The Final Stretch

Today was our last day of classes at Universiteit Maastricht - tomorrow evening I'll be in Venice! I'll be backpacking along the coast of the Mediterranean for the next three weeks. I'd go into more detail, but seeing as I have to wake up in 4 hours I'm going to keep it short...

On the agenda:

1. Venice April 6-7
2. Zagreb, Croatia April 8
3. Split April 9-10
4. Dubrovnik April 11-12
5. Amalfi Coast, Italy April 13-14
6. Rome April 15
7. Florence April 16
8. Tuscany April 17
9. Cinque Terre April 18-19
10. Nice, France April 20-21
11. Barcelona, Spain April 21-23

Back to Maastricht on April 24th!

So all in all, I'm shooting for 11 cities in 20 days. Call me crazy, but I came to see all of Europe and I plan to do so. At least Western Europe... SO EXCITED!

I'll have limited internet access and probably will not post over the three weeks, but if you need to reach me, shoot me an e-mail!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Bonjour, Paris!

Paris – The lights! The crepes! The romance! Just a 4-hour train from Maastricht, the quick trip on Thursday gave us three full nights in one of my favorite cities yet.

Since this post is late, I’m going to hit you with the highlights and do my best to spare the details:

Thursday:

-       Eiffel tower at night. A sparkling light show happens every hour, on the hour. It was fantastic.

Posing with a local at Montmartre

Friday:

-      -  Morning was spent touring the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre for a panoramic view of Paris, and a quick picture by the Moulin Rouge windmill to pay homage to the movie.

-       - We made it to Notre Dame for a Friday afternoon Lent service (all in French… we didn’t think through that one), then a quick metro to Trocadéro, home of the Palais de Chaillot, a beautiful building that offers the best view of the Eiffel from its grass green hills. Dinner was a trademark French crepe, fresh off the press and complete with “poulet et fromage” – basically, a French quesadilla. We caught the even light show and walked around the Seine River and Eiffel area. It quickly became our favorite hang out in Paris.

Notre Dame

Saturday:

-       Breakfast at Café Angelina – “the only place to have a cup of hot chocolate,” according to Audrey Hepburn. It was decadent, to say the least.

-       The Louvre – Student i.d. means free entry! We stopped by to say hi to Mona… turns out she’s the strong, silent type so we left shortly thereafter.

Jardin des Tuileries

- Jardin des Tuileries – my favorite part about Paris was the greenery. This central garden, leading up to the entrance of the Louvre, was full of picnickers and children pushing sailboats around its many fountains. It was beautiful, I wanted nothing more than to stop and read a book in the grass and enjoy the flowers.

Jardin des Tuileries

-       Arc du Triomphe. The Arc marks the beginning of a walk down Champs-Elysees. The victory arc is a beautiful piece of architecture reflecting a sad bit of history for Napoleon. The highlight here was witnessing a proposal… precious.

-       We walked down Champs-Elysees to the metro, our final destination being the Eiffel Tower (Round 3? Why not.)

-      I’ve had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower on my mind for as long as I can remember. Overlooking the fountains at Trocadero as the sun set on the Eiffel Tower was absolute bliss. We purchased Brie, baguettes, and fresh fruit to go along with our cheap bottle of wine from a local market.

Another check off the bucket list

-        Climbing the Eiffel tower – SO much fun! A mere 1,665 steps brought us to the second tier of the Eiffel. From there, we took an elevator to the very top for incredible views, just as the evening lights began glimmering.

Top of the Eiffel with our new friends... ¡Hola, Ricardo y Angel!

-       Finally, we got crepes with some friends we met on the Eiffel, stopping to enjoy the masterpiece we had just conquered. At the Palais de Challot we caught a live musician doing renditions of U2 and Adele for a crowd, the Eiffel glowing in the background. Perfect end to a perfect day.

Front of Chateau de Versailles

Sunday: (yes, there is more. My apologies)

VERSAILLES! Ohhhh my, what a wonderful Sunday. With spring in the air, the gardens of Versailles were blooming with golden daffodils and begging for a stroll through the carefully constructed landscape. 

The property is absolutely extravagant. We were unable to tour the palace due to a time crunch and excessive crowds, but made up for it by paddle boating on the Grand Canal! The man-made lake is a central location for the tourists that come to Versailles – people were picnicking all across the lawns, bike riding through the many garden paths, and enjoying ice cream on the warm day. After our boat excursion, we had lunch on an outdoor terrace in the gardens. It was wonderful.

Paddle boating on the Grand Canal

All in all, the weekend in Paris exceeded expectations. Abundant sunshine made for great pictures, enjoy! 

Amsterdam

Amsterdam - Europe's own sin city. Day-tripping on Friday gave plenty of time to experience the heart of Dutch culture.

Our day was packed, starting with an outdoor market - vintage books, maps and records galore! A walk along the canal, lined with boats and Christmas lights, brought us [Hailey, Annaliese, Brady and I] to the Anne Frank House. The exhibit offered a whole new look at WWII and left me wanting to read her book again. She was so young - only thirteen - but wrote so well.

Boats and twinkle lights along the canal

Next up was the new Starbucks concept store, which recently popped up in design news. "Slow Coffee Theatre" is a brewing method that Starbucks is introducing, and Amsterdam is one of the pilot operations. My review: I want to move to the city so I can study in Starbucks 'The Bank' ALL DAY. It was wonderful, I think I'll design my future house interior after it. Lush, earthy, comfortable yet simple - well played, Starbucks, well played.

Inside Amsterdam's newest Starbucks

After dinner and coffee, the four of us tried our luck in a (less-than) classy casino. The language barrier made your basic slot machine seem like neuroscience... Needless to say, we split early.

Last up was the Red Light District. Walking through the dark but crowded street broke my heart. Depravity on both ends - the women and the men - who are involved in the scene. It felt empty and dark despite the droves of people, aimlessly searching for fulfillment in things that don't satisfy. Again, I learn a lot just from seeing different things like this so I was glad to have the opportunity, regardless of the ill-feeling it left me with.

Annaliese and I near the city center!

Amsterdam was my only trip this weekend! I caught up on sleep and (attempted to) chip away at the mound of work I've put off this semester. Let's just say I have a full two weeks ahead of me.

Click here for a short album! Excuse the poor quality, I left giganto-Canon at home this weekend.

Family Ties

Shout-out to my wonderful Grandpa on his birthday!!!

This one's for you:

From Johnny Cash sing-alongs through the New Mexico desert, to chili-making and birthdays at the cabin (let's not forget El Rancho). Sharing a mutual love for licorice and confronting purse smugglers in NYC - I could go on and on with memories. But what I most appreciate is all of the wisdom you share with me and your constant encouragement! I love you SO much and hope you feel blessed today.

Love,
Anna B.

P.S. - If you're going to go out and hoot with the owls tonight, you'd better be up to soar with the eagles tomorrow morning.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

No photoshop involved, I swear.

Arriving in Interlaken is like stepping into a postcard. The train into town winds around the crystal-clear lake at the base of the valley, framed by the huge peaks of the Swiss Alps... I guess you could say I'd be okay with building a summer home in Interlaken.

Fourteen of us stayed in the famous Balmer's Herberge in the center of Interlaken. Renown for outdoor sports like bungee jumping, skiing, zorbing and paragliding; the town has a youthful vibe in the best way possible.

Call me granola girl, but I'll proudly say that hiking is one of my favorite pastimes, and Interlaken doesn't disappoint. On Friday, we hiked up one of the mountain trails for a panoramic view of the valley. The weather was PERFECT - clear skies, sunshine, and just warm enough for t-shirts.

On Saturday, Katie, Brady and I hiked to a town called Lauterbrunnen. From there, we took the gondola up to a mountain summit (Murren, to be exact). A tram running from peak to peak allowed us to stop at the ski chalets and towns that dot the Alps. Words can't express how beautiful it is! I felt tiny beneath the mountain shadows.

The highlight of this trip for me was being refreshed in the mountains - that is always where I hear from the Lord. Hiking up to Lauterbrunnen, I suddenly became aware of His presence... How nature is a reflection of Him. It came to life as I started praying and thanking God for putting me there, just for that day. Psalm 36:9 kept running through my mind - "In your light, we see light." Another was Psalm 23, "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters.."

It's so cool (by cool, I mean humbling) to see scripture come alive. Moments of complete awareness of God's presence are rare, but when they DO happen there is nothing like it. There is nothing like having "full assurance of faith" (Heb 10:22) and "peace that passes all understanding"(Phil 4:7) - and then to realize that the Lord IS. That He IS the nature I am so drawn to, that everything is withheld in Him... it's incredibly difficult to communicate the feeling of His love. But I pray for anyone reading that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened to know the hope to which He has called you" (Eph 1:18). Because nothing in this world, no matter where you are or who you are with or what you do, will satisfy like the Lord satisfies. And that was confirmed for me this weekend! Praise Him.

Romans 1:20

Switzerland was absolutely wonderful -  beautiful train ride, fun people, stunning scenery... I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

Check out the pictures here!