Venice, Italy |
After our
trip to Versailles on Friday, Camella, Darby, and I hopped on a plane to
Venice, Italy to start our Spring Break. Once we arrived, we headed out to find
our hostel, which was no easy feat. From the airport, we had to take 2 buses
and then walk about 15 minutes. This was no ordinary hostel. The double private
rooms we booked turned out to be their own little houses. They were like
miniature trailer houses. And there were rows upon rows of them all over the
property. Saturday morning, we got up and headed into the city (with all of our
stuff) to explore. I really like Venice! The canals were gorgeous and so many
tiny streets to explore. We learned that many of the streets lead to nowhere or
into a canal, so backtracking was not uncommon. We wondered down so many
streets, and by the end of the day we were absolutely exhausted from all the
walking with our extra pounds of luggage. We were also quite a scene with our
baggage trying to squeeze through the narrow streets. That evening, we took a
train to meet Camella’s friend, Sara, in Trieste, Italy. We finally arrived and
Sara took us to her apartment, where we were able to finally drop off our
stuff. Then we went to meet up with Sara’s roommate and another friend at a
bar. I really enjoyed this time to talk to them because they are close to our
age and they are also studying medicine. So it was cool to discuss the
similarities and differences between the US and Italy.
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| Trieste, Italy |
By
Sunday, the exhaustion from Paris and Venice had set in. We spent this whole
morning sleeping and woke up in time for lunch. We had pasta, of course, cooked
by Italian college girls. Camella and Sara’s other friend, Jess, also came to
visit and stay at Sara’s. That afternoon, we took a bus to see the Miramare
Castle. Wow it was huge and so gorgeous! The view of the Adriatic Sea was even
better though. It started raining on us, so we got back on the bus and headed
back into the city. By the time we got off the bus, the rain had subsided, so
we took time to walk around the city and do a little shopping. Monday morning,
Camella, Darby, Jess, and I ventured out to find a bakery to get breakfast. We
then explored Trieste some more, where we found some cool Roman ruins. We came
back to the apartment for lunch, which was pasta with tuna. I am not a fan of
tuna, so it was not my favorite, but it wasn’t bad, just very interesting. We
met Sara on the pier once she had finished work that evening and watched the
sun begin to set. We did not get to see the sunset, as it was too cloudy, but
the sky was still beautiful. We walked around and saw the main square lit up.
We went and got gelato (of course) and then headed back home.
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| Ljubljana, Slovenia |
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| Rovinj, Croatia |
Tuesday,
we all got up early and headed to the bus station for our trip to Ljubljana,
Slovenia. I did not know what to expect in Slovenia, as I have never put much
thought to traveling there, but Ljubljana was great. The city was surrounded by
mountains and it was such a beautiful sight. We walked though a graffiti park
and walked up to a castle to enjoy lunch with a breathtaking view. I never
would’ve thought to travel here, but I am so glad we made the trip. From here,
we hopped on a bus to go to Rovinj, Croatia. We checked into our Airbnb and our
host was so nice. She mentioned places we should go for food and things to see.
So Wednesday was spent exploring the town of Rovinj. Sadly, since we visited
during the off season, not much was open. I would love to return during the
summer to see all the little shops and things. We explored the streets and went
into a couple little shops. There was a large church sitting at the top of the
hill. On top of the bell tower, there was a man steering the wheel of boat. It
was such a cool piece of architecture and so relatable to the city. That
evening, we boarded another bus to head to Split, Croatia. This was an 11 hour
bus ride that I was not prepared for. Sure, we saved money by having
transportation and housing in one, but there was not much sleep that occurred
on this bus, leading to some exhausted girls arriving in Split at 6am with no
housing until 1pm. The most difficult thing that occurred when we arrived was
that we were too early and most things were closed. This lead to wondering
around in search of a coffee shop with wifi and a bathroom. We ended up that
this café by the water that had really good coffee. We explored through the
streets of Split and spent time to take it all in. We finally got to check in
to our Airbnb and took much needed showers (the first warm shower I’d had in a
week!). That night, we walked around the city some more and cooked dinner. It
was so great to just relax and cook and talk together.
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| Zlatni Rat beach, Croatia |
On
Friday, we ventured to the island of Braĉ. We wanted to go to Bol, but we were
unaware that this would entail an hour ferry ride to the island, and then an
hour bus ride to the other side of the island. We finally made it and set out
on a hike to the soak in the view of the island. Well, that did not quite go as
planned. With my allergies as bad as ever, I did not make it very far before my
body decided it couldn’t get enough oxygen in. So Darby and Camella continued
up the trail, while I made my way down to the famous Zlatni Rat beach. It is
one of the top beaches in Europe and it did not disappoint! Nothing could’ve made
me happier than just sitting on that beach and listening to the waves for a few
hours. Instead of sand, the beach was covered in white pebbles. The water was
crystal clear and the 360 view was amazing. Camella and Darby met me on the
beach, informing me that they were not even able to hike much further once I
left them because the trail was closed. Even with these drawbacks, the island
was so beautiful and I am so glad we visited.
On Saturday,
we made our way to Klis to see the Klis fortress. This fortress was used to
film some of Game of Thrones, however, Darby was the only Game of Thrones fan,
so we really just wanted to see the fortress because it was a fortress. It was
so cool because we were basically the only people there and we just got to roam
free all over the fortress. We went through small tunnels and up steps that
seemed rather dangerous. The view was amazing. I feel like a broken record
saying that, but it’s just because Croatia was so beautiful no matter where we
went. Because of the buses, we kind of got stranded in Klis for a few hours and
we spent the time in a (smoky) café chatting and playing random games. While
we were in there, it started pouring, like sideways rain. And it was still
pouring as we made our way to the bus stop and waited for a bus that never
showed up. We had to call a taxi and we finally made it back to our apartment,
soaked and freezing and glad to be back. Sunday we packed up and went to the
airport, sad that our adventure was already over, but glad to be heading back to
Bonn. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget and I am so glad I
got to spend it with great friends. I can’t
believe that this journey is already halfway over and I know I will miss Bonn
and Germany terribly. For now, I will savor all the time I have left while I am
here in Germany.
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