20 min blog #4

Last year in March, I went on a spring break trip with my high school band.  We flew across the ocean to Europe, where our destination tour would be through the countries of Poland and Hungary.  This trip was absolutely amazing.  I had the chance to be with a bunch of my best friends having the time of my life in Europe.  I've always had a desire to travel the world, and I am glad I had the opportunity to see these beautiful countries.  We went to Krakow first and got to see their main square market.  We also went on a tour of Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps.  That experience alone was one of a lifetime.  Standing in the watch tower of the famous Birkenau railroad tracks where actual Nazi guards stood was surreal.  So was seeing the barracks and the gas chambers that the Jews suffered with for so long.  The other part that hit home was seeing all the suitcases, glasses, prosthetic limbs, and piles and piles of shoes.  Next on the trip we moved on to a happier note and traveled to Zakopane, Poland.  There we got to climb to the top of a mountain and overlook the beautiful city nestled in the mountains.  It was absolutely stunning.  There we got to have a nice polish meal in with this amazing scenery to go with it.  After that we traveled to Budapest and got to explore the city.  It was so fun venturing off and seeing all the things this other part of the world had to offer.  I was lucky and found that they still make lattes over there.  There were lots of vendors at a cute little Easter market on one of the main streets of Budapest.  While in this city, we also got to take a boat tour on the Danube river and see all the beautiful city lives from the water.  This trip was marvelous exposure for me to open my mind.  I know now that I want to see more of our beautiful world and everything in it.  I was fortunate enough to have the resources to make that trip possible, and I pray that in the future I can expand my knowledge and experience level of other fantastic sights that are out there waiting.  My next adventure may not be with a big group of people with chaperones and an itinerary planned by a tour company, but it will sure be a thrilling highlight of my life.  Traveling is something important to me, and I want to make sure I will have the opportunity to do so when I am older.  Life stuck in one spot seems so dreary to me, and I'm can't wait to see what the future holds for my travels.