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How do you summarize a month in Europe? (MASSIVE PIC ENTRY)
So I was in Europe for a month...with very limited access to Internet (hence my lack of updates). I know I've talked about part of it, but not the latter half of it. Without further ado, I will attempt to condense my 1,000+ pictures into maybe 5-10 for each location, making it easier to glance through.
Part I: Slovenia
I was visiting a friend there who just graduated from UT with her masters in violin performance. She took me all around the country in a week, from the center, to the capital, to the beach to the mountains. It was awesome.
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Spoiler:
Maribor from the top of the mountain above the city.
I ate a horse burger here
Dragon guarding the bridge in Ljubljana.
Hops growing along the roadside
Castle built into a cave.
Want to go for a swim in Piran? There's the ladder.
Fairytale castle/lake in Bled
More pictures HERE and HERE. Cities visited: Maribor, Ljubljana, Piran, Bled, Ptuj, Postojna Cave & Castle... probably a few other random little towns as well.
Part II: Germany
My second cousins live in Wiesbaden, Germany on the US military base there, and this is their last summer. Their mom has been asking me to visit for a few years, so I finally made my way there. Since Kaizers Orchestra happened to have some tourdates in Germany at the same time, I made a detour with my musical cousin to go see them live <3!
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Spoiler:
Konigstein, some cute buildings.
Konigstein on the way back to Wiesbaden.
KAIZERS ARE COMING ONSTAGE!
The Kaizers Concert...amazing
My personal favorite of all my KO pictures... Terje beating on a water-covered oil barrel
More pictures HERE. Cities visited: Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Konigstein
Part III: Paris, France
My cousins' favorite city on earth is Paris, and they definitely wanted me to see it with them. Unfortunately, I had to leave a day earlier than expected because the trains to Portugal were really busy. However, I made the most of it and managed to see most of the "main points" of Paris within a day and a half!
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Spoiler:
The Eiffel Tower, sporting a EU theme.
Me with a falling statue at the Louvre.
The Paris Opera House .
The Arc de Triomphe with flags.
Frog legs...my cousin ordered them,
Landmarks/Museums visited: Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, Rodin's Garden, Notre Dame, Le Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, The Latin Quarter, The Paris Opera House, Boat rides on the Seine.
Part IV: Viana do Castelo, Portugal
My train trip there was AMAZING. The jankest train in the world took me overnight to Porto, Portugal, on which a crazy old Portuguese man kept talking to me (in a crazy mix of Portugese and Spanish) and bought me dinner (Protip: Being a young woman in Europe means guys pay for stuff for you all the time). I also met some people from Slovenia and a guy from St. Sebastian. I was arriving a day early, so I had a little time to wander around.
Of course, this was the entire reason I went to Europe in the first place: the Viana do Castelo Music Festival. It was a lot of fun, although I found myself desperate for a good schedule and some organization. It was a complete mess as far as planning goes, and I was in charge of the orchestra. I ended up only performing Shostakovich 8 (I've performed it more than any other quartet) and Borodin No. 2, first and third movements -- out of the 6 groups I was assigned to. I found it quite amusing that the Russians always said that they could hear the "Russian School" in my playing XD....
Select Pictures:
Spoiler:
One of my groups performing Borodin's second Quartet.
The fountain in the main plaza.
The Theatre we performed most concerts in.
Nice old buildings...
Santa Luzia, the church overlooking the town from a mountain.
The view from Santa Luzia. National Geographic says it has one of the best views in the world.
The Spoils:
I collect alcohol, and somehow I managed to pack 6 bottles of liquor AND all my clothes for a month, AND three bottles of Tremocos into one carry-on suitcase that made it back to the US with me through three separate flights.
I'll probably make another journal entry later detailing the music festival, instead of everything else...and pictures of my souvenirs....
