Submitted by Kaitlyn McConeghy on the 2018 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
This weekend was 30 hours on a bus, three cities, two countries, and an awesome experience. My friends and I got the chance to see Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg this weekend, and each city made the crazy bus ride worth it in its own way. Surface-level, each city was absolutely stunning. But deeper than that, this weekend made me think a lot about the way we travel, and how you can even begin to capture a city in one day or one weekend.
In every city, we did the “must-see attractions”: the Széchnyi Baths in Budapest, the Opera House in Vienna, the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, but some of the coolest things we did were further off the beaten path. We took a walking tour of Budapest with local Hungarian guides and learned more about post-communist culture in Hungary and we realized that Salzburg has a little lock bridge like the one in Paris. I’ve come to realize that it’s impossible to explore all of a city in one day, but I’ve also learned that one of the best ways to really get the pulse of its culture is to venture beyond the main tourist attractions. This weekend was a really amazing opportunity not only to see three major cities, but also to reflect on the way I travel now, and the way I hope to in the future.
