a spring re-cap

Well, since my birthday I have traveled to Vienna, Bratislava and Munich, finished term essays, begun to research for my dissertation, and logged in a whole bunch of hours at my job. Handing in my second term papers was a big relief - I put a lot of time and effort into them and was happy with how they turned out for the most part!

My little European getaway was amazing. I flew to Vienna, via Brussels, with my friend Meghan where we met our friend Tomas that had flown in earlier that day. For the next four days the three of us had an amazing time wandering around palaces and royal gardens (the Schönbrunn Palace was absolutely gorgeous and we had a great audio tour), visiting art museums (the Belvedere was probably my favorite), eating delicious food, and basking in the warmth and sunshine. Thursday night we took a train an hour or so East to Bratislava, Slovakia for dinner and drinks which was really fun - Slovakia is a small city so in a few hours we were able to walk around and see a fair amount! Friday morning we met up with our friend, Anke, who had been in Vienna for a moot court competition, and took a train to Munich, Germany. As the weather was summery and amazing (a sharp contrast to most days in Edinburgh) we spent a lot of time in Munich lounging around the English Gardens and walking around outdoors. We took a tram one day to the Nymphenburg Palace where we wandered around the gardens and had lunch in a nearby beer garden, and our last day we took a 2 hour train ride to Füssen to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle was stunning, and it was quite clear that they did, in fact, model Cinderella's castle after it. Füssen was also a beautiful German country-side town and we enjoyed the fresh mountain air and foliage. After a whirlwind of a trip it was nice to get back to my own bed, however it was such an amazing vacation it was sad to see it come to an end. We all came back a little sunburned, but definitely all agreed it was a great trip to end second term.

Since then, I have really been working a lot at my part-time catering job and with my internship. I enjoy being busy and have become close with my work friends, but it is certainly tiring. Luckily, I am due for another vacation in just two weeks!!! I cannot fully express just how excited I am for my family trip to Bermuda and then my 2 week visit home. 10 months is definitely a long time to be away from my friends, family, and the familiarity of home and I am really looking forward to my trip back across the Atlantic. Edinburgh is lovely, but I am ready for some beaches and sunshine!