May 13 - Budapest, Hungary

So I was originally planning on taking a 7:30 am train from Bled to Zagreb, Croatia for the day and then train from Zagreb to Budapest in the evening. However, I forgot to set an alarm and woke up at 8am, so... Yeah... Unfortunately for me, there aren't many trains that head to Zagreb from Bled, so by the time I would have gotten to Zagreb, I would need to leave for Budapest right away, so I decided to skip it and go straight to Budapest. The nice thing about this was I trained up to Vienna and then over to Budapest, so I got to ride through southern Austria, which is breathtaking! The mountains, hills, fields, and quaint towns are all just perfect! However, I really did want to see the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, which is an interesting, comical museum displaying objects and stories sent in by people who have had a bad breakup; for example, there was a woman whose boyfriend loved playing Frisbee golf and always ignored her to play it with his buddies. Well, when her birthday came around and he bought her a Frisbee, she dumped him and sent it into the museum, haha.

Well, when I got into Budapest, I met up with my friend Simon, whose place I was crashing at for a couple nights. We went to a couple Ruin Pubs, which are old buildings that are repurposed as a bar. The original one, which we went to, has bunch of random junk everywhere for artwork and decoration, which is hilarious, ingenuous, and a little weird all at the same time. Nonetheless, they were very fun and are something I actually think would go over quite well in the US!

May 12 - Bled, Slovenia

Lesce Bled
Lake Bled, while isn't that big, is gorgeous! Bled is probably one of the most naturally beautiful places I've ever been! There's an island that's on this lake, which is the only island in all of Slovenia! Turns out, all islands off the coast of Slovenia belong to Croatia! Walking around the lake is very serene and picturesque. Every picture you take is postcard quality! Oh, how I wanted to go swimming in the lake...

Bled Castle
Overlook the lake, there is a castle on a hill that is just over 1000 years old. It's not a huge castle, but it is quaint and the view of the surrounding area is impressive.

Blejski Vintgar
To get to the park to see the Vintgar Gorge, it was a few kilometers walk, but the entire trip was amazing because of the scenery! Mountains, fields, quaint houses and farmettes, Bled Castle...breathtaking. Then you get to the Gorge, and pardon the pun, but it is truthfully gorgeous! The hike through the gorge is so relaxing. The water surging through the different obstacles is entrancing. I could hike this daily and still be in awe every day. This was a top experience for my trip so far, that's for sure!

Bled was so different from everything I have seen so far. The town is very quaint, the people are amazing and helpful, the scenery leaves you speechless... It's honestly a hidden gem and a place I will return to in the future! I NEED to go back to go sky diving, hike through more of the park, and just breath in the beauty and fresh air! On the train into Bled, I even met another traveler who I walked around the lake and had breakfast with before we parted ways. Ironically, his name is also Nate! Meeting other travelers makes me want to just keep traveling the world and not go back to reality because this is like a dream. There are days I miss friends, family, my dog, and even food from the US, but if life is truly measured not by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away, then I have lived more this spring than I have my entire life!

May 10 - Ercolano, Pompeii, and Capri, Italy

ERCOLANO
If you're heading to Pompeii, stop by Ercolano, which is Italian for Herculaneum. Said to have been founded by Hercules himself, this city was also devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. However, both cities were devastated in different ways due to the direction of the wind that day. After the eruption, Herculaneum only had a few inches of ash fall on them, causing some to think it would be better off to wait it out than to try and flee. However, after it was all said and done, 17 meters of ash and gas had buried the city. When archeologists were excavating the city, they barely found any bodies, so they believed the town members had all fled to safety. However, while excavating where the beach used to be, they found the remains from around 300 bodies, so it is believed they tried to flee to the sea, but realized they were trapped, so they tried to wait it out in the boat houses. Unfortunately, the superheated pyroclastic material that hit the city at high speeds was hundreds of degrees and burned all their skin, muscles, etc off their bones rather quickly. So, if they hadn't already died from asphyxiation from the toxic gases, they most definitely died then!

While there is a decent site visible to tourists, 3/4 of the city is still buried underneath the modern city of Ercolano. Ironically, the buildings surrounding the site in the city look about as worn down as the ones in Herculaneum! This is due to two reasons: due to the manner Herculaneum was buried, roof tops, building beams, beds, doors, and even food were preserved; many of the buildings are almost completely intact. The second reason is that the "modern" city is quite run down and in a poor area.

Visiting Herculaneum was neat because it shows more of what Roman life was like since it wasn't half as badly destroyed. You still get the eerie feeling Pompeii gives you, but it helps to visualize more about their life before you see the vastness of Pompeii.

POMPEII
Unlike Herculaneum, several meters of ash and rock fell onto the city after the eruption because the winds that day were heading in the direction of Pompeii, knocking down roofs and causing a lot of destruction. Then, when the high winds of gas and ash came, several of the upper structures were knocked down. The eruption occurred on August 24, 79 AD, just one day after Vulcanalia, the festival of the Roman god of fire (including that from volcanoes); ironic, eh?

Interestingly enough, in the Roman empire, phallic symbols were considered good luck, (something related to procreation and fertility) so they were placed randomly on the outsides of buildings as decoration. Try explaining to your children who are visiting that one... In addition, if your kids can read Latin, there is a bunch of graffiti carved into the walls in Latin, which helped historians learn more about colloquial Latin versus proper Latin that can be viewed in texts from writers.

There was also a brothel in Pompeii with a menu for customers (paintings of different positions). A normal bed in a house was made of wood and metal, but the beds in the brothel are made of rocks like walls so they wouldn't break. Crazy, huh?

Overall, it was an amazing experience to see the once lost city. It makes me wonder where mankind would be today if certain events occurred differently. At this point in history, running water, the arts, etc were all in full swing. Architectural and some "technological" advancements had taken place. At this point in time with the Roman Empire, even women were starting to have more rights within society. Nakedness wasn't a problem, and people were very comfortable with their bodies and seeing others naked. Even gay culture was popular; two men or two women having sex with each other was a form of pleasure, and older men would have sex with younger men to teach them the ropes. So many issues we still are facing today were essentially not a problem then. (Though, that's not to say they didn't have their fair share of issues!) Then, due to a few unforeseeable events, everything was lost and it took centuries for society to get back on track.

CAPRI
While I only got to spend a couple hours on the island because Herculaneum and Pompeii ate up a large portion of my day, it was totally worth it to be able to relax and just enjoy the waves of the sea. On the ferry ride back, I even made some canine friends! I just wish I could have had more time there to go hiking around the island and take a boat tour of the blue grotto.

May 9 - Naples, Italy

Via San Gregorio Armeno
So on this street, it's Christmas all year round. That may sound amazing to all you Christmas lovers, but it's not like US Christmas with Santa and presents. Instead, here you can find traditional decorations from the area, which are like small nativity scene-type decorations; some of them are religious scenes from the bible set in Naples, though others are just scenes depicting locals in their natural habitat. You'll also see depictions of a white man wearing a white smock, white floppy hat, and a black mask; this character is Pulcinella, who is a character from the Commedia dell'Arte. His wise but nonsensical jester-like character is the stereotypical citizen from Naples. Ironically, after he became their sort of mascot, the citizens did become more like his personality!

Duomo
When you are walking along the street that this cathedral is on, all the surrounding buildings are kind if run down...and then the plaza in front of the cathedral opens up and you see this big, beautiful building that has actually had a little TLC over the years, and it is jaw-dropping and actually seems out of place. The inside is equally as beautiful, though it's undergoing some restoration. You can definitely tell it's not in its prime anymore, but it's a lovely cathedral nonetheless.

Napoli Sotterranea
If you fancy going underground where you feel like someone has been conducting secret experiments creating monsters that take villagers randomly and kill them, this is the attraction for you! No, but seriously, it is really creepy; maybe I've just seen too much Supernatural, Stargate Universe, etc though? Well, anywho, there are tunnels that run underneath Naples (and several other villages in southern Italy) that were originally an aqueduct system built by the Greeks and expanded by the Romans to deliver water to all their cities from the mountains. After being functional aqueducts for hundreds of years, they were sealed off and converted into bomb shelters for World War II. Interestingly enough, with the help of this bomb shelter system and the strong will of the Napoleon people, the citizens liberated themselves from the Nazis using basic weapons against their organized military in 4 days in 1943, 2 years before the war ended; Naples is considered the first antifascist city of Italy because of this.

Ampiteatro
Naples used to have a large Greek theater in it. However, thanks to the government's decree that the city couldn't expand outside the designated city walls coupled with a rise in population, more housing was needed, and the only way to build more was either to tear down nonessential buildings to build more apartments or to build up. Well, they started to build their buildings taller, but when that wasn't enough, they decided to repurposed their amphitheater into apartments. However, they utilized as much of the existing structure as they could. For this reason, you can still see parts of the old amphitheater, and some of the apartments even have access to the old area that used to be under the stage where the actors would hang out. Neat, huh? Another interesting fact is that there was a royal who liked to perform, and he would lock spectators in and force them to clap and cheer him on. Well, during one of his performances, an earthquake struck, but he refused to let anyone leave, claiming it was the gods clapping for his great performance. Well, due to the manner it was constructed, which included the first seismic protective techniques, the amphitheater didn't fall down and everyone was actually more safe in there than their own homes! Pretty crazy, eh?

Santa Chiara
This church and monastery has quite an interesting history. Well, more recently at least. During WWII, it was bombed and much of the church burned. The entire roof with its intricately painted ceiling was destroyed, as well as all the paintings on the inside. However, the rest of the structure remained, so they cleaned it up, put a new roof on it, and it's now operational again. That's one thing we take for granted in the US: while we fought in the World Wars and many soldiers lost their lives, we didn't have the war reach our country. Many priceless buildings and works of art in Europe were completely destroyed during he wars. What an incredibly saddening loss. Oh, I also walked in on a wedding here too... #WeddingCrasher.

Gesú Nuovo
Based on the exterior of this building, you wouldn't suspect that it is a church on the inside. That is because it used to be a mansion for a rich family. Since then, it had been converted into a gorgeous church with inspiring paintings and works of art. Yet another amazing church with a curious history!

Santa Anna di Lombardi
This church (yes, I know...I have visited more churches than I think I've been to in my entire life!) is a bit tucked away and more of a homey church. It's not adorned with gold or frescos every which way you look, but it's simplicity is part of its elegance.

Castel Nuovo
I didn't tour this castle, I just visited it, but it's pretty legit and is on the seaside. It's from the 13th century and was ordered to be constructed when the capitol of the Kingdom of Naples moved from Palermo to Naples. Several historical events took place within the castle, including the resignation of a Pope and election of a new Pope!

Piazza Plebiscito
This large plaza is adorned with a grand building from the early 19th century. In the center, there is a church that is modled after the Pantheon in Rome. Stretching out on either side are colonnades, similar to those found in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. It's quite impressive and beautiful, though interesting how the two different structures were blended together. The extensive plaza allows visitors to thoroughly enjoy the magnitude and grandeur of the building. The plaza has also held concerts over the years to artist such as Elton John, Maroon 5, and Muse.

Castel dell'Ovo
While I didn't visit nor tour this castle, I did see it and it does have an interesting story I'd like to share. Legend has it the location where this castle is is where the siren Partenope washed ashore after plunging herself into the sea after she failed to lure Ulysses to his demise. This is also where got her first name: Partenope.

Metro Toledo
Supposedly this is one of the most beautiful metro stops in the world. From the moment you descend into the station, there are grand mosaics on the wall. Every part of the station is decorated. It's a wonder there hasn't been much (if any) graffiti on the art!

Naples is an interesting city to visit. It was once the best city in all of Europe, but has fallen very far. After a huge factory was relocated to northern Italy and 10,000 people lost their jobs in one day, it kind of crashed their economy. Because of this, the city has kind if crumbled a little. The old part of the city has plaster missing from a lot of the buildings, there is a serious need for some upkeep and paint jobs, the streets are filthy and need to have garbage picked up and some sweeping done, etc. You kind of feel like you're walking into a 2nd or 3rd world country, to be honest. It is kind of hard though; the buildings are all 700+ years old. My hostel in Naples wasn't like most hostels; this is because it is actually the home of a man, Giovanni, who has converted it into his business. It allows him to meet people from all over the world, share some of Naples' history and hidden treasures (as well as some homemade Italian food on occasion), and he loves doing it. It's kind of an ingenious business model if you love meeting new people and don't mind opening up your home!

May 8 - Vatican City, Vatican and Rome, Italy

VATICAN
Musei Vatican
So, turns out the entrance to the museum is actually on the right side of the Vatican from St. Peter's Square, not the left. And if you try to enter through that gate, the guards don't particularly like you. In fact, they are quite rude... Good thing I showed up early! Also, good thing I bought a ticket online, because there were several hundred people waiting in line just to buy their ticket, which I was able to bypass completely! The museum is a large collection of paintings, sculptures, fountains, pottery, tapestries, etc. There are several pieces within the museum that are quite impressive. Of course, everyone wants to speed through the museum to just get to the Sistine Chapel, but I decided I wanted to check out everything the museum had to offer.

Cappella Sistina
Toward the end of the tour route is the Sistine Chapel. I overheard a gentleman saying how the moment is almost ruined because of the sheer amount of tourists packed into the room, which is actually kind if true. It would be a phenomenal to have the opportunity to go in there after hours and enjoy the various paintings in complete serenity. It Is indeed very impressive though with everything looking so 3D, even though it's just a 2D painting!

Piazza San Pietro
This large plaza can hold several thousand people during when the Pope gives speeches, etc. It's very cool to see with all the pillars surrounding it, the entrance between Rome and the Vatican.

Basilica di San Pietro
This is the largest church in the world. And woah, it is beautiful and quite impressive to see. It's free to enter, though you have to wait in a line and go through security to enter. The intricate detail of every square inch is actually quite ridiculous. One interesting aspect is you can go below the church and see the crypts of several of the previous Popes over the last 2000 years.

As a Catholic, visiting the Vatican is a wonderful journey for me to have taken. I can't imagine it has quite as much effect on those who either don't believe in God or believe in some other deity. It would have been neat to have been in the Vatican when the Pope was speaking, especially since I really enjoy this Pope and his thoughts. The direction the Catholic church has taken since he took the reins has given me hope again for Catholicism; it seems like we are finally, at least to some degree, catching up with society. It actually shocks me how against LGBTQ rights the Catholic church has been throughout history considering there are literally hundreds of naked men in the paintings and sculptures throughout the Vatican!

ROME
Campo do Fiori
So this plaza used to be a flower field, hence its name. The majority of the plaza has never had a building on it. Instead, it has been a place of trade, largely for fruits, vegetables, and fish. There has been a market there every morning for over 150 years. In the afternoons, kids gather there to play soccer, and at night it's full of people meeting up and having a good time. Ages ago, this plaza was also used for public burnings at the stake of people. In the center of the plaza, there's a statue of Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive for heresy in the year 1600. Quite the multi-utilization, eh?

Larga Argentina
While this is indeed where Cesar was assassinated, now it's a cat sanctuary. Yup, a famous landmark has been converted into a cat playground. It's kind if ingenious, really to use it when it otherwise would just be sitting empty. Interesting though...

Piazza del Popolo
The Plaza of the People is a giant plaza in Rome with a central fountain. It's themed in Egyptian and is interesting to see. However, if you climb the stairs up to the park, you'll find a great view of the city and it's skyline. You'll also find couples making out, friends passing the time, others drinking, some street band performers, dogs playing with each other, and more...

I honestly thought that Rome would be kind of run down and just full of ruins, so I was surprised when I saw it is decently modern and the old has been blended well with the new(er). In addition, the city is pretty well kept up and enjoyable to visit.

One genius aspect of the city is there are water fountains all throughout the city that have water running non-stop, and it's all drinkable water, so if you carry a water bottle with you, you can just fill it up throughout the day and it's easy to stay hydrated! The only thing that is weird to me is that they run all the time. I wonder what happens to the water that isn't consumed. Where does it go?

Shout out to my fraternity brother, Josh Meyer, for giving me pointers on what to do since he studied abroad in Rome last fall! I definitely enjoyed your city!

May 11 - Venice, Italy

Ponte di Rialto
This bridge kind of reminded me of a bridge in Florence because there are shops on it and lookout points in the center, albeit this bridge is much smaller than the one in Florence! Also, they are doing some restoration, so you can't fully enjoy the architecture.

Scala Contarini del Bovolo
While checking out this staircase on the back side of a building, a tourist group was entering the plaza to make a stop and adore the architecture. As a lady first saw it, she gasped in awe, so apparently it's pretty beautiful! The staircase is designed in the same style as the leaning tower of Pisa and was meant to be a servant's staircase. Who knew...

Basilica di San Marco
Saint Mark's Basilica is a beautiful basilica. At first sight, it kind of reminded me of the Taj Mahal, which I found precarious. The exterior is adorned with intricate and priceless mosaics. The inside also had mosaics and paintings on the ceilings. There is a great deal of gold paint in the design too. One thing I found interesting is it doesn't have pews, but removable instead chairs. Nevertheless, it's a unique church that's worth visiting!

Campanile di San Marco
This tower sends you almost 100 meters above the city and offers some pretty incredible views of the surrounding buildings, canals, and sea. The skyline of Venice is very picturesque. It's also a great place to go to cool down!

Piazza San Marco
Saint Mark's Plaza huge and is surrounded by a huge three story building with columns all around it. It's a nice hangout spot to enjoy the mosaics on the outside of the church and to people watch! If you're lucky, there may even be a college choir rehearsing in the plaza for their performance inside the basilica!

I've had several travelers tell me that one day is more than enough to spend in Venice and that I should be glad that's all I was there for. I actually found it quite relaxing though. The canals are gorgeous, and the sea is equally beautiful. If you're lucky, you'll even see a cruise ship bring taxied into the harbor! Granted is fairly touristy, but it's very clean and picturesque, which is more than I can say about some other cities I've visited! On top of that, it is beautiful in different ways at night versus during the day. I would definitely like to come back and spend more time here, though I think I'll wait until I have a special someone who I can take a gondola ride with!

May 6 - Florence, Italy

Accademia Gallery
The David. What else is there to say? I mean, to say I went there to see the other sculptures and paintings would be a lie. What an impressive work of art! Any artist understands how hard certain parts of the human body are to get right, and dear Lord, his hands are perfect! Very strong and protective. There are several other parts of his body I'd point out too, but I think you all can figure those out for yourself. I just hope I look that good when I'm 511 years old!

Piazza della Signoria
This plaza is home to many famous pieces of art. There's a Fountain of Neptune, Hercules and Cacus, a replica of the David (this is where the original one was until they moved it to protect it from vandalism), as well as several other replicas of statues that are now in museums in the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Palazzo Vecchio Tower
While I wanted to tour the inside of the building and tower, I couldn't because it was closed because filming was taking place inside for the movie "Inferno" starring Tom Hanks, based off the Dan Brown book. While I've read the series and like them, I thought the movies didn't quite live up to the book. Maybe this one will be better? Or I will like it more because I was present at part of the filming? I guess I will have to wait until it comes out next year to see!

Bardini Garden
This pretty neat garden is on a hill behind a palace, so that's kinda cool. It's full of marble sculptures and even has a pool in it, though it's not for swimming. To top it off, the top point is high up, so you can get some amazing views of the city.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The outside of this cathedral is quite grand and it is an incredibly huge, so one would imagine the inside is probably quite impressive. Well, indeed it is. I absolutely loved the inside because it is in such pristine condition! Plus, I loved the simplicity of it; part of the walls are painted white and part are stone, the dome is beautifully painted and in great condition, plus there isn't a bunch of extra touristy "crap" inside like some other cathedrals I've visited. While I maintain that the basilica in Madrid is the most breath takingly beautiful church I've ever been to, the elegance and simplicity of this one coupled with the amazing dome makes it a close second. However, instead of going in, touring it, and taking pictures, I decided to skip waiting in line and paying for a visit in favor of going to mass. As if English, Spanish, and French masses weren't enough for me, Italian had to sneak in there! It was honestly one of the coolest experiences ever! It amazes me the differences between European and US mass. Maybe it's because I've been a part of small parishes where the priest knows everyone. Maybe it's because of how intermingled religion and politics are in the US. Maybe it's because it was in Italian (though I could make out probably 25% of what he was saying because of the similarities to Spanish). Either way, it seemed to be more of what mass should be. And I loved it.

Florence is a lovely city and is one of my favorites so far in Europe. The city is very clean and isn't run down, easy to navigate, the mountains in the distance are lovely, the sculptures everywhere are striking, and everything just seems perfect. I would definitely love to return or maybe even live in Florence.