The European Leg

This will be my last blog post, and it is long overdue. Upon returning home I got caught up in the excitement of being back, visiting with family and friends, and the Cavs championship run. With a little more time on my hands now, I decided it would be a good time to reminisce on, and relive the European leg of our journey. My last post ended with me talking about the time we spent in India. Our next stop was Paris.

Paris

We landed in Paris the night of Monday, May 2^nd. That night we didn’t do much other than find our Airbnb. The next day was our first in the western world since the previous October. While we loved our time in Southeast Asia, it was nice to be in a place that was orderly, and operated in a way that we were used to before our travels. We had a packed first day in Paris. The first site we visited was the Sainte-Chapelle, a royal chapel built in the 1200s. We marveled at the stained glass there and enjoyed seeing the church. Our next top was the Notre Dame cathedral, a much larger church built over a nearly 200 year span ending in the 1300s. We waited in line to go to the top of the cathedral’s towers and had a great, but chilly view from the city. Staying warm while we were in Paris was a bit of a struggle. It was much colder than we were used to and we did not have any heavy coats with us. Luckily the other places we visited in Europe were a bit warmer, and we had friends to borrow warmer clothes from. 

Stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle

The Notre Dame

Later on in the day we visited the Musée d’Orsay. Molly has a minor in art history and is very knowledgeable when it comes to paintings. We had a blast looking at their impressionist collection. They also had a special exhibit on Henri Rousseau, a painter who became famous for jungle scenes, but had never actually seen a jungle himself.  He had lots of famous influences and the exhibit explored these as well. We ended our day by walking to the Eiffel Tower.

Wednesday began with a trip to the Louvre. It was my second visit there but it was Molly’s first. If anyone plans to visit, try to go in one of the side entrance as the main one is usually much more crowded. After getting into the museum we focused primarily on the paintings there, rather than the entire museum. We got to see many famous works ranging from Botticelli to Caravaggio to Leonardo da Vinci. Afterward we spent some time in the nearby Tuileries Gardens. After so much time spent seeing sites and museums we had a quieter night and grabbed some delicious dinner near where we were staying.

On Thursday morning I ran from our Airbnb to the Eiffel Tower, after which Molly and I finally went up the tower on our last day in the city. It was a beautiful morning and a perfect time for a run. The view from a top the tower was stunning. Seeing a beautiful city from above was so different than the island viewpoints we got to experience in southern Thailand. We had a picnic lunch in the fields in front of the tower. That night we had reservations for a price fixed, four course dinner, at Les Papilles, a wine bar and bistro near the Luxembourg Gardens. We briefly visited the gardens before heading to the restaurant. The meal was highlighted by an amazing sweet potato and chorizo soup that I will dream about, and a delicious roast lamb. The next morning, we flew to Prague. 

View from the Eiffel Tower

Sweet Potato Soup

Roast Lamb

Molly and I had a wonderful time in Paris. There is a stereotype of Parisians being rude, especially to tourists. I am happy to say that we did not encounter this at all while we were there. After my first trip to Paris I did not know if I would go back, because we did have some harsh interactions with locals. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there this go round and would love to go back someday.  

Prague

We landed in Prague on Friday, May 6^th and met up with Molly’s friend from her time in Americorps, Maddie, and her husband, Alex. They had recently moved out to Prague and had an apartment in the heart of the city. Friday night we walked around Old Town, saw the Charles Bridge, and had dinner near the Old Town Square.

On Saturday we visited the Saint Vitus Cathedral. This was my favorite site in Europe, and had the most beautiful stained glass that I had ever seen. The scenes were created by the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha. On Sunday we visited a museum about Mucha and his rise to prominence. He became famous for painting posters that were used to advertise upcoming Parisian plays. We spent the rest of our Sunday trying some local beers in a park by the Vltava river and even got to peddle boat on the river for an hour or two. Prague was such a fun and historic city, much of its architecture has been preserved as it was never bombed during either of the World Wars. We had great hosts, and are so grateful to Maddie and Alex for putting us up and spending their weekend with us. On Monday morning we caught a train from Prague to Berlin. 

At  Saint Vitus Cathedral:

Peddle boating:

Molly and Maddie in the boat

Berlin

We got into Berlin early on the morning of Monday, May 9^th. After dropping our stuff off at our Airbnb, we headed out to see some of the sites. We saw Brandenburg Gate as well as the Reichstag building, where the German parliament meets. Brandenburg gate is an important historical site as it was the setting for many notable events, it was along the border between east and west Berlin, and it remained after the second World War without being destroyed. Berlin feels like a much more modern city than Prague or even Paris; most of it had to be rebuilt after the war. On Monday night I had a delicious veal schnitzel for dinner. I loved the food in Germany.

The next day I went for a run along the river and a portion of the Berlin wall. Molly and I visited the Berlin wall memorial in the afternoon. I knew that the situation in Berlin was rough after the city was separated, but I had never really considered the implications of isolating two sides of a city. If you had friends or relatives that lived across town it was difficult to visit them or even communicate; if you lived on one side of the city but worked on another you had to find a new job. It’s crazy to think that the city was in such conflict so recently, and that it remained divided for nearly 30 years. It was 1989 when the wall came down and Berlin was made whole again.

On Wednesday Molly and I rented bikes and after lunch I decided to go on a longer bike ride while Molly went back to the Airbnb for some downtime. I biked a good distance out to Groβer Tiegarten, Berlin’s oldest park. I was thinking that I may even visit the zoo there when I looked in my basket and saw that my bike lock had fallen out somewhere during my ride. My heart sank, as I knew that my 50 Euro deposit would likely be gone if I could not find it. So I spent the next hour or two retracing my route through the meandering streets of berlin, while scouring the roadside for a bike lock. I had nearly given up when I finally found it near where I had started my ride. I couldn’t believe that I had found it, I wa so relieved. That evening we got Donner Kebabs, similar to gyros, for dinner. We left for London the next morning.

London

We arrived in London on the afternoon of Thursday May, 12^th. Harry, my exchange student from high school, picked us up from the airport and took us back to his house in Caterham. The three of us took his dog, Tilly, for a walk in the English countryside that evening, and had dinner at a pub. I got fish ‘n’ chips with mushy peas, and it was wonderful.

On Friday Molly, Harry, and I went into the city and saw some of the major tourist sites. We visited the National Gallery and were impressed with the paintings they had there. According to Molly nearly every painting there was a famous piece. What it lacked in the size when compared to the Louvre’s collection, it made up for in prominence. Molly enjoyed the paintings there even more than the ones we saw at the Louvre, and it was free. After that we grabbed lunch in a park in the city, and then walked around Westminster, Buckingham Palace, and St. James park. We then met up with Katie, a friend from college who is now getting her PhD at Cambridge and Hallam, another exchange student from high school for dinner. All of us then went back to Hallam’s flat in the city and spent the night hanging out there. 

The next day Hallam, Harry, Molly and I met up with Bella, Molly’s German exchange student who now studies film production in London. The five of us went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. Everyone except for Harry found the museum to be a bit underwhelming. Later on we all went to Camden market and had fun looking at the shops and grabbing a beer there. After that we went to china town for dinner. The restaurant we went to required knocking at the door and then stating how many were in your party before entering into the restaurant. It was a dim sum style meal. After dinner we all went back to Hallam’s for some Pims, a drink that is often enjoyed in the English summers.

Me, Harry, and Hallam

Molly and Bella

On Sunday morning Molly, Harry, and I left London and went to visit Katie in Cambridge. We spent the day touring and learning about the college and what it is like for Katie there. It is an amazing place to go to school. We had dinner at The Eagle Pub. This is where Watson and Crick announced their discovery of DNA, and it had great fish ‘n’ chips. After dinner we took trains back to Harry’s house and he drove us to the airport the next morning for our flight to Ireland. It was so nice to catch up with everyone in London, and we are so thankful to Harry and Hallam for hosting us. 

Katie, Molly, and I in Cambridge

Stephen Hawking's office

Ireland

We landed in Belfast in the evening of Monday, May 16^th. Ciaran, my friend from high school, picked us up from the airport and we went back to his house. I have been to Belfast with Ciaran a few times but this was Molly’s first time there. We went out with Ciaran, his girlfriend, Aiofe, and another friend Sean that night. The next day we spent in the city, and that night we all stayed up late to watch the Cavs play live (typically I waited and watched the next day). On Wednesday Molly left Belfast for Dublin to meet up with her parents, who flew out to go on a road trip around Ireland with us. I spent Wednesday and Thursday hanging out with Ciaran, Aiofe, Sean and Dillon. On Friday Molly and her parents, Beth and Quincy, picked me up and we went to the Giant’s Causeway, a famous geological feature on the coast of Ireland. The Causeway was formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago, and left many hexagonal shaped column that are unique to the site.  

The next day we drove to Galway, and spent the day exploring the town and it’s coatline. We enjoyed some beers sitting by the sea in the afternoon. On Sunday we drove through the Connemara region of Ireland. We visited Kylemore Abby there and went on a spectacular hike up Diamond Hill. Kylemore Abby was originally built as a private residence by a young English couple who fell in love with the Connemara region in the 1860s. It is now a Benedictine monastery that is visited by many tourists each year. The architecture and surrounding gardens were beautiful, but we were a bit disappointed by the limited area inside the castle that was open for exploration. The highlight of the day, was the hike up the adjacent Diamond Hill. It was a bit rainy and cold on the hike, but the view was fantastic. You could see the ocean, Kylemore Abby, and the Irish countryside. It may have been the best view of our entire journey around the globe.

Kylemore Abby

At Diamond Hill:

All of us atop the hill

On Monday we visited the Cliffs of Moher and got a chance to appreciate even more spectacular views from the Irish coast. The cliffs range from 400 to 700 feet in height, and tourist are allowed to go right up to the edge of them. The sensation of looking straight down a 700 foot drop into the ocean was both frightening and wonderful at the same time. We spent a few hours walking up and down the cliffs before driving to Killarney.

On Tuesday we went on a bike ride around Killarney National Park. We saw a few old castles, travelled around gorgeous lakes, explored beautiful gardens and had a Centra sandwich picnic lunch. If you go to Ireland you have to try the Centra sandwiches, they are a national treasure. After riding all around the park we headed to Waterford for the night.

On Wednesday morning we explored Waterford for a while and visited the Waterford Crystal museum, where I was able to pick up a late mother’s day gift for my mom. We drove to Dublin Wednesday afternoon and flew back to the states Thursday morning. Molly’s parents flew to Toronto and then home to Cincinnati. I had so much fun touring Ireland with them, and am so appreciative that they took me on their road trip. Molly and I flew through Iceland and then to Baltimore. Molly flew to Cincinnati early the next morning while I stayed with Connor, my fraternity brother, in Baltimore and met up with some friends in DC the next day. I finally made it home to Cleveland on Sunday May 28^th.

I had the trip of my life. I saw countless remarkable sites, met many amazing people, and got the chance to reconnect with many old friends. I grew as a person and somehow got even closer with Molly through our travels. In 8 months Molly and I made a complete revolution of the globe, and it was the biggest adventure of my life thus far. In a few weeks we will both start school again at Ohio State. Molly will be going to law school there and I will be going to medical school. It is going to be quite a change, but I am excited and ready to get started.