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By Jess, April 28, 2008 11:47 am

I’m finally back from my 2-week romp through Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. School is upon me for the first time in 6 weeks, and there’s definitely a readjustment period that I need to get through. Still, I can’t help but enjoy it since it’s my last month and a half in London.

Now down to business. I’m not sure if I can actually summon the will power to summarize the happenings of the trip in one go. So, as they say, a picture says a thousand words.

Go to my Picasa to see all the albums or click individually below.

Above is a picture of Jared and I as we got a little picture happy at the ruins in Dvigrad, Croatia. As it said in our guide book, you can really let your imagination run wild. There are no signs, no gates, no fences, no educational information of any kind. All we knew is that it was abandoned due to plague in the 16th century. We walked on walls dating back to the 15th century and we actually climbed into the church of St. Sophia. We were the only people in Dvigrad at the time (hurrah for low season!), which made it even more surreal. Ok, enjoy the photos.

Salzburg photos

Vienna photos

Budapest photos

Istria photos

Pula photos

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By Jess, April 19, 2008 11:55 am

Hello all. I’m currently in an internet café on the Pest side of Budapest. The Hungarian currency, the forint, has been very kind to us and has been a large factor in redeeming Budapest after arriving on the first discouraging night. As is usual, darkness makes everything look a little bit sketchy and the fact that we had zero money due to no ATMs and almost no ability to communicate upped the stress level.

That said, most everything else has been flawless. Well… besides a lot of stuff being closed due to a transit strike on our first full day of exploring, ha. Spring has sprung in Hungary! It’s the first place I’ve traveled to where I can really just wear a t-shirt and jeans. The food is great and it’s nice not to have to sell a kidney to support a diet including meat other than tuna from the can.

Walking around is, in one simple word, pleasant. Just walk. With my handy post-it from my friend Gabor, we’ve managed to try Hungarian dishes. Soft cabbage stuffed with pork, venison stew, and goulash. We still need to try the bean soup. Butttt we bought some Hungarian wine to try later at our flat. Our hostel is no hostel… it’s a full-fledged apartment with kitchen, bathroom, breakfast nook/bar area, and bedroom. All ours! So nice to have our own space again.

Alright. I’m having a great time and overall, it’s practically zero stress. We’re heading to Zahgreb in 2 days and I’m not sure if I’ll have internet there. Haven’t had much access so far. Hope everyone is well. Vislat!

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By Jess, April 11, 2008 4:53 pm

A week back in London, while academically unproductive, was at least socially productive. Time has flown and with 2 weeks left of my 6 week break, I’m off to Austria tomorrow.

Just for all you curious folk, I’ll be traveling to Salzburg tomorrow, followed by Vienna, Budapest, Zahgreb, Rovinj and surrounding areas, and Pula. I might update on the way to avoid a 2-week summary post when I get back, so check back in if you want to know what I’m up to.

Hope everyone is doing well.

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By Jess, March 12, 2008 5:50 am

The Georgetown invasion of London is over and I’m recooping before the craziness of my 6-week Easter Break. That’s not a type-o. 6 weeks. I’ll be traveling for approximately 4.5 of those weeks, not quite consecutively (thank god).

So as usual, in anticipation of all the excitement of visitors, I got sick. After a trip to the local clinic doctor and several days of feeling worse, I headed to the hospital. I’ve got to hand it to the NHS. I was only in the waiting room for 1.5-2 hours. Then I was in my own little room for 45 minutes. And then I felt pretty taken care of by doctors and nurses. Also, lucky for me, Kate and Andrea were there for essential moral support.

I’ve seen many sides of the NHS and I’m really fortunate that all of its services are free. But if you dare to open a little pamphlet about how it is funded, you’ll notice that the NHS consumes roughly 1/3 of the entire budget for England. With VAT and high income taxes, is it worth it? I’m going to say… overall, no. Had the doctor at the clinic been more thorough and less efficient with my initial visit, I feel like I wouldn’t have had to go to the hospital. Or if I had more faith that a GP could do something for me if I went back, I wouldn’t have bothered to go to the hospital. But because efficiency is the main goal of the GPs, I knew it was a dead-end and hence diverted to the hospital. Still, care at the hospital was top notch. They took an X-Ray of my stomach/intestines, a urine sample, and two blood tests all without the hassle of me worrying how much it would cost.

Maybe a smidge of social medicine mixed with private care? That’d be a happy blend. Easier said than done. I’m more than rusty with my knowledge of health care issues in the U.S. so I will stop here. When all is said and done, I’m doing well now. I’m eating normally and am back to attending class. Some class teachers were a bit more understanding than others . You drop the word “hospital” in an email and expect a little sympathy. Unfortunately, only human beings can exhibit such emotion.

I’m glad to be back in good health, because trips are rapidly approaching. Hopefully my body will hold up for me, although I’m confident it will since only 2 of the weeks will be tiring movement from place to place. The rest will be relaxing in what I hope is Italian paradise. Sardinia, however, is not the island I thought it would be unfortunately. I think “island” and I think warm and sunny, but Sardinia’s high looks to be in the low 60s this time of year. Yet my the climbing club email for the packing list included both down jacket AND bikini. Hmm. So do I wear my bikini underneath my thermals to go for a “refreshing” swim after climbing? Interesting.

Starting Sunday, March 16th, I will be out of contact until the following Sunday (Easter). Then I am back for two days before having limited email access for the next week and half, but hopefully, I’ll be checking in. Hope everyone is doing well.