11 days and 4 cities in 4 different countries...I couldn't believe that spring break was finally here. Before I even came abroad for my semester at TAU I knew that spring break would be in Europe - it would be my Euro trip. No parents, my first vacation alone with just friends.
AMSTERDAM: The first stop, Amsterdam. Here we were, 6 American tourists with a map in hand and an agenda in the other. The highlights were the Van Gogh museum, the I Amsterdam letters, the red light district, cheese museum and Anne Frank house. Some fun, others more intense and moving...for me the Anne Frank house was the most memorable. We were actually having a tour of the house where she was hidden, pages of her diary and the actual book case which enclosed her room were both preserved. It was amazing to see these things, and extremely moving. It makes me value my family and friends. I feel so lucky to have so many supports in my life.
PARIS: And onto the next stop...Paris! After taking 7 years of French from elementary-middle school (side note...I remembered more than I thought) I was anxious and excited to actually be in the city of Paris, France! I would have never thought that this dream of going would actually turn into a reality. We jumped right into exploring the city...The Louvre, The Church of Notre Dame, The Love Lock Bridge (mom, dad, max - we're on there!!) the Mussee de Armies, Champs Élysées, Arc de Triomphe and of course, the one you've all been waiting for, Le Tour Eiffel! I cannot believe I can say that I've seen all these places in real life! I even tried escargot...hey, when in Paris, do as the Parisians do. On my last night in France, my friends and I went to a Chabad Passover Seder. It was an adventure to say the least, the Seder was in French, Hebrew and a drop of English. Instead of parsley/celery we bit into an onion dipped in salt water (just for your reference it wasn't that tasty), but I feel much more cultured to have done a Seder in another country. You know what they say, "wherever you go, there's always someone Jewish." I find that amazing. Au revoir Paris.
LONDON: Just touched down in Londontown. Out of all the places in Europe, London was the one I was looking most forward to. Quite possibly because I was meeting up with familiar faces of one of my best camp friends and cousin and quite possibly because London has so much to offer and I have been waiting to see it all! I had my first underground adventure on the tube and it made me nostalgic of my subway rides back in Philadelphia, a cup of delicious roasted Stabucks coffee, a stop to the Parent Trap house, a tour of only the most expensive, most incredible department store in London, Harrods. A quick hello to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's cathedral...you know the monuments. Two of my favorite places in London - Borough Market which was filled with delicious, various ethnic food stands and Camden Lock market...a mix of the Shuk in Tel Aviv and South Street in Philadelphia. I am sad to say bye to the prettiest city I've seen so far and am already planning a trip back..maybe as a graduation present? (hint, hint Mom and Dad).
BERLIN: The last leg of my Eurotrip has led me to Berlin. If we're going to be honest here, Germany was never a place that I had the biggest desire to visit, it wasn't even on my original spring break list. But I was convinced by my camp friend it was a place we had to visit. So here I was in Berlin. Since I've been traveling it's made me realize how much of an impact Israel has made on me, and here sitting in front of me on the train to our hotel, are two Israelis speaking Hebrew and one woman diagonal from me eating Matzah. These were my first interactions with people since my flight. In Berlin, Germany nonetheless. Life does crazy things to you.
The next two days in Berlin were filled with traveling - a view of the city from the top of the Reichstag government building, a walking tour of the city, of which included the Bradenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the national memorial for the Jews in the Holocaust, the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall and a Pub crawl at night. And the touring didn't stop, I've learned since this Eurotrip that it's okay to be perpetually exhausted because when you have a limited amount of time to travel - exploring the city comes first, sleep comes second. On my last day in Berlin, I and my other friends traveling together had the opportunity to have a guided tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Orianenburg, Germany. Having never been to Poland, or seen a concentration camp, this was my first time seeing the remnants of the Holocaust head-on. And what an experience it was, both amazing, moving, sad and scary. This camp, specifically was a prototype camp, used as a demonstration/starter camp for others to come. Sachsenhausen was preserved by the German government; this helped to preserve the memories so that outsiders could witness the camp in its true form. I feel very happy that I was able to see it, but it was definitely a difficult place to walk through.
The next two days in Berlin were filled with traveling - a view of the city from the top of the Reichstag government building, a walking tour of the city, of which included the Bradenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the national memorial for the Jews in the Holocaust, the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall and a Pub crawl at night. And the touring didn't stop, I've learned since this Eurotrip that it's okay to be perpetually exhausted because when you have a limited amount of time to travel - exploring the city comes first, sleep comes second. On my last day in Berlin, I and my other friends traveling together had the opportunity to have a guided tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Orianenburg, Germany. Having never been to Poland, or seen a concentration camp, this was my first time seeing the remnants of the Holocaust head-on. And what an experience it was, both amazing, moving, sad and scary. This camp, specifically was a prototype camp, used as a demonstration/starter camp for others to come. Sachsenhausen was preserved by the German government; this helped to preserve the memories so that outsiders could witness the camp in its true form. I feel very happy that I was able to see it, but it was definitely a difficult place to walk through.
Overall, I had an amazing time in Europe. For my favorite place, London is ranked as number one, but I feel privileged that I was able to see four distinct places.
However, while traveling I've realized that I made the right decision to study abroad in Israel. Yes, I've had ups and downs and the transition/adjustment to Israel was not necessarily easy, but I was aching to get back to Israel. I've started to really become comfortable in Israel because of the extended amount of time I've spent in one place. When I landed in Tel Aviv today, it just felt right. Only in Israel would one see: חג פסח שמח, Happy Passover on the billboards in the airport and I loved it. Plus, I found it so interesting that in every place I traveled to, I met Israeli's! It helped me remember how important being Jewish is to me, the reasons why I chose to be a Jewish Studies major, why I chose Israel as my study abroad destination, why I care so much about being Jewish. What I've discovered since being abroad, is my independent love for Judaism. It's not just a religion I link myself to, it's part of my identity.
However, while traveling I've realized that I made the right decision to study abroad in Israel. Yes, I've had ups and downs and the transition/adjustment to Israel was not necessarily easy, but I was aching to get back to Israel. I've started to really become comfortable in Israel because of the extended amount of time I've spent in one place. When I landed in Tel Aviv today, it just felt right. Only in Israel would one see: חג פסח שמח, Happy Passover on the billboards in the airport and I loved it. Plus, I found it so interesting that in every place I traveled to, I met Israeli's! It helped me remember how important being Jewish is to me, the reasons why I chose to be a Jewish Studies major, why I chose Israel as my study abroad destination, why I care so much about being Jewish. What I've discovered since being abroad, is my independent love for Judaism. It's not just a religion I link myself to, it's part of my identity.
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