IM HOME (kinda)

Hey all,

Sorry it has been an extremely long time since I last updated the blog. I just got back this morning from London and the rest of spring break. I had a total blast but my body really does not mind being back in Spain and being able to relax a little. I am going to update you as much as I can on Spring break a lot happened so I will try to remember as much as I can.

Budapest-post update
We ran into a huge political protest on day 2 of being there and of course no one spoke English to tell us what was going on. After a little research it turns out their Prime Minister about a year and a half ago admitted (while secretly being recorded) that his whole administration has lied to the public about almost everything. The public of course was not happy, and he the charmer he is did not apologize, but just told the public, all politicians do it all over the world. I am sure that made them feel better. He is finally stepping down from his position now not because of this reason but because he does not want his name tarnished with Hungrys failing economy that he helped send down the drain. They want a new leader, anybody with a brain it seems. I can't blame them for that.

Our last day in Budapest we decided to do as the locals do and go to a old Roman Thermal Bath. The thermal baths are natural water with a special chemical composition that comes out of the ground and different temperatures ranging from burning hot to freezing cold. We went in hung out in the many pools, saunas, and outdoor pools. Talk about a relaxing end of our stay in Budapest.

Berlin-
So I won't lie I had some preconceived curiosity of Germany before I got there. A little background information, here in Spain it is semi-normal when you see graffiti for it to be Nazi related or fascist related, over time I have noticed the same in Italy. I was wondering honestly if there would still be that strong idea in Germany, I came to realize that most there realize they went too far and our very proud of their democratic government now-a-days. Plus drawing a symbol of that sort,doing the salute or anything related can land you in a German prison for up to 2 years.

Anyways, Berlin itself is a very young city people wise. It seems to me that many people left after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and now the city has a huge influx of immigrants and young students and post graduates from all over the wall. The city is so reasonably cheap which is understandable why so many people have flocked there. Most of the buildings are very young since the destruction from the wars and the areas where the walls once stood are only finally being built back up again. Speaking of the walls, I was disappointed but then again couldn't blame the people, there is really almost nothing left of the Berlin wall and what is left now is protected by the government as a reminder of what once happened there.

We also decided to take a day trip outside of Berlin to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was completely heart breaking to see what is left of this camp to walk around it and to hear about the history of the camp. Although, I am honestly glad I did it. It was a complete educational experience and I really learned a lot. To be honest I have not one picture of the entire day. For those of you who know me and the almost 500 pictures I took over spring break it was an interesting thing for me not to take out my camera. I honestly felt the same as people who take pictures of Ground Zero in New York.

The last day in Berlin I wondered around the city on my own. I got to see the Olympic stadium where not only the Olympics took place but also the 2006 World Cup (the world famous head-butt) but more importantly Italys World Championship. I got to go into the Reichstag or the equivalent of the German congress and look down on the seats of their representatives. I also saw Check point Charlie although not the original, but more importantly next door the old cafe where Ian Fleming sat and wrote day after day spying on the spies and writing the Bond series!

Finally off to London!
First off it was a weird experience being in a country where everyone spoke English. In fact it was so weird we kept responding to people in Spanish. Who knows what I am going to do when I am back in the USA, at least in NY I can go to the supermarket and find someone to speak Spanish too! We did all the super touristy things, Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe, Harrods! ect. Since it has only been almost 6 months since I was last in London most of it was not new to me, but I have fun showing the city off to Mary who had never been there. My highlight of it all was Easter Sunday. I decided to go to church at Westminster Abbey. I will admit, I figured to see hats, all I found were tourists. I would also like to know where the hats on Easter idea came from, because the locals all thought it was weird when I asked about the Queens Easter hat. I will tell you I walked around all day on Sunday and saw no Easter bonnets. Sad I know.

So I am currently back in Spain there is only a month and a half left of my time here. Although I would have loved to see more of Europe and keep going my feet and legs are beyond glad to be back here and relax this weekend. This will be the first weekend in 5 straight weeks that I can sleep in and I am not traveling. As for pictures of this trip, I promise I will get them up soon enough, like I said I have about 500 from the past 10 days that I need to sort through and upload as well as pictures from Barcelona I still need to upload.

Adios for now!
-Erika