An American in Tunis (and Around)

👣It's been an unreal 10 days with this travel bud. Until next time 🇲🇾 #malaysia #kualalumpur #melaka #penang #langkawi

My ten hour layover in Oslo began with a drowsy wakeup from my flight nap, head still Ibiza-cloudy, and no knowledge about the city. It was me traveling alone since it was just two of us in Ibiza, and my friend went to London today. But, clueless in Scandinavia is easier than clueless in most places. Of course it was easy to navigate the express airport train. The city is impeccably clean and calm, even compared to Copenhagen. I've missed getting to know cities, since the last two weeks of Mykonos, Mallorca, and Ibiza were more about epicurean exploration. It was exactly what my ringing ears and sore legs needed after four consecutive days/nights of nonstop DJs and dancing. Before arriving in Oslo, I thought I was travelled out, but it turns out I still have more in me, even though I only had four hours of sleep on my red eye flight beforehand. I had enough time to walk around the main areas in the city: the harbor, fortresses, shopping, and big museums, passing sculptures, lush greenery, and outdoor jazz throughout the way. The crisp air and breeze and stop in a quirky café gave me the energy to walk for hours, with a few breaks sitting in the many parks. I think I saw all of the main sites, but it would have been nice to have a full day there to get more than just a taste. These Nordic cities seem to do everything perfectly, from cleanliness to gender equality to architecture. My favorite part of my peek into Norway, though, was the National Art Museum. The permanent gallery is organized chronologically, with mostly Scandinavian/Norwegian and exclusively European artists from Ancient Greece to the 20th century. Most interesting and special were the Norwegian modern paintings, and the gallery notably holds famous Munch pieces, including "The Scream." With almost a full room dedicated to the artist, it was a good opportunity to compare the works of an artist that I knew little about. In fact I didn't really think about his depth until this gallery. But I was more impressed by the thematic curation in the current special exhibition, "Room for Abstraction." After my long museum visit, I was expectedly wiped out. The city's modern opera house is near the central station, so I ordered a crepe to go and enjoyed it from the building's rooftop. It has an angular design, with edges coming out of the sea and an entrance from the pier. It's a sloped walk up the side of the building, and each side and angle has a different view of the city and the sea. Since I was traveling solo for the day, of course a few groups of friendly Norwegians stopped to chat -- mostly curious about which parties I made it to in Ibiza and what I thought about Oslo in comparison to New York or the other European cities. And finally, on my train ride back to the airport, it hit me. It's the end of my Eurotrip and time for real life. I'm not sure when I'll next be able to make an extensive trip, but I know there are a lot of places left on my list -- and a lot of places to which I hope to return. My start and finish in Scandinavia were an accidental perfect bookend touch to the vacation.

⛵️ #mallorca #boattrip (at Palma De Mallorca, Spain)

My friend Julia and her family were kind enough to take me in to their family trip in Mallorca. Our hotel is beautiful and just the relaxation I need after the whirlwind of Mykonos beach parties and our one day in Rome -- which we took advantage of with indulgence in gnocchi, frutti di mare, hours of walking, and an unexpected music festival. The beach, pools, and spa awaits, but we're starting the day with one of my other favorites: a boat trip around the island! After catching up on sleep, I made sure to wake up for some morning yoga on the balcony before we set off. No need for a music playlist when I have the ocean right here

Time to relax #roomwithaview #mallorca (at Hotel Jumeirah Puerto de Soller Resort)

...and sunrise #mykonos #greece #nosleep (at Mykonos Island)

#sunset #mykonos #port #greece #eurotrip (at Mykonos Island)

Didn't realize this was our view until waking up #win #mykonos #greece #eurotrip #beachtime (at Agios Stefanos)

Budapest felt like a significant and meaningful part of the trip for me. We took advantage of our 48 hours, and it was interesting to learn so much of the history and culture of a place from which a branch of my family came. The city's varied architecture and its people's varied facial features bears its history of tribes, invaders, and empires. Though a tumultuous and often sad past, it was the perfect city for my inner history nerd to come out. It was more fun than somber, though. We balanced our history lessons with pleasure: views like sunset over the Danube from Buda's hills, strolls between Ottoman, Hapsburg, and Soviet buildings, the cheap and hearty cuisine, and the city's acclaimed "ruin bars." The ruin bars are scattered around the Jewish district, so we were able to experience the area during the day and night. This included the beautiful Grand Synagogue. Like Prague's, it looks Middle East influenced, but more because of regional Ottoman influence than as a tribute to Moorish Spain. The ruin bars in the area are typically abandoned buildings left decrepit during the Soviet era. They've since been taken over and filled with eclectic pieces. At Szempla, you could ride a carnival dragon, sip Hungarian wine from the back half of a vintage car, or look to the walls for projected clips of old Budapest. It's no wonder Lonely Planet named it one of the top 3 bars in the world. The city was much more about the day than the night for me, though, especially because it preluded our start of the Greece-Spain beach/relax/party trip section. It's the most I've connected with my dad's family's pre-New York heritage, making some parts perhaps overly moving. In my few hours before our flight to Mykonos, I decided to walk around the Jewish district by myself, eat the acclaimed multi-layered "Jewish cake," and reflecting. Even before that, learning details like why Hungarian Jews had to change their names to German ones in the 18th century helped me to contextualize the history. I know I've written this for every city, but for Budapest, more time was necessary on multiple levels, and in a more profound sense.

First day in Budapest

Incidentally, this palace represents a convergence of European pasts from the ancient to the last century. Apparently, people are still bitter that Hitler gave a speech on the balcony of one of the palaces. It’s interesting for me on a personal level that WWII and the Holocaust have felt much more significant and present than when I’ve spent extensive time in Europe in the past. Perhaps it’s starting the trip with Copenhagen’s association with Number the Stars and the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. But moving from there into Central and Eastern Europe, where the stories are much less about people who tried to hide the hunted and much more about complete destruction, Colby and I both have felt a sense of discomfort through our fun and enjoyment. So, from countless monuments and museums, to the Hitler at the palace Austrian discomfort, it has been making me feel better that people who live here can’t help but think about it. As we enter Hungary, I’m certainly thinking about this though I’m excited for the apparently beautiful city and promising nightlife.

#grand #vienna #wien #austria (at Viena)

Almost missed our bus to Vienna, but alas, we are en route and so it's goodbye to Prague for now. I'm glad we had a longer stay in the stunning city -- the baroque dominant architecture means street after street lined with grandiose, gold plated structures. Since I knew little before, it surpassed my expectations, and I learned a lot about the city's history.

Colby and I were going to go out tonight, but it happened to be Prague's city-wise museum night of free entry to museums. On our way to a club, we passed the beautiful Spanish Synagogue (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Synagogue_(Prague) ), which was participating. We decided to do that first, even thought it was close to midnight. The synagogue was not actually Sephardic, but an early reform synagogue built and rebuilt starting in the Middle Ages, with the current structure built in the 19th century. The style is based on Moorish mosques and synagogues because the architects were interested in the tolerance that Jews faced under Muslim rule historically, and specifically in pre-inquisition space.

#clouds #shadows #sunnysky #clocktower #prague (at Old Town Square)

#prague #praha (at Old Town Square)

Pretty even in the clouds #prague #praha #czech (at Old Town Square)