Auf wiedersehen Wien, Bonjour Bruxelles!

And I’m off!  One and a half short days in Vienna and I’m onto the next adventure in Brussels.  I initially planned on going to Bruges for the day, but I’m so tired that I decided to just relax in Brussels all day.  When you travel, listen to your body.  If it’s telling you to take the day off, do it or you’ll end up exhausted and unsatisfied.  The last two nights I woke up around 2 or 3 (depending on when I got to bed) and couldn’t fall back asleep till 5 or so.  Today I had to leave the house at 7.30 so I only got about an hour of sleep after waking.  A combo of the jetlag and my excitement for the rest of the trip are lethal.  Oy…

So some last thoughts about Vienna:

·        Amazing people

·        Incredibly friendly towards English-speakers

·        Beautiful & historic place with incredible architecture

·        Truly excellent, high quality food

If you’re a German beginner or completely ignorant to German (like myself), you will have no trouble getting along in Vienna.  Everyone I met spoke a few words of English and I was able to get by along with the help of Candy, Katrin, Heinz and Sara.  I couldn’t be prouder of our High School Abroad in Austria program and am embarrassed it took me this long to get here.  If you haven’t been to Vienna, you must go.  And visit all areas of Austria while you’re at it – Salzburg is supposed to be like a fairytale.  Overall, what an amazing beginning to my trip.

On a side note, I haven’t traveled like this (hopping from one country to another) since I was in my early twenties.  It’s exhausting because I can’t sleep well, but the excitement never goes away.  The thirst for adventure, new experiences and people is still a huge part of who I am.  Most of my thirst is quenched in Chicago or the USA now, seeing new cities, eating at new restaurants.  To be traveling again like I did when I was younger though…there’s nothing else like it and I’m loving every sleepy second.