Four months abroad in Europe. The longest we've ever been away from our homes, friends and families. Living with new languages, cities and cultures, and doing our best to make them our own. And having maybe the best times of our lives.
It's the end of the semester, and the last installment of our Broads Abroad, at least as Tufts may know it. Both of us intend on writing about our adventures far into the future, and there are already plans in the works to revisit the places we've come to think of as second homes. So instead of trying to sum up a semester with as much insightful musing as 800 or so words would allow, we decided to simplify things with a "best" and "worst" of comparison, a sort of Overseas Superlative listing, if you will.
Let's start with our favorite subject: food. What was the most memorable foodstuff you ingested?
K: Smazeny syr - literally fried cheese. It's a patty of processed cheese fried and served on a white bun with tartar sauce. Eating them in Prague has probably shortened my lifespan by about 18 months, but I can't resist. The stands are on every corner; it's like ordering Domino's at 3:00 a.m.
B: Sachertorte. It's a traditional Viennese dry chocolate cake layered with apricot jam and covered in chocolate frosting, and it's served pretty much everywhere. Actually, most of the cakes and pastries I've had here were memorable, from mohntorte (poppy seed cake) to schokocroissants. And I'm going to miss being in a city where you can eat cake for breakfast with no sense of guilt.
What was the most memorable drink you had?
K: Becherovka. The Czechs love to boast about having the secret recipe for this herb liquor which, to me, tastes like Christmas. Some of my friends have had less-than-enjoyable experiences with it though; one of my roommates says it tastes like "a punch in the face - on Christmas".
B: Gluhwein. What's our obsession with things that taste like Christmas? Because my first impression of gluhwein was "mmm, Christmas." It's just mulled wine, but I think the part I like about it is that they serve it on the street. There's nothing like wandering around a Viennese Christkindlmarkt with a mug of cinnamony goodness.
Both of us chose to study in countries with a language entirely new to us - God knows why, as it makes for daily language barriers. What was your most memorable experience with language?
K: It actually involves English; does that count? One of my Czech RAs asked me to clarify the meaning of an English word for a paper she was writing, and after I helped her, we started to talk about vocabulary. She asked, "Do you know the meaning of all English words?" When I told her no, she thought that was pretty hilarious and went on to explain that in Czech, the language is very straightforward, and it isn't a matter of having an SAT-worthy vocabulary; an educated Czech adult would very rarely encounter an unknown word. It was a very odd thought.
B: I've actually gotten pretty okay at getting through my daily routine in German, but every now and then I get through the basic transaction in a restaurant and the waiter will try to strike up a conversation. As they talk a blue streak, I find myself just blankly staring at them or blatantly laughing because I have no idea how to respond. Then, I have to let go of my brief moment of German triumph and explain to them that I don't ACTUALLY speak German.
We both love our cities unconditionally, so Prague and Vienna excluded, what was the most memorable city you saw?
K: I know you liked it too (great minds think alike) - Krakow was definitely an amazing experience. It was great to get in touch with my heritage and look for people with my mom's family name. Everyone was so friendly, and I loved trying out the Polish language - even though I often failed miserably it was still fun.
B: Well, we all know how crazy I am about Prague (and Vienna, of course), but my favorite city besides that was Krakow. I don't even know what it was about the city, I just loved the old medieval feeling, the great food (mm, pierogies) and ... well ... the cheap souvenirs from the Cloth Hall.
We both like to pretend we're art history majors every once in a while ... what was the most memorable museum experience you had?
K: Walking through the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid and seeing Picasso's "Guernica." Halfway through my trip to Spain I had given up on guide books and hadn't read up on the museums collection, so I had no idea it was there. It was an extraordinary surprise.
B: Definitely the Leopold Museum in Vienna. I'm taking an art history course in modern art right now, and the first time I went to the Leopold, I looked around in complete awe and realized that half the paintings we'd talked about in class thus far were hanging on the museum walls - everything from Schiele to Kandinsky. And since Klimt is my favorite artist, seeing all of his work in Vienna was also incredible.
Central Europe gave us quite the culture shock at times. What was the most bizarre thing about your host country?
K: Mullets. An inexplicable love for mullets.
B: Nothing's open past 7:00 p.m. or on Sundays. Why, oh why, can't the Austrians just open one convenience store or IHOP? Or maybe even a mall?
We met lots of other travelers along the way. Who was the most memorable European you met?
K: Hmm. It was probably a Dutch football hooligan who threatened my friend's life for taking a picture of him in Old Town Square here in Prague. The Dutchman said (with a can of beer in hand), "You be putting those pictures online? No, because if we get into fights, then Czech police say 'that's him' and throw us in the jail!"
B: Most likely the various Austrian grad students in voice that I was in an opera with this semester. A bunch of friends and I joined the chorus of a production of "Le Nozze di Figaro," and all of the Austrians involved had as much fun laughing at our silly Americanisms as we did laughing at how none of them could pronounce the word "yawn" without sounding really funny.
Of all the memories we made, what is the one moment you'd always want to remember?
K: I think it was seeing my dear Bridget in the middle of Stephansplatz in Vienna, amidst a huge crowd of tourists. We made a bit of a scene, and I loved it. I loved having my best friend "next door" even so far from home. Sometimes I definitely felt like I was "cheating" at this whole abroad thing since I had such a huge part of my life in such close proximity.
B: Stephansplatz was definitely a high point. I don't think I've ever screamed that loud in a public place - and the picture that we have with the Mozart Man staring quizzically at us reuniting is fantastic. But I don't think I could ever forget the view from the top of Kaprun, the glacier that I went skiing on in the Austrian Alps. From the top of mountain, all you could see was the rest of the Alps and the sky - it was beyond description.
If you had any advice to impart on others heading abroad, what would it be?
K: Take your best friend with you?
B: I second that.
We'd like to wish all the Jumbos traveling home (whether overseas or not) a safe passage and a happy, relaxing vacation.
Bridget Reddington and Kate Peck are juniors majoring in English.
