I’m home now, but the end of the trip was a whirlwind that gave me several more countries that I want to write about briefly.
We stayed for various lengths in three countries in Europe over the course of two weeks—Hungary, Austria, and Spain. Hungary was the country of focus where we had classes and service work, but a few days in Vienna and a weekend stay in Spain only added to the European experience as we explored three unique cities.
Gyor, Hungary
I love this town. Most of my time here felt like a Christmas movie–from the snow, to the Christmas markets, to our time serving as teachers. We stayed only a short distance from the gorgeous old town with walking streets lined by booths preparing for Christmas season. About halfway through our stay, the town lit up and came to life with the beginning of the Christmas season. The quiet night streets morphed into bustling marketplaces brimming with chimney cakes and mulled wine to warm cold bodies. We spent many days wandering the streets between teaching breaks, and in the chilly evenings at the end of the day.
We had just come from Uganda so our poor bodies did not know how to handle the dramatic shift in temperature. Luckily, Gyor is home to many cute thrift shops so sweaters, scarves, hats, and boots appeared on all of my teammates as we performed budget makeovers. I was thrilled to be rid of the Ugandan mud that clung to my shoes, and don cheap but cute lace-up thrift store boots. I’m rather confident in any clothes and no makeup, but I was relieved to have reason to return to jeans and a painted face. The whole team had grown to know basically every outfit everyone had, so there were many compliments and much excitement over each person’s new items.
Vienna, Austria
Christmas markets are magical, and the ones in Vienna were spectacular. I went to many markets around the town collecting mugs, drinking warm drinks, admiring booths and the ornaments inside, and trying to stay warm.
Our main reason for being in Vienna was for class as our visiting professor took us around to many historical sites, palaces, and a war museum. I admired the beautiful palaces and mimicked statues in the gardens that were pretty bare due to the winter weather. We had class outside on two of the days, and I’d like to tell you that I learned something those days, but it’s really hard to listen when you are just trying to stay warm.
We had subway passes for our three days in the city, and we took full advantage of them. Our last night in the city, I went subway hopping with three other teammates where we would just jump on a train and take it til it ended and then get on the next one. We didn’t look at directions until we had to figure out our way home.
Madrid, Spain
In the original plans, we had a ten hour layover in Madrid on our way to Costa Rica. Leadership decided that was a terrible idea and made it 36, and that is something that I am thankful for. We spent two nights and one full day in this sleepless city.
I think a lot of my experience centered around food. The first night we went out to try calamari sandwiches, a food that Madrid is famous for and that I was skeptical of, but actually almost enjoyed. I had fun ordering in Spanish, and we stood outside in the crowded marketplace to eat.
The second night we went to the cutest restaurant in the world. I haven’t been to every restaurant, but I have been to an incredible number of restaurants all over this planet…and this place wins. We were given the suggestion by a shop keeper to go to Rosi la Loca, where we waited about 10 minutes for an open table, and then were led to a private table in a small room. I tried burrata and was thrilled to learn that I could eat pure mozzarella cheese injected with pesto sauce and call it dinner.
We left around 10 PM, standard dinner time for Spanish culture. We met with more of our team at a “churros con chocolate” place where they give you a handful of churros and a cup of chocolate sauce to dip them in. That wasn’t the end of the night though, because a small group of us continued on our food journey to an indoor marketplace with tapas (appetizers or snacks) and wine bars. The place was packed even at 11 PM with visiting friends standing or wandering to food stands with wine glasses in hand. I felt like I was in a sitcom or movie as I stood with my friends trying different wines.
Aside from my food adventures, we filled our one free day visiting a cathedral, palace, and Retiro Park. A light rain fell on us in the afternoon making the weather even chillier, but the morning provided wonderful weather to wander the city park and make all of my friends take pictures. We were out for a long time so I missed out on the Spanish tradition of siesta (mid afternoon nap), but adrenaline kept me going through the day’s adventures, as it’s what has kept me going for much of the trip.
