While I was on my trip, my mom asked me what I liked and disliked about traveling alone. So I started to compile a list while I was still abroad and after spending some more time looking back, I'm happy to share my experience of what it was like spending so much time with me, myself and I. 

"You're traveling all by yourself?!" Yes, yes I am. I pretty much got the same reaction from everyone I met along the way. After the initial shock, they would give me a look like they pitied me, but eventually that look would change into an approving nod. But overall, nobody could fathom the idea that someone would take off and travel alone, let alone do it for 6 weeks.

So why did I go alone? I think this all ties into to my previous blog entry about why I decided to do this trip. I really felt that in order to connect to the parts of me that I was trying to tap into, I needed to be alone. As an only child, being alone is very easy for me. I grew up without siblings so I spent a lot of time by myself. (All you only children out there can probably relate.) I don't think this makes me an anti-social person, in fact, I think I'm just social enough. I may be quiet or shy around strangers but once that initial conversation is sparked up, I like to listen and talk. But obviously, another reason is, there's no one in my life who could or would take this amount of time off to come with me. I'd like to think that someday, when I decide to take an extended break and do this again (which I'll definitely be doing), I'll have someone special with me. But for now, I wasn't about to miss out just because I'm alone. Being alone is what made this whole trip possible.

With the exception of about a year, I've lived alone for the last 8 years. I like my space, I like my privacy and most importantly, I like to have a choice of whether to be by myself or around others. But I think the older I've gotten, the more I want to be around other people. And to be clear, that's other people that I know and love, not just random strangers.

During my month in Rome I didn't have too many moments where I thought, I wish I had someone with me. That part of the trip was devoted to the "me" time I needed and I didn't really look at it as a vacation, but as more of a retreat. I was able to get the most of my time because I was spending my days either out and about exploring Rome, or staying in my apartment thinking, reflecting and writing. I don't think I would have accomplished as much if I had been with others during this time. But as soon as I started the second part of my trip, the traveling to new cities I've never been, I started to feel like I was now on a vacation and therefore there were times each day where I felt a bit lonely and wished I had a friend, a boyfriend or a family member along for the ride.

On my last night in Munich I wrote the following in a notebook: 

This is it. This is the last night I'll be alone on my trip. And what am I doing with it? Laying in bed, looking at old pics and reminiscing. I feel like my journey to get to this journey was a long and difficult one. Maybe it wasn't so bad and I was the one making it difficult. Either way, I feel like it took forever to get here, to this peace, this serenity and this healthy state of mind. But here I am. I'm ready for the next chapter of my life. And it starts with my first trip back to Brazil and seeing my entire family together for the first time in years. After that, I return home to Ruby, to my friends and to a new job and life in San Francisco. I'll make new friends, hopefully find a nice guy to date and get to know the new city I'm calling home. But most importantly I'll be returning as an improved individual. Not a new Tina, but an improved Tina. Softer around the edges. Positive attitude. Calm, collected and focused, appreciating every minute of every hour of every day. 

So why did I take this trip and spend all that time alone? That's why. That paragraph above and every single word, every single feeling and each and every moment that trip gave me.  What else did I learn?

I learned that:

1. You grow eyes on the back of your head, a ninja sense of awareness and magic spidey hearing (regardless of whether you understand the language or not.)
2. You learn to enjoy the pleasure of your own company. 
3. You realize that doing exactly what you want and only what you want, is pretty fantastic.
4. You learn to adjust and adapt, regardless of how strange or foreign the situation is.
5. You hardly ever totally alone.
6. You'll actually enjoy talking to strangers.
7. You will have moments when you're uneasy or unsure but those moments will pass quickly.

For those of you contemplating a trip alone... I urge you to do it. Take the plunge. I promise, you won't regret it. 

When people find out that my family lives in Brazil, the first thing they ask is... "Are you Brazilian??" Nope. "Do you always go and visit??" No. 

Sadly, I hadn't been to Brazil in years... 7 years to be exact. That's a long time. I don't know how so much time flew by without me visiting. But you know how life gets. First there's work, then there's school, then there's work again. There's all those other things that keep us busy on a daily basis and next thing you know, years have gone by in a blink. That's the number one reason to practice gratitude. If you stop, look around and be grateful for all the things you have in your day, you will experience your life and it won't feel like it flew by as quickly.  

When I was planning my soul-searching self Ph.D. trip, I knew the best way to end it would be to go back to Brazil and see my entire family, all together for the first time in I don't remember how long. After 6 weeks alone, I knew I'd be ready to see the whole clan and that I'd welcome the hugs, the laughter and the togetherness I've always shared with my family. Whether I'm physically around them or not, my family is a HUGE source of love. I feel it all around me every day despite the thousands of miles between us, but I was so excited to be there with them, in the flesh. One of the hardest things about living in Chicago, and one of the reasons I had to leave, was because I was so out of the way that I could only see members of my family one at a time, only a few times a year, and never all together. For someone who is as close to their family as I am, that's just not how I wanted to continue.

Now this wasn't just any time to visit Brazil, this was THE time. As in World Cup time. As in this only happens once every 4 years and this wasn't just a host country. This is THE host country. Futebol isn't just a sport in Brazil. Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's a religion. So what better time to kill three birds with one stone, right? I get to go see my family, see Brazil, and see a World Cup match. WHY NOT?! Oh and did I mention my favorite cousin, Sahm and one of my best friends, Allie, were coming for a week of it? YUP, this was going to be the best grand finale to any trip, in the history of trips.

In the 15 days that I spent in Brazil, we did more and saw more than I can even put into words. Here are some of the highlights:

World Cup Match in Curitiba: Iran vs. Nigeria. Even though it ended in a 0-0 tie, we had the BEST time from our incredible 4th row seats. Yes, we were in the Nigeria section, but we still had an unforgettable time! My dad, Allie, Sahm and I all got to go. The stadium was electric. And even though I was obviously rooting for the homeland, just being there, no matter who won or lost, was something I'll always remember. And the best part? Getting to share it with some of my favorite people on the planet. Bullet list item: CHECKED!

And even though a huge fuss was made about the safety issues for natives and foreigners during the World Cup, I'm happy to say we didn't experience anything shady the whole time we were there. Brazil did a good job keeping it together!

My uncle loves toys and for as long as I can remember I've listened to him say he was going to buy a helicopter. Well, this past year he finally did. And he also has a personal pilot to take him around in it. So, the brat that I am, much of my time spent in Brazil was spent in said helicopter. After a while, it just became totally normal. "What should we do today? Let's call Romolo (our pilot) and go fly around in the chopper." NO. BIG. DEAL. Is this real life? Apparently so. At least for 2 weeks it was... "Hey, you want to go land on that mountain over there?" "SURE!"  Ahhhhh, life.

One of the seven wonders of the world is the Iguazu Falls, which is located on the border of Argentina and Brazil. Sorry, Canada, but it makes Niagara Falls look like amateur hour. We flew there in the helicopter, about 2.5 hours there and 2.5 hours back. And we stayed in the beautiful hotel located inside the national park where the falls are located. The water was higher than it's ever been because of all the recent rainfall and it was like a giant caramel fountain because of the mud. We climbed to the top of the trail and then grabbed plastic raincoats (that really didn't help one bit with keeping us dry) and walked across the bridge over the falls. It was INSANE. 

No trip to Brazil is complete without stopping in Rio. So before the week was over, we took a day trip to spend the day there. This city is absolutely breathtaking. We took the tram up Sugar Loaf mountain for views of the city and it was AMAZING. Because of the World Cup craziness, we were sad we could only spend a day there, but we all knew we'd have to go back and spend some more time exploring the city and the famous beaches. 

Some of the other highlights included a road trip to the beach for fresh fish and oysters, drinking wine on the lake at Park Barigui with my Allie and a lunchtime getaway with my cousin and (shirtless) uncle. 

I really couldn't have asked for a better end to my trip and I'm so happy I got to spend time with my family and my friend. Of all the things I have done and seen during my two months away, Brazil holds a special place. Thank you to my family for making it feel like home. And thanks to Allie for being the only one of my friends who said she would come with me and actually DID! Love you all!

After spending a leisurely month in Rome, my time in Prague and Berlin were exhausting. Only four days in each city means I had to power through hours and hours of walking and sight seeing daily just to see everything I wanted to see. No time could be wasted! So I was really looking forward to a long train ride from Berlin to Munich. The train was one of those high speed Euro trains and my first class seat was comfortable and quiet. Exactly what I needed to regroup and relax. I listened to music and stared out the window, thinking about everything I'd seen and experienced these last few weeks and looking forward to what was yet to come. I never realized how big Germany was until those almost eight hours on the train...

When I arrived in Munich, I immediately noticed how different the city was from Berlin. Not better or worse, just different. Apples to oranges. It's more traditional, less modern, quieter, calmer, and more green. It's the capital of Bavaria and very charming. So I arrive at the main train station and get in a cab with my suitcase and say I'm going to the Charles Hotel and it turns out it's right down the street. Oops!! The cab driver was really nice about it though and dropped me off anyway. Never underestimate the power of a friendly stranger. I feel like so many cab drivers in so many different places would have yelled at me or kicked me out, so I really appreciated how nice he was to take me to the hotel anyway and I gave him a nice tip as a thank you. The experience ended up being positive and something I can now laugh about. We all have our moments when things do go our way but we have to try to avoid getting frustrated and just make the most of the situation. The Charles Hotel is beautiful and located right by the Botanical Gardens. After I checked in, I took a long walk through the gardens in an effort to explore what sights were nearby. Just a short walk away I stumbled across Munich's central square which is devoted to two of my favorite pastimes, SHOPPING and EATING.

This central square, called Marienplatz is a shopper's paradise. Lots of department stores and shops are mixed in with cafes and restaurants as well as fruit stands that sell whatever is in season for locals and tourists to snack on. I bought some apricots and cherries and was laughing at the fact that every one of the stands sold these summer fruit staples, as well as that German staple, the albino asparagus! Not exactly something you could snack on while shopping, but ok. Marienplatz leads to the outdoor food market, Viktualienmarkt, which is a foodie's dream. I honestly can't describe how gorgeous this market is. It's lively, friendly and organized. As you can imagine, between the shopping and the food, I spent a lot of time in and around this area of town. Nevermind that I can't pronounce any of it. (German is hard. Like, really really hard.) After hearing Italian, a beautifully romantic language, all around me for a month, the German language was the phonetically equivalent of a slap in the face. (No offense to all you Germans out there.)

The Viktualienmarkt market is seriously one of the best I've ever seen. According to my guidebook, over the years it's evolved from a small farmers market to a large popular market for fresh food which offers exotic ingredients that aren't available anywhere else in the area. It's also renowned for its diversity and size: over 140 stalls offer everything from flowers; to fruits and veggies; breads and pastries; fish and meat; herbs and spices; wine and tea. It's a shopper's paradise. If I lived here I'd forgo the supermarket all together as this market is a one stop shop for practically anything you need. And what did I love most? How organized everything was! The little bit of OCD in me absolutely loves when things are so in order. I usually get a certain level of anxiety when I'm confronted by disorganization, chaos or things that aren't symmetrical. (If anyone every needed to get crucial information out of me, the most effective torture method could be to tie me to a chair in front of a painting on that's hung crookedly on the wall.) So I was extremely happy walking around here. One day for lunch I sat down at the fish stand and had a giant grilled half lobster and a glass of prosecco. Coincidentally that same night I ended up eating pasta at my hotel that had fresh shaved truffles on it and I thought to myself, now THIS is the life. Lobster and truffles all in one day, can I be any more of a princess right now?! Oops. If only I got to eat like this all the time, eh? (And for the record, I DON'T, so stop rolling your eyes.)

The Englischer Garten is a large public park in the centre of Munich, and by large I mean, LARGE. It's 1.4 square miles or 910 acres, making it one of the world's largest urban public parks, larger than the world's best park, NYC's Central Park (not that I'm biased or anything). This also makes it very easy to get lost in… And I did, for a LONG time. It was like a maze and finding the exit back out to the street was a major challenge, but it was a gorgeous place to get lost in. Not to mention, with tons of people sunbathing, picnicking and rowing/paddling around the lake in boats, there was a lot to see. There are rivers running through the park as well and apparently a section where surfers go to surf (who knew) but I didn't find that area despite spending hours walking around looking for it. At one point I had to just sit on a bench in the shade because I was hot and tired and had to focus on eating my ice cream quickly before it started melting down my arm. I found what looked like a giant golden potato sculpture and a ton of ducks and geese. I was there on a Saturday and between that and the fact that the temperatures were in the mid-80s, the park was packed! I wish I had known I would have brought my bathing suit and a towel and worked on my tan! Oh well.

I had some bad luck during my four days in Munich because two of those days ended up being a holiday in the city, so practically everything was closed. I was told that BMW World was cool to see, but it was closed during the holiday. I just wandered around and tried to entertain myself with whatever was open, one of which was climbing up the top of the Opatija am alten Peter tower for views of the city. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I paid the 2 euros to go in. It was an endless number of stars in a narrow tower, some of which were really steep and made of old wood that was falling apart and so narrow that two people couldn't pass each other and we had to take turns going up and down. I kept thinking, 'Dear self, please don't fall,' And 'Dear staircase, please don't break.' Not to mention, it was hot and sweaty in there but in the end, it was worth the workout. The views from up there were beautiful. Munich has gorgeous old buildings with bright orange rooftops and being up there, you got to see all of them clearly.

The architecture in Munich is very true to it's location within Germany, meaning it's very Bavarian. Before I got here I couldn't really tell you what Bavarian really looked like but as soon as I saw the old buildings and churches, I somehow knew they were true to Bavarian style. It all looks like it belongs in a Hans Cristen Anderson picture book. (And I'm not even sure how I know that.)

There was also a beautiful church nearby with handmade paper birds hanging from the ceiling and a lunch of spinach dumplings with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese that I devoured along with a cold beer. I'm not much of a beer connoisseur or a fan of dark beers but you can't NOT drink beer when you're in German. I just stuck to wheat beers which are light and refreshing in the summer heat.

These few days in Munich were my last few days traveling alone. After 41 days alone I'll be surrounded by my family in Brazil and even have one of my best friends flying in for a week of it. Bring it on!

When I was planning my trip, I was told time and time again that I absolutely HAD to see Berlin. I had been to Germany before, namely Frankfurt and a few other lesser known stops during my post-college tour of Europe in 2001. But I'd never been to Berlin and I decided it was about time I changed that.

The capital city of Germany is home to about 3.5 million people and although I would categorize it as a mostly modern city, it's known for it's tumultuous past. We're talking Nazis, fascists, a revolution, bombs, being ripped in half and then reunited and this is all in the fairly recent history!

I was staying at the lavish Ritz Carlton, which again, was a splurge on my part and not necessarily how everyone needs to experience this incredible city. But believe me, it doesn't hurt! This was one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in and I was sad when I had to leave it. Calling it luxurious is an understatement, and who doesn't love a little (or a lot) of luxury once in a while!? The Ritz offers high tea, so of course I had to partake one afternoon, because when it comes to tea and crumpets, I'm totally a wanna-be Brit.

The hotel is located in a great area that's walking distance to some of the most famous landmarks, such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial. I also found the Sony Center, which is a giant shopping center with restaurants and a movie theater right across the street. I suddenly realized a chick flick I'd been wanting to see was playing there in English and I have NEVER been to the movies alone, so I figured what better time than now? So one afternoon, I went and saw "The Other Woman" by myself and it was great! I can check 'going to the movies alone' off my list now. I also sat down at one of the Sony Center cafes and had a traditional German meal of veal schnitzel (politically incorrect meat, I know) and warm potato salad. The big vegetable of the season right now is asparagus, and not the normal green asparagus I'm used to but the white albino asparagus I've only seen a few times in the states. And here I am thinking, ok, finally a vegetable among all the fried stuff and carbs. Great! Um, well, it's covered in hollandaise sauce. EVERYTHING here is covered in hollandaise sauce. But who am I to question it, right? I don't see too many morbidly obese people walking around. Whatever, I'm in 'I refuse to care, I'm on vacation' mode.

I started walking around Berlin and there were lots of great things to do and see, such as the Brandenburg Gate and the  Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which is still in partial ruins after being destroyed during World War II. I also stumbled across some beautiful fountains (why don't we have more fountains in the US?), some great architecture and beautiful views of the river.

Some of my other favorite highlights of Berlin were:

Holocaust Memorial
This memorial pays tribute to those murdered during the Holocaust and takes the form of 2,711 blocks of varying heights arranged across the area of a housing block. The first time I saw it I didn't even know it was a Holocaust memorial. I just thought it was cool public art. Basically it's both.

Shopper's Paradise
I found my happy place in Berlin, KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store. It basically makes Saks and Neiman's look cheap. (Yes, that's possible.) It's beautifully decorated and there's this great gourmet cafeteria on the top floor that features stations each specializing in a particular kind of food. I chose the potato station and had baked potatoes and a chicken and albino asparagus stew. Delicious! I could've spent hours in there, window shopping, dreaming and being jealous.

360 Views of Berlin
I love seeing cities from aerial views so I had to go to the Berlin Fernsehturm (the Berlin TV Tower). From 206 meters high, you see all of Berlin and there are guides and maps printed to show you what you're looking at from every angle. You never really know how big a city really is until you see it from above!

Fragrances Bar at the Ritz
On the way to find the bathroom during dinner at the Ritz one evening, I accidentally came across a bar called Fragrances. I knew I had to go in there because the concept was out-of-this-world cool. The bar's premise combines the sense of smell and taste. Basically, perfumes are paired with cocktail creation. You use your sense of smell to pick our drink. And no, there's no scratch-n-sniff paper menu. Upon walking in, the menu is laid out visually in a lineup of perfume bottles. In order to pick your drink, you smell the perfumes and find the one you like the most and the mixologist will make your drink to smell and taste like the perfume you chose. I know what you're thinking, I don't want to drink perfume. Well, the concept doesn't mean you'll be sipping on Drakkar Noir but the essence of it. (And no, Drakkar Noir isn't one of the choices sadly… or thankfully.) As the mixologist explained to me, through a number of trials they were able to find the combination of ingredients that replicated the smell of each of the featured perfumes which ranged from YSL to Guerlain to Armani. I was absolutely fascinated!! Each drink is served in a unique way, from glasses in buckets and birdhouses to those that resemble baby bottles. The one I chose was based on a YSL fragrance and it was served in a bottle that said Toilet Water and put into a giant bamboo pole. (No clue why.) I was told I could either take it out to drink it or drink it in the pole. After my first sip through the pole, I decided the risk of hurting somebody (or myself) with each sip was too high so I took the bottle out to enjoy it. Be warned that it's like $20 for a drink, but definitely worth the experience.

Berlin Wall Memorial
Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer (The Berlin Wall Memorial) is the central memorial site of the division of Germany, located in the middle of the city. Situated at the historic site on Bernauer Strasse, the memorial contains the last piece of Berlin Wall. The preserved historical remnants and traces of border obstacles on display help show the history of Germany’s division. I walked around and imagined people of older generations standing behind them, probably wondering when the division would end or if the wall would ever come down. I can't imagine living in such turmoil. Those of us fortunate enough to live in a more peaceful time and place often take it for granted, and when we see memorials like this one, we truly start to realize that despite all the chaos going on in the world right now, we really have it good. Imagine living in a country divided. Better yet, imagine living in a city that's divided. I vaguely remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was in the 5th grade. At the time, I couldn't grasp how important this was for Germany and for Europe. We have to remember how fortunate we are to live in place where we're not suffering from the direct effects of war, and how often we forget how quickly and easily that could change. My heart was breaking for all of those who have suffered in the world, past and present.

As I was walking around the memorial sight, I came across a cemetery. I decided to walk inside and it was one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've ever seen. So many of the graves were decorated with flowers and plants. If I'm ever buried (for the record I much rather prefer to be cremated) I would want my final resting place to be this beautiful. Needless to say, this was a very heavy day, but it can't all be fun and cocktails all the time. It's experiences like this that make us realize how important gratitude really is. I'm blessed and I know it...

Berlin is so vibrant and alive, I absolutely loved it. I would definitely jump on the chance to return someday… Now, on to Munich!

Alas, the time had come to say goodbye to Rome and to Italy. The views of the Italian coastline from the plane were amazing!

As I mentioned in my very first blog post, I'm looking at this trip in three parts. The second of which, begins with Prague, which has been high on my list of places to see for quite some time. Well, I finally made it happen! And I'm happy to report that it was even more beautiful and majestic than I expected.

Being in Prague is like being on a very colorful and luxurious movie set. It's elegant. It's clean. It's enchanting and romantic. Sometimes I thought it looked too beautiful to be real. According to my Rick Steves guidebook, Prague is known as the "Golden City of 100 Spires," as it boasts a fairytale medieval Old Town, historic churches and synagogues, and Europe's largest castle.

Prague is the sixth-most-visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin. It's the only central European capital to escape the bombs of the last century's wars and is therefore one of Europe's best-preserved cities. Hence the abundance of historic architecture throughout the cobblestone streets. When you look around, you see a distinct collections of architecture from Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Art Nouveau. (So my guidebook says. Because frankly, I don't know the difference between those styles. To me it all just looks old and fabulous.) Prague is exquisite. I spent practically every second of my four days here in awe of how gorgeous it all was. The details were what really got me. The intricate designs and the gold inlay on some of the buildings were so beautiful.

Did I mention it's very clean? I love clean. I wondered how the city maintains it's cleanliness and one day when I was eating at an outdoor cafe, I got my answer. There are literally street janitors that walk around with brooms and portable vacuums, constantly picking up garbage from the streets. It's amazing! As someone who loves to clean, I got very excited. Not to mention after being in Rome for a month, where you see and smell garbage EVERYWHERE, I really appreciated this.

For the second part of my trip I didn't bother with AirBnB and trying to find an apartment for just 4 nights. The cities I'm visiting are all big and I decided I couldn't be bothered with trying to find something with a good location so I stayed true to my love and appreciation of 5-star hotels and stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. Go big or go home, right? And it was absolutely worth it. As much as I loved the experience of living in an apartment in Rome for a month, where I had to cook and clean and take out the garbage, it was so nice to be able to stay in a nice hotel and have everything done for me. Not to mention, I had access to an actual gym for the first time in a month and boy have I needed it! Not to mention the spa treatments I booked for myself! I've officially hit vacation mode, people. And it's fabulous.

After arriving at my hotel, I took the short walk to the famous Charles Bridge (or Karluv Most, as it's called here). The bridge crosses the Vltava river (yup, yet another amazing city with a river running through it) and was constructed between the 14th and 15th centuries. It's 621 meters long (about 1/3 of a mile) and has three bridge towers and 30 baroque statues, most of which depict various saints and patron saints. The statues were originally added to the bridge in the 17th and 18th centuries but were replaced with replicas in the 1960s when the originals were moved to the National Museum. There are artists and other vendors who have set up little booths all along the bridge, hoping to sell some of their work or trinkets to the thousands of tourists that cross it every day. It doesn't matter what time of day you go or what the weather is like, the Charles Bridge is always crowded. On my first day it was cold and rainy but it didn't stop the tourists from flocking. And it sure didn't stop me!

When you cross the Charles Bridge you get to Old Town Square which is home to the famous Prague astronomical clock (or Prague orloj). This medieval clock was first installed in 1410, making it the oldest working astronomical clock in the world. People crowd around it on the hour to hear the bells and watch it in action. At the top of every hour figures on the sides of the clock become animated and two windows open up to reveal 12 apostles greeting the city. On the sides of the clock you’ll see a skeleton ringing a bell, a Turk shaking his head, a miser with a purse full of money, and Vanity looking in a mirror. The whole performance ends with the crowing of a golden rooster and the ringing of the huge bell at the top of the tower. It's quite a production! According to my guidebook, each figure represents four things that were despised at the time of the clock's making: Vanity, represented by a figure admiring himself in a mirror; Greed, represented by the miser holding a bag of gold; Death, represented by the skeleton that strikes the time upon the hour; and Vice/pleasure, represented by the Turk. Old Town Square itself, is full of tourists and full of food stalls and cafes if you want to eat and people watch at the same time. Everywhere you look, you're surrounded by colorful buildings in that mix of architectural styles that I still can't identify.

No trip to Prague is complete without visiting the Prague Castle along with St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St. George, shop-lined Golden Lane, which are all right there. Elegance defined. I just wandered around the castle grounds but didn't go inside. The crowds were just too big and it was too beautiful of a day. In my head I'm picturing it as a smaller and maybe more modest version of Versailles from the inside, so I'm just going to go with that image until I can come back here in the winter. I would love to see Prague blanketed in snow, so maybe I'll make my way inside the castle when I'm back. But I did make it inside St. Vitus Cathedral to see the windows and it was some of the most beautiful stained glass I've ever laid eyes on.

During my time in this gorgeous city, I also spent one afternoon walking up Petrin Hill. I was so sore after that trek! It was so lush and quiet up there, which was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the crowds in Old Town Square. It took me about 45 minutes of mostly uphill hiking to get up to the Petrin Observation Tower, which was built in 1891 and looks like a mini version of the Eiffel Tower. (Don't worry lazy people, if hiking up a hill isn't your thing, you also have the option of taking a tram up there.) The tower is only 60 meters tall, but when you add in the fact that it sits at the top of Petrin Hill, it's about 318 meters (or 1,043 feet) high. I bought a ticket and climbed the 299 steps to reach the top of the tower, where the views of the city are spectacular. The trip down wasn't quite as bad because it was now downhill and I ate a glorious Trdelnik pastry at the top, which gave me a happy sugar high. If I ever lived in Prague, these trdelniks would be the end of me.

So what are they? Trdelniks are actually Hungarian (like Kaiser Soze), originating from Transylvania (like Dracula). It's basically made from rolled dough that's wrapped around a stick, then grilled and rolled in sugar and cinnamon. When you order one (for about 50 Czech korunas or $2.50), it's taken off the stick and handed to you piping hot. You can just pull it apart and eat it while you walk around and explore. I lost count of how many of these I ate while I was there. And I miss them already.

Other than the trdelniks, I wasn't too impressed with Czech food. I mean, I did just come from Italy so it really wasn't fair to Prague. How do you compete with pasta, pizza and gelato? But they sure do love their carbs here and I can't complain about that. I ate a lot of bread with stuff baked into it, like cheese, cabbage and ham (which was a little odd) or olives. I did, however, love the Kulajda soup, which is a creamy Bohemian soup with dill, mushrooms, potatoes and a poached egg that you mix in. It was delicious!

If you've never been to Prague, plan a trip ASAP. It's beautiful, relatively affordable and the people are so friendly (and atrractive). Can't wait to come back someday! Time to head to Berlin...

One of the best things about Europe is that traveling by train is convenient and easy. It's also part of the fun. When I was planning the trip, I was sure I wanted to take the train for part of the way. So I booked a Eurorail ticket from Prague to Berlin, which was only about 4.5 hours and then from Berlin to Munich, which is just over 7 hours. It was a great idea. The time just flew by as I listened to music and stared out the window at the green Czech and German countrysides. For part of the way, there was a nice lady sitting next to me. We were chatting and she told me her kids both live in San Francisco. Small world! There were also a few guys from Australia who were sitting behind me and nice enough to help me lift my heavy suitcase onto the overhead shelf. It's always great to meet such nice people. Not to mention, being on the train was a nice change from being on a plane. I loved it. It was comfortable and quiet and you don't have to deal with the anxiety that comes with airport security lines. I highly recommend it.

Next up: Berlin!