And the journey continues...

Wow... so much has happened in the past 2 weeks that I haven't had time to sit down and write!  I shall start at the beginning.  After my week in the Czech Republic with my aunt, I ventured back into Germany for a weekend in Munich.  Nothing too remarkable happened here, although I really like the city a lot.  I met a guy on the street doing some kind of survey, and when he found out I was American, he said, "Oh, I love America! I want to go to New York and I listen all the time to hip hop!"  He seemed really confused when I tried to explain that New York was great, but he should see more than just that if he came to America.  I tried to tell him that saying New York is "America," is like saying Paris is "Europe."  Sure, it gives you a good idea of the place and it's a great city to visit, but there's so much more to our country than just New York City.  And he was extremely appalled when I told him I don't even particularly like hip hop.  "But you're American!" he said... And I laughed and said, "Yes, but not every American listens to hip hop and lives in a big city."  Do you see sometimes how stereotypes can be dangerous things? It was actually quite amusing to hear what he thought about our country, because so many people have commented to me on things that they see in the movies or on American television, but aren't necessarily true.  It's also helped me remember to keep an open mind about the places I've been going, and not just rely on a few stereotypical things that I've heard.
   Anyways, while in Munich, I took a day trip to Fussen to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, the one that that was the inspiration for the Disneyland Castle!  Very cool, to say the least, but unfortunately it was so foggy that you couldn't see it until you got right up next to it.

The view you are supposed to see

The view I saw :)

Nevertheless, the castle was definitely worth the journey, and on the way back down to the village, I met Mauricio and Jimena from Uruguay, and we tromped through the snow back to Munich and rewarded ourselves with a burger party at McDonalds!

Alps

        After Munich, it was off to Austria with Salzburg as the first stop.  I had the Sound of Music soundtrack on repeat in my head for a few days, and I roamed around the city to learn all about Mozart and see his two homes.  But by far the most exhilarating thing I think I've done on this trip so far was to take a cable car up to the top of the Alps.  Once again, it was super foggy, so we passed through a cloud on the way up, and then the worker guy just left me there alone on the top of the mountain... So I started walking.  It's hard to describe the feeling I had, but I guess a good word might be awestruck.  All I could hear was the wind, the snow was up to my knees, and I was surrounded by clouds and mountains.  Completely and utterly amazing :)

    That night in the hostel, I had another cool traveler's moment, when I went down to the bar and ended up sitting with a group of 11 people.  All of us were traveling alone, we were representing 10 different countries and 6 different languages.  Yet we all had the common bond of travel and a story about where we came from, where we were going next, and an innate desire to experience the world.  Better yet, we all understood each other, and I realized that while traveling, it's so easy to make lifelong friends in just a few short hours.  I know that sounds cheesy, but I've met so many cool people over the past month or so that have offered to let me stay with them when I come to Brazil or Dubai or Australia, and I've offered the same, and I really do mean it.  The people I've met understand quitting your job to travel or spending every last cent you have on a trip, and with almost everyone I meet, there is just an instant measure of respect.. like a backpacker's code or something :)

Hallstatt

        After Salzburg, I went by bus to Hallstatt, a gem of a village nestled away in the Alps.  I showed up, perhaps stupidly, without booking a hostel and no idea where to go.  A kind hotel receptionist pointed me to the only hostel in town, but after a thorough search of the whole place, I couldn't find a single soul.  So I stashed my suitcase under a table and went exploring.  The town was just so beautiful and quiet, although I was a little annoyed when I walked into the only open shop and heard, "the DJ got us fallin in love again!!"  Really, America? Do you have to spoil everything? :) Other than that, the town was just absolutely adorable.  Upon return to the hostel three hours later, I still couldn't find anyone... so I got on a ferry, crossed the lake, and hopped on a train to Vienna.  I love how relatively easy things are here.  

      Vienna was.. alright.  There was nothing particularly wrong with it... I just wasn't blown away with it as much as I've been with other places.  Most cities I visit, I instantly love, but Vienna to me was just kind of... meh. Regardless, I met Rebecca from Tasmania and Yukiko from Japan, and we took the grand tour of Schonbrunn Palace, which was gorgeous.  Then we came back and watched Eurotrip in preparation for my daytrip to Bratislava!  And of course, Bratislava was absolutely nothing like the movie :)  In fact, I think I liked it even more than Vienna.  The city just seems so... unexploited as compared to places like Prague and Vienna.  There weren't a million souvenir shops and people trying to sell you tours.. it was just normal people going about their normal day.. a nice change of pace for me.  But I must say I chuckled to myself when I was standing outside a cafe reading the menu, when a guy in a tuxedo opened the door for me and led me to a super fancy restaurant, where I ordered pasta and wine.  Total price? 7 euros!  Other than Slovakia's cheap food, nothing else resembled Eurotrip at all.  That night I went back to Vienna and saw a hauntingly awesome performance of the Mozart Requiem in one of the cathedrals.
   And then, it was off to Hungary for the weekend.  But I've already written a lot, so for now I'll leave it at that!