Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Ljublijana! (The capital of Slovenia). It’s been a little while since I gave a general where-in-the-world-is-Janet update. So here we go. 

After a few days in Madrid, I spent ten wonderful days in Portugal. Then I caught a flight from Porto to Edinburgh. I had more fun in Scotland, kindly hosted by Rod & Charlene. After, I flew back to Spain for a closer look at Barcelona and to bid farewell to Laura and Thomas. From Barcelona, I took a 25-hour train journey to Prague where I met up with a friend from college, Akrish. I have since continued through the other great cities of former Hapsburg rule: catching the trains from Prague to Vienna to Budapest. My next big stop is Italy, but I am spending a couple nights in Slovenia to break up the long train ride from Budapest. 

I absolutely adored Portugal. I only wish I had more time to visit, especially more time to visit the countryside and smaller towns. As it was, I fit in a lot in just under two weeks. I began my time in Sintra, a town west of Lisbon. I came for the majestic castles and gardens, only to find upon arrival that a forest fire threat had closed most of the monuments. Luckily the National Palace, situated in the middle of the historical center, was still open. (Not enough forest to burn there). Visiting the palace launched an obsession that would carry me throughout my time in Portugal: starring at the ceiling and marveling over tile work on the walls. Seriously, every room had an amazing painted ceiling. And tiles, tiles, everywhere. It was decorative arts heaven.

Finding most of the monuments closed, I ended up exploring a super-touristy town in some non-touristy ways. I got a lot of good drawing in. This led to some good conversations and lots of wandering around and taking in the details. I even took a bus out to the westernmost point in Europe, Cabo do Roca.

From Sintra, I passed through the Lisbon train station again but I had another stop before exploring the capital. I wanted to see the Algarve coast with its famed wind carved cliffs and rocks. I booked the cheapest accommodation I could find, excited just to be near the water again. 

However, I realized a little later, that the accommodation put me about eight kilometers away from the shore in a random little town. The town’s main function seemed to be a place to change rail lines. The vibe of the accommodation was weird to say the least. (I’ll give you a full description if you ask). And, public transport in southern Portugal was either non existent or very confusing. In sum, I had put myself in a pickle. A pickle far away from the sea.

But, out of my pickle, I created one of my favorite days with the help of a rented bikel. Bike Sul rented me a bike and  set up a GPS devices with a bike-friendly route that hit all the big sites in the area. I spent a day riding 45 kilometers through olive groves, little towns with wonderful chimneys, coastal boardwalks, active little port towns, next to cliffs that waves and wind had formed into wonderful shapes, and back up the hills. It was beautiful. And it felt great to get myself to all these beautiful spots with my own two legs. 

I put visiting the Algarve coast again — biking some more, but also staying closer to the ocean —  high on my list of future trips.

I arrived in Lisbon the following afternoon and by the evening was out with a couple of girls from my dorm, exploring in the LX Factory and seeing the Belem Tower at night. I loved the energy and character of Lisbon. The city felt distinctive, rich in history, but also very lived in. The growing tourism has not sanitized or over simplified the character; it’s still very much itself and people are living their lives there and making it their own.

My time in Lisbon was a wonderful balance of breakfasts with new friends (including lots of pasteis de nata), walking around the city, making art, and visiting museums during the day, and nights out with friends from the hostel.

From Lisbon, I took the train to Porto, enjoying the view out the window as always. In Porto I once again lucked out with my dorm mates. I met a girl, Vio, who’d just gotten off the same train as me and after chatting a bit while we unpacked we went to see the city and find some food. There’s something totally wonderful about seeing a city for the first time at night. All the big monuments are lit up but empty of the crowds. Every corner holds something intriguing around the bend. When people appear they bring this burst of energy and light on to the scene. We had a great couple of nights running around the city together. And of course, since we were in Porto, we drank some port by the port. 

After a couple of days in Porto, I flew to Edinburgh. I stayed with Rod and Charlene (my flatmates from Martinique). Edinburgh felt very cozy and comfortable. It was a treat to pass time with friends, wander around pretty streets, peruse bookstores, and visit nice coffee shops. I even got to see Maria, a friend from global citizen year. We literally bumped into each other in the middle of the street. One of life’s beautiful blessed moments. 🙂

Charlene had a couple days off work while I was in Scotland, so the three of us were able to take some long drives through the highlands. The landscapes were stunning — vast green hills, sparkling lakes, and deep forests. We experienced an unbelievable red sunset in Glen Coe. Once again, I got a little taste for a country I’d love to come back to.  

Next, I flew to the Barcelona airport once again. Thomas and I — now no longer sick, thank goodness — were meeting back up with Laura for one last hooray in Costa Brava. We spent a day hiking along the northern coast, including on a path Salvador Dalí enjoyed for it’s animal-like rock formations. Thomas and I parted ways at the end of this day. He was off to take a bus from southern France all the way to Istanbul where he’ll start an ERASMUS semester. (He made it). After a quick cry, I made my way to the Dalí theater and museum — essentially a giant surrealist art piece that Salvador Dalí made as his masterpiece.  

I spent the next few days in the city of Barcelona. Laura had some time off work, so we were able to visit a lot of the city together. Visiting the Gaudí buildings were the big highlight for me. I saw the Sagrada Familia (including climbing one of the towers), Casa Mile – La Peredera, and Park Guëll. All of which were lovely, but the Sagrada Familia is truly awe inspiring. I was wandering around neck strained upwards, jaw dropped, stunned. The colors of the stain glass were incredible! 

My experience of Barcelona was soured by having my wallet stolen on my second to last night. Luckily, I had a friend to call while I was freaking out. Laura came back to help me out. I still had my passport and phone — so although feeling violated and really upset, I wasn’t totally stuck. After canceling my cards and having a big cry, she sent me off to bed. So my last day was a morning visit to Park Guël (already bought my tickets) followed by a long afternoon reporting to the police. At the station, I was in a factory-like queue of other people making reports for stolen stuff. The pickpockets in Barcelona are true professionals. (Nearly every person I’ve mentioned this to since has described their own or their friends experience of being robbed in Barcelona. So I’m in good — or at least large — company). We rounded off the day with ice cream, which always makes everything better.

The following day, I started my 25-hour train journey to Prague. I had lots of time to watch the scenery fly by, read my books, write, think, and do nothing. It was excellent. I had a sleeper car from Zurich to Prague and shared the room with two nice women from Prague, who were both living in Zurich but had to go back to Prague for some professional exams. One of the women basically took me under her wing and guided me through the metro to within a couple blocks of my airbnb.

In Prague, I met up with Akrish, a friend from Reed. Prague was nice, but I didn’t fall in love with it. The views from the bridges were beautiful and there was plenty of weird and fun architecture. Pretty walks, the astrological clock, and seeing original Alphonse Mucha prints and sketches were definitely the highlights And of course, catching up with my friend. 

I did fall totally in love with Vienna, my stop after Prague. I arrived in the late afternoon and spent the evening getting dinner and wandering around. I was blown away by St Stephen’s Cathedral. I was just walking down a busy shopping street and suddenly this massive building is looming above me. I love the wildness and intricacy of gothic cathedrals — and this one in particular did something with the arches to really increase the sense of verticality. All of Vienna felt much more alive and vibrant than Prague did. The few days I spent there were filled with art, coffeehouses, walkable bright streets, and some excellent walking tours. Visiting Vienna again and seeing more of the Austrian countryside is high on my list. 

I arrived next in Budapest — in the rain and the cold. But I lucked out with a friendly and social hostel. I arrived to check in during the shift-change time and so was given a free beer while I waited for them to be ready for new check ins. There were enough nice people to chat to that I didn’t do my usual nighttime visit to the new city. (Free beer leads to friendly chats.) I started off the next day with an audio guided walking tour — basically a podcast and a gps route to follow. The tour was well done but I essentially walked through a windy, rainy city alone while learning about how Hungary was shaped by the horrors of the 20th century. I learned a lot but I was quite drained by the end of the day. But the hostel held a dinner that night so I had some more good chats. 

The next day was sunnier and I had a lighter, more fun day. I went with a couple of folks from the hostel to visit the Buda castle (we were staying on the Pest side of the city, so we crossed the Danube). They both had to catch trains that afternoon, so after a yummy lunch, we parted ways. I went back up to the castle to visit the Hungarian National Gallery. The architecture of the national gallery is great, modern design with high quality materials and beautiful wide staircases, fantastic lights. It was fascinating to see the permanent collection because it covered periods of art history I know quite well, but which I’ve never seen a Hungarian piece of art for. For example, there were all these examples of 19th century history paintings, but they were telling stories I had never heard before. I ended the day with a visit to the famed baths. They were very relaxing and just kind of fun to explore.

After Budapest, I went on to Ljubljana. This city is almost like a set design for a typical pretty European river city. Lots of nice buildings, happy people zipping by on bikes, a big central market, and the whole thing nestled among some beautiful mountains. I ended up here just because of train routes. But if I had endless time and money I would enjoy spending more time here. As it is, due to walking in the rain, forgetting my mask for a day with a lot of public transport, and going to the baths at night, I caught a cold from Budapest. Luckily I am not as sick as I was in Spain. It seems to be a regular — albeit gross — runny nose and fatigue. I’ve mostly rested and done a bit of walking around while here.

Well there’s an overview of the last few weeks. There’s been some challenging moments during the trip— but also enough perfect days that I know I will soon be deeply nostalgic for this time. I know it’s a long letter, so thanks for reading if you made it this far. 🙂

 My next stage is Italy! I’m actually finishing this letter on the train to Trieste. I can’t wait! I’m hoping the cold will fade soon so I can make the most of the part of the trip I’ve most been looking forward to. And even if it doesn’t fade I’ll still make the most of Italy and just be exhausted back in the States. 🙂

Ciao!

Janet