A skip and a hop to the finish line.

Now where was I?

A very long time ago I started writing this blog, and more recently, although still quite a while ago, I was half way through describing my vacation in Europe when suddenly I lost all ability to keep on top of everything going on in my life. I was doing even MORE travelling, and then I was packing up the last of my belongings and hopping on a plane (or two, or three), and then I spent a few days explaining to my body why it was suddenly dark at 10 in the morning, and after all that I had to start university AGAIN and settle back into my life in Auckland. So in a round about way, what I'm trying to say is that I have been very very busy and this blog was very low on a long list of priorities, but I finally found some free time! Now it seems wrong to leave you hanging in Ljubljana, so I'm going to churn out a couple of blog posts with a short (well, probably not) summary of the rest of that trip AND the end of my time in Nottingham and the UK.

After Ljubljana we headed to Salzburg, the home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. There we spent our time humming Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and frolicking through the Mirabell gardens singing Do Re Mi and sewing dresses out of curtains. It was delightful, although the weather was quite miserable.

 After one night in Salzburg we took a train, and a bus, and another train to Munich, turning what should have been an hour trip into 3 hours. But although our arrival in Munich was less than ideal, it ended up being one of my favourite cities. The weather was beautiful while we were there. On our first day we took a walking tour with the delightful Diane (10/10 would recommend if you find yourself in Europe) and that evening we went to the Fruhlingsfest, Munich's spring festival (a sort of Oktoberfest-lite), which was lovely, especially as everyone was in traditional dress and we were surrounded by lederhosen. There rest of our time in Munich involved lots of walking, past the university, through the gardens and around the main market. I really loved the general vibes in Munich, everyone seemed very happy (probably because they were drinking beer at noon on a work day??), it was very easy to get around and a really beautiful city.

(Our tour guide in Munich described this clock in Marienplatz as the second most disappointing tourist attraction after the astronomical clock in Prague).

After Munich we headed to two smaller German towns. First Lindau, an island town on Lake Konstanz. Although the town was beautiful, as was the lake, there were permanent downpours while we were there so not much sightseeing was done. We did manage to see the famous lion statue, and stumble upon a Matisse exhibition during our stay. We had much better luck in Freiburg. The weather was beautiful for the two days we were there, giving us a chance to walk through the Black Forest. We got some great views of the city from the forest. Freiburg itself was very charming, with a great cathedral, a market in the square and little canals running through the streets. There was also very cheap ice cream and very delicious Black Forest Cake, so good news all round.

Having farewelled the last of my companions, my final stop in Europe was Strasbourg, where I got to visit my big brother Jasper. We spent the two days I was there walking around Strasbourg, seeing the main sights, such as the Cathedral, the European parliament, and the giant river rats.

Probably the highlight was the Strasbourg Cathedral, which is first of all huge, and beautiful inside and out, with plenty of stained glass and its own astronomical clock. We climbed the tower to the top of the cathedral on my last day. Luckily it was sunny and the views were splendid, because walking up a very narrow, very tall spiral staircase was not my favourite activity.

Having enjoyed my last days in mainland Europe with my brother/built in personal tour guide, I hopped on a plane back to London. Upon landing (with Ryanair I might add), to my bewilderment, half of the passengers started applauding. I guess we had some nervous flyers that day, but honestly having survived a month of travel without the guidance of proper adults I felt like I deserved my own applause.

I aboslutely loved the entire trip over the Easter break, even if it was at times exhausting and frustrating, and it was great to experience travelling on my own (or at least without my parents) for the first time. I can't believe how much a saw, and honestly a second time around I might cram a little less in, but now I can add 4 new countries to the list of places I've visited!!

The next post will be coming very very soon I promise!!

BYYYEEEEE