While I was thoroughly enjoying my time in Bath, I think the most memorable week while I was abroad was spring break. I’d never taken a “real” spring break trip before. In high school and college, I’d always spent it at home, or with a small group of girlfriends traveling to a city close by. I enjoyed those times, but it wasn’t the extravagant trip most people imagine when they hear the phrase “spring break”.
My friends from abroad and I had planned our spring break trip for months (though maybe not as far ahead as we should have planned). We talked about where we wanted to go, but when it got down to booking flights and hostels, we were scrambling a bit. Luckily, it all worked out in the end.
Our first stop was Amsterdam, which hadn’t been high on my list of places to go. Students love Amsterdam, with its atmosphere of anything goes, but I was pretty skeeved out. We walked up and down the red light district the first night, which so many people had told us “you’ve just got to do”. Don’t do it. Large groups of men staring at women, dressed in lingerie, standing in glass windows is not really my idea of fun. Amsterdam’s redeeming point was that the canals were beautiful. Our second day there, we rented paddle boats and explored all along different canals, with some entertaining results. The weather was beautiful and it was memorable.
The second stop on our spring break trip was Prague. I’d wanted to go to Prague for months, since all of my friends who’ve ever been there told me it’s a city I absolutely have to go to. I understand why now. Prague has a beautiful history with so many gorgeous buildings. We stayed near the astronomical clock tower, which we climbed our last night there. I stood at the edge, surrounded by my friends, as we watched the sun go down over the skyline. After that, we ate on the roof of an ostentatious hotel, then had some drinks in a catacombs bar. I’ll never forget Prague.
Our final stop was to see our friend from F&M, Max, in Austria. We took a five-hour bus out of Prague. I sat next to the window and watched it disappear behind us, wondering when I’d go back. Hopefully soon. When we finally got to Vienna, Max met up with us at our hostel and then took us to one of the best restaurants in Vienna. The next two days we were there, he showed us around, which was awesome. He’d spent so much time in the city and knew it so well, it was nice to finish out spring break with one of our best friends who doubled as our tour guide. My final night in Vienna, my friends and I all went to a ball at the Rathaus. We had stuffed what we thought would suffice as ballgowns into our carry-on bags (I’d ordered mine from Forever 21). That night, my friends and I got ready and traversed across the city to where the ball was.
It was an incredible night and the best way to end spring break, ever. There were so many people at the ball, with lots of couples waltzing in an actual ballroom. It felt like a fairy tale. We went further and further into the building. There was elaborate room after room with food, drinks, and all kinds of different music playing. We took pictures on giant staircases, covered with gorgeous red carpets. We slowly meandered home around three in the morning. It was a night like no other.