Where to begin? That’s always the question. There’s just so much to tell…enough to fill a journal and a half already in my two months here. Some of what I write is intangible—the thoughts and feelings I have as I walk through my days in London, the invisible ways I feel myself growing— and some of it is long detailed descriptions of my adventures, drawn out much further than necessary to ensure I never forget a single detail of it; though I can’t imagine my time here ever fading from my mind, even when I’m old and grey and squinting back through the years.
I’ll never forget the whooshing-screeching sound of the tube or the way I sway with it, too distracted by my daily book to stand firm against the momentum of the train. I’ll never forget the bite of the fall air in the morning on my way to work, or the way I have to skip over cracks and bumps in the patchwork sidewalks. I’ll always remember going back to my roots during fall break; visiting Austria, where my family just two generations back came to the states from. I’ll never forget the taste of my daily cup of tea, and every time I make it (the proper way, with milk and a touch of sugar) it will take me back, even long after my semester here has ended. London, with all its quirks and wonders, has in fact affected me so much that my first thought upon touching down at Stansted Airport after my week in Austria was “I’m home”.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Austria though. Austria was actually one of my absolute favorite places on my growing list of places I’ve visited. One of my flatmates and I took the first half of our week-long break to visit Salzburg, the town made famous by The Sound of Music, and before that, it’s claim to fame as the birthplace of Mozart. Salzburg is much more than a movie set or a Mozart landmark though. It’s a gorgeous ancient city with a skyline of cathedrals and a rich history (not to mention more amazing food and the best apple strudel on the planet). In my time there, I visited four different cathedrals, climbed the huge hill where Hohensalzburg palace dominates the cityscape, climbed two mountains, walked along the ancient city wall, explored the famous Mirabell palace and gardens, visited the Abbey where the real Maria was a postulate in the 1920s, ate at the oldest restaurant in Austria, took a train to Munich, and learned that though my family may be from Austria, the propensity for German wasn’t passed down through the generations, much to the amusement of the locals I tried to converse with. The trip was absolutely incredible, and gave me a whole new perspective to add to the unique
