Over the past week I have gotten to experience Amsterdam and a small town in a southern part of Holland. While staying in the small town of Cuijk with hosts that graciously took me around I got to experience many different cities and things. Whether I was trying Kapsalon or rainbow trout, I was constantly doing different things. I got to visit Bonn, Germany the birthplace of Beethoven and see his house and another German city of Aachen and see things Charlemagne had had built. It was amazing. Then I got to be in three countries at the same time. Belgium, Holland, and Germany all connect up on this hilly area and there are lookout towers and activities. It was pretty to look out and see Belgium one way a country I learned I loved this semester and then go back to Germany and Holland with just a few steps.
I also got to see multiple cities within Holland and see the many different areas. I had experienced the canal city of Amsterdam and all it'e craziness but found that I liked the passing countryside much more and the smaller cities.
Now as I'm heading back to London to retrieve the bag I left behind and head to Heathrow, I'm convinced that I'll never actually let this adventure end. I already have places I want to explore more or again. I want to show people the hidden gems of the cities I fell in love with. I have countless notes throughout the travel journal I have and I can't wait until I get to come back to Europe and use it as the best guide: my experiences that made me who I am now. I faced a lot this semester, whether it was missing a flight, train delays, traffic, crazy people, a fight with a friend, making new friends I'd have to leave, or climbing on top of an English manor, I know now that sometimes the craziest things that scare me the most will turn out to be my most treasured memories.
I won't treasure all the Megabus Chronicles but I will definitely remember how it got me through four countries in one day and that I met some weird people through it. I learned how to survive sleepless weekends and that when you don't want to use the grossest bathroom you've ever seen you can hold it for 4 more hours.
T-minus a day until I return to America and can't figure out what time it is anywhere for a week. I can't wait to have an ice cold fountain drink with free refills and Mexican food and the luxury of being able to drive. And until next time Europe. I will come back, it's not a question of will I but when will I? Who knows, maybe I'll find a way to study abroad again!!
Bise Bise
