It is so good to come home

I should go outside and enjoy the gorgeous (and possibly fleeting) weather that Brighton has right now. Its been sunny and warm everyday here since I've been back and I've been going to Brighton beach everyday to enjoy it before the tourists really descend on the south of England.

But before I go wander the hills in the style of Elizabeth Bennet, I wanted to blog a bit about my recent travels. I was lucky enough to be able to go on a long trip to parts of Europe. The trip was a bit excessive, but I figure this is my chance, and I don't know when I'll ever be in Europe again.

So the trip started in Freiburg im Breisgau then proceeded to Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Barcelona and Madrid. Berlin and Budapest were my favorite places, without a doubt. I didn't want to leave. In both places I mused over whether it would have been possible to just find a job and stay there forever. But then I remembered how much I miss all the people I am seperated from, and so I kept going. When I tell people at Sussex about the trip, they look at me funny. I guess for them its silly to rush through all those places like I did, which it would be if Europe was in my backyard.

There were a couple of themes and highlights of the trip. I was strongly impressed (meaning it made a strong impression) by how much Europe's recent, and often painful, history (primarily the holocaust and communism) visually marks its cities. I had been expecting to do a lot of acitivites centered on the holocaust (going to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the old Jewish cemetary in Prague) but I wasn't expecting to learn and experience as much as I did about communism in Europe. I feel like we don't really learn much about communism in Europe in the U.S. except from the perspective of what the U.S. did to try and stop it.

Really gaining a love of new (to me) artists and art movements was another surprising result of the trip. The Prado in Madrid was the absolute best museum I visited. Not really because of the way it was set up, because the museums in London are so much better in that regard, but it just had so many stunning works. My favorite works from the whole trip were from Rembrandt (in Amsterdam), Mucha (in Prague), and Goya, Bosch, Frederic Leighton (all at the Prado). And though I feel pretentious while I do it, it is so nice to be able to have animated conversations with people about certian museums and particular artists. If only I smoked and wore a beret.

Ok, well that's a general sketch, but I plan on writing individual posts telling the best stories I have from each place. But right now the Brighton sun (and all of my work) is calling.