With only a week of teaching left, I am starting to get a little sad. Excited to go back to the States for family and friends, but man, I love Spain.
My last blog post was updated in March, so I suppose I should start there. Not a lot went down in March, so there isn’t much to tell. I taught myself how to play three songs on the piano, which I am very proud of since I have always wanted to learn how to play! I have a tendency of hyper-focusing on various tasks, so that was my two-week hyper-fixation haha. More music-related: I taught one of my 1°ESO (7th grade) classes The Warrior Beat, an iconic cheer from my high school days. They caught on fairly well by the end of the class period, and were very excited to have their video taken and posted to the Calamus-Wheatland Community School District Facebook page. I think they thought they were going to become famous in the States. March also brought a lot of gloomy days, including one significantly unique day in which the sky turned orange and it rained sand. Literally. There was a sand storm in the Sahara Desert that traveled up to southern Spain and covered everything in red sand. It was a little creepy, but seeing a sky that orange was also so cool and somewhat cozy, too.
As we all know, the Easter holiday was celebrated around mid-April this year. The Spanish people get super into it, and celebrate for a week called Semana Santa (April 11-17th). So yes, essentially this is Holy Week. They have these processions each day with big floats, and we were able to watch one walk right by our house one evening. I would NOT want to be one of the people carrying the floats as there are so many hills in this town! There are also some… dated “cultural” traditions performed throughout much of Spain. Similar to KKK attire and also some black face. So yeahhh, I did not want to be here for that. Which is fortunate that we had that entire week off of school, so I ventured out of the country for a nice solo holiday!
Now, I am not going to lie, Billy Joel heavily influenced my decision to travel to Vienna for my holiday. I mean, how could he not? It’s a beautiful song, so I had to see if the city lived up to the hype. It did.
I arrived in Vienna late on April 10th and stayed until the morning of the 13th. I had a plan and a list of places to go while in the city. My first stop was the Schoenbrunn Palace, which is a bit out of the city center but easily accessible by the metro. I know I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I love the metro. Seriously, it makes everything so much more convenient. Anyway, I walked around the grounds and gardens for a couple of hours, and was happy to see they had set up an Easter market directly inside the front gates. In Europe (they might do this in bigger US cities, but I truly don’t know), most cities set up markets for holidays like Easter and Christmas. There’s booths full of merchant’s crafts or souvenirs to buy, as well as plenty of booths with traditional holiday or cultural foods. I snagged a giant pretzel for lunch and was so excited to dig in, but was quickly met with disappointment. The pretzel wasn’t what I was hoping for, which was the typical “giant pretzel from the concession stand at a baseball game” vibe. Oh, well. I explored much of the city, including St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Demel Konditorei, the MuseumsQuartier, and even went to my very first ballet at Wiener Staatsoper. Truly, my life is a dream sometimes. I didn’t have the best view during the ballet, but it was still so beautiful to hear the orchestra and catch what I could of the elegant dancers. I think I could easily see myself frequenting events like this if given the chance. Other days, I spent some time at Stadtpark with a book, and saw a girl walking her ferret on a leash. I aspire to be like her. I also of course had to get some thrifting in, and scored some seriously good deals. I would have bought much more if I had the luggage room. :/ There’s a building block in Vienna called Hundertwasserhaus, which was built by Friendenserich Hundertwasser to incorporate more art and nature within the mainstream lines of the city. The building is super funky, and has a nearby museum showcasing all of the artist’s works. PSA: keep your university ID for as long as possible. I was able to pull a student discount with that thing. :)
The morning of the 13th, I took a train to Prague, Czech Republic and spent the next two days in the beautiful city. I know Prague is supposed to be super famous, but it kind of felt like a hidden gem while I was there as there weren’t many tourists around. I genuinely felt like I had the city to myself at one point, which was the coolest experience ever. Again, more Easter markets, this time with traditional Czech food. I sampled an herb-flavored sausage, and it was all right. Not something I’d eat again, though. I walked around a lot throughout the first afternoon, having my breath taken away by the beautiful buildings I would stumble upon through each turn. Tired, I called it an early night and headed back to my hostel. I usually try to stay in all-female dorms since I feel safer, more comfortable, and I’m more likely to make friends. Which is exactly what happened!
Enter Freddie (Frederique, but we call her Freddie since it’s easier), a girl from the Netherlands who was staying in the same dorm room. We chatted throughout the night, and in the morning I invited her to breakfast with me. We got breakfast at the cutest little outdoor café, a bit hidden from the city, and ended up spending the whole day together. Together, we tested our luck on public transport and rode up to the Prague Castle and Cathedral, which sits atop the city with a glorious view. Our main goal was a good photo opp, which we accomplished effortlessly (thank you, zoom effect). After some good photos, we stopped for a drink on the nearby terrace and decided to try the Raspberry Spritz. Oh my god, I think this is genuinely my new favorite drink. I am not an Aperol Spritz kind of girl, so I was a bit nervous, but this truly knocked my socks off.
We ventured around some more, seeing the St. Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, and various parts of the old town. Freddie had met a girl, named Alba, the night before and told me they wanted to go out and experience the Prague nightlife. Hell yeah, I was in. As soon as I met Alba, we clicked and gushed over our similar book interests and the fact that she lives in Spain. I practiced a little Spanish with her, but we kept it to a minimum since Freddie didn’t understand. Our hostel gave us a discount on entry into one of the bars/clubs, where they had an “all you can drink sangria, white wine, or beer” from 10:00 to midnight. We opted for the sangria, but we are all convinced it was extremely watered down. If you know me, I like to make friends while I’m out, and I bumped into a guy who went to school at Grinnell College, who then introduced me to two guys from Iowa State! What are the odds?! I even recognized the ISU guys from my nights out in Ames, and we quickly became friends and created a big group together. Shortly after midnight, we all hopped to the next place and had a blast. Photoshoots in the stairwell while strangers cheer us on? Oh, yeah. I think this is easily one of my favorite travel memories. I love love love making friends on my adventures, but it makes it harder when we have to say goodbye. Freddie, Alba, and I are keeping in touch pretty well, though, and I got invited to a music festival in the Netherlands for later in the year.
After my three nights in Prague, I trained back to Vienna and enjoyed one more day before flying back to Spain. The last several weeks have been filled with school, tutoring, the gym, playing basketball, and going to the beach. The boys hyped me up and told me they were impressed with my basketball skills. I would like to point a huge middle finger at my 10th grade basketball coach. :)
As time winds down, I find myself trying to take it all in the best I can. There were days where I wanted nothing more than to go home to the States, and days where I wanted to stay in Spain forever. I will miss a lot of the kids from my school, especially as they have been giving me more frequent hugs and chanting my name each time I walk by haha. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Spain, or to Europe in general, so I have been looking for jobs or opportunities to make my way back within the next several months if possible. I was definitely made for a relaxing, carefree lifestyle where I can soak up the sun every day, indulge in cheap and delicious tapas, and live an exciting life full of new friends and places. If you’re reading this, please manifest good things for me. We all deserve to go after our dreams, right :)
Hasta luego, mis amigos.
Amanda