…Leave things up to chance?So many options, too little time.  That is definitely what it is like traveling in Europe, there is just so much amazing stuff to see.  That becomes a problem when you have a habit of being somewhat indecisive.  I was confronted with a tricky decision today: where to go before making my way to Barcelona on the 5th.  I considered every possibility, Porto,Lagos, Seville, Granada, San Sebastian, Madrid, Valencia, Mallorca, and came to no real conclusion after searching for weather, activities, consulting locals, and checking travel times.  I figured that I would just go to the biggest train station and pick one, simple right? Well, I have had some problems here on the Lisbon public transport system, mainly finding the stops and getting flustered under my heavy backpack.  So, this morning, the quest began.  Four hours later, after car, three tram rides (one of which awful), and one bus, I had gleaned that there is only one international train out of Lisbon (to Madrid, not my top choice) and that it leaves at 10pm. I decided to go wait for the bus to the bus stop, where I met another stranger who recommended Lagos (although I had also heard that it was boring and saw that the surf is down the next few days).  The bus came, and I decided to go pick my ticket again for Lagos, when I was hit by yet another wave of indecision. I missed the bus, and finally in the train station I had an epiphany: why not flip a coin? Heads Lagos. Tails Mallorca.  Mallorca it is.  I had another adventure planning for the trip there, and it is far from over, but today has taught me many lessons: the first being patience.  Sometimes things take a while to work out.  Second: all decisions are good decisions in some way (thank you Susan Jeffers) and third: life is about the journey anyways.  So tonight I am going to make my way to Mallorca for the better part of a day, heck or high water.  I will probably encounter both, as I am a vegetarian in la land of meat and will be ferrying across the sea. haha!

I love Portugal.  That is all there is to it.  It is easily my favorite place so far, hands down, and I have hardly seen any of it.  I arrived yesterday in the Lisbon airport to be greeted by a warm breeze and a spectacular view of the sea.  I spent the day with my new bf from couchsurfing, Filipa.  With her, I met other couchsurfers, saw Lisbon at a slow speed through weekday traffic, explored castles and cafes in beautiful Sintra, went to the beach surrounded by cliffs for the sunset, and had delicious tea.  Every city so far in Portugal has been aesthetically pleasing: the stucco buildings with their bright colors and wrought iron twisted details, the ornately decorated placards that lurk around every corner, the everpresent forests and flowers that pervade even urban areas, the fresh and salty air, huge statues and roundabouts behind crowning every street. I can´t wait to go explore Belem today!

So I went to Switzerland a mere ten days ago, only to realize one of my passions in life: running.  It is my mission for the trip to run in each city that I visit, which so far has been a success in Budapest, Vienna, Innsbruck, Jerzens, Zurich, Interlaken, Luzern, and Basel.  For the last many months, however, I have been going running but had forgotten my passion for it, was literally just going through the motions.  That all changed in Interlaken though.  My stay in Interlaken was four days long, punctuated by snow and highlighted by trips up Jungfraujoch to ski and sled in the Swiss Alps, as well as making fun with a great bunch of blokes from Liverpool.  It was a calm afternoon that wasn`t snowing, and despite my lack of motivation, I decided to take a trip up the trail behind my hotel.  It was on this run that I fully learned the lessons of one of my best friends that have been transmitted to me now for months.  The hill was steep and snowy, but I remembered how he likes the feel of burning in his calves, thrives on a lack of oxygen, and gets pleasure out of bodily pain.  I did once too, and with those thoughts running through my head, I slowly pushed on to the top.  Interlaken is so named because it rests between two lakes, nestled between snow-capped peaks.  I wanted to see the lakes, but had given up on it earlier in the morning because of the snow and my lack of warm clothing.  When I finally reached the top of the hill, I was rewarded with a stunning view of one of the lakes, green and eversprawling, much like out of a Harry Potter movie.  My second lesson was realized: I had forgotten how satisfying it is to finally reach a sought after goal, something my friend is always relentlessly pursuing.  On the way down, I noticed another trail going around the mountain, and although I had already reached the top (my initial goal) I thought once again of my friend, who is always going the extra mile, literally.  I decided to see where it lead, after all, I wasn`t that tired.  I ran for a few more minutes to be rewarded with a superb view of the other lake, mission accomplished.  It has taken me many months, but I finally feel that because of these lessons that I had forgotten or never truly learned, that I have realized my new-found passion for running.  Even more than surfing, maybe.  Maybe.  We will see, since I am going to be surfing in Portugal here soon, so exciting!

In addition to finding my love, Switzerland was filled with great experiences including exploring Zurich, making friends with entrepreneurs, Brits, and Liberians, seeing walls and bridges from the 14th century in Luzern, and finally running without my coat in beautiful Basel.  Time really does fly when you are having fun!

Yesterday was a strong contendor for being one of the best days of my life. It was amazing. It was a day filled with adventure, and a day that made me question myself. A professed beach girl living in Colorado, I may have discovered that there is a mountain girl inside after all. I have always enjoyed trail running, sledding, and hot tubs in the mountains, but recently I have come to really love them.

It all starts in a little town called Innsbruck, the alpine version of good, old Boulder, CO. It has mountains surrounding the town, only they are giant snow-capped Alps, a university, only next to a mideval town quare, and a gushing green river. Rachel and I had many fun times there, especially when we dicovered the best grocery store ever that provided us with tiny bottles of champagne enjoyed with yogurt next to the river, at dog school, climbing the surrounding peaks, eating late night pizza, and accidentally ordering massive desserts (again).

The glory of couchsurfing.com brought us together with a very nice couple, Rene and Steffie, who upon meeting us immediately invited us to join them to meet their parents at a ski resort near Jerzens, Austria for a day of snowshoeing and tobagganing. We accepted their gracious offer, and the fun began. We took a long, windy road up into the mountains, and started our day with a visit to a nice little cabin where we were immediately offered schnapse and chocolate, signaling a different kind of skiing atmosphere than I am used to. Our first part up the mountain was by gondola, to a cafe where we had tea and rum. I am pretty sure that drinking and skiing are considered a fine combination, as well as sunbathing between runs. We then sledded down some hiking trails at mock speeds to a delicious lunch with parents, followed by the real work.

We took a lovely wide path up the mountains, where we were rewarded with amazing views of massive, snowy mountaintops between trees every few minutes. I tried my hand at snowshoe running again, and I still think it is fun but challenging, especially when wearing boots, snowclothes, and a backpack. That, of course, made my day, but it got even better. When we finally reached the top, the views were awesome (of course), but we also discovered what could possibly be the coolest bar in the world. It is an umbrella bar, the highest in Europe, serving schnapse of course, featuring a roof made of snowboards and skis, killer views, and pumped up music. I tried a shot made from hot egg yolks with whipped cream, the perfect treat to prepare for sliding down a mountain at mock speeds.

When the lifts closed, we took our little wooden sleds, and braved the steep faces of snow (and sheer ice in this case). Even being a Colorado native growing up with sledding and sliding down Vail mountain could not have prepared me for this. We screamed the whole way down, especially when we could not figure out how to turn or stop. It was a blast though, and we are still alive, so it worked out well I would say. Like I said, best day ever.

Vienna: Wein. def: a beautiful city filled with intricately designed buildings, delicate white frosted with gilded gold, filled with rich foods, lavish parties, and sleeping in.

We arrived on the late train on Saturday afternoon, a wee bit sleepy from the journey. We were greeted at the station by our lovely host Leo, the most gentlemanly, charismatic, witty, kind, and fun individual that we have met yet. It was a joint first Couchsurfing experience, and it was nothing short of fabulous. The glory of Couchsurfing.com is that it is a true social network, it actually brings people together, literally. We started with a long tea that evolved into a chat about life, the first of many during our stay on Neubaugasse St. There is simply too much fun to describe in Vienna, so I will limit myself to the real highlights.

To Prepare One (1) Four-Day Gloryfest in Vienna, Create the following dishes:

One Naschmarkt: stalls upon stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, dried fruits, delis, and pasta stands. Combine all to make a wonderful homemade dinner.

Two Belles of the Ball: Add two smelly travellers, rinse thoroughly. Add two borrowed prom dresses, cardboard,tape, houseplants, Christmas ornaments, and create masques. Transport in Black Mercedes to the National Library, combine with guest list to swanky event (Masque- A Night of Sensual Secrets). Blend in 1500 other posh Viennese, light well, and shake. Yields crazy Euro dance party and 5am bedtime.

Authentic Schnitzel: Travel to edge of town across street from one of the largest cemeteries in Europe, use only candlelight. Let them do the rest.

Language Barrier: Ask bus driver for directions, meet fellow couchsurfers, order dessert for dinner on accident, go to the supermarket. Should be easy to find.

Serve on lightly toasted Austrian afternoons for a real treat!

As I embarked on my trip to Europe, I started with many questions.  Knowing little about the various cultures to be encountered, traditions, customs, and even day to day logistics, I was somewhat concerned about my abilities to successfully navigate my path here.  Fortunately I joined a seasoned expert, and I have spent the last few days following Rachel’s lead all over town.  After seven straight days together with no disagreements or disappointments, Rachel and I finally wanted to do different things.  We had spent all morning and afternoon exploring the first district in Vienna, the posh, tourist filled, money driven beautiful place that it is.  In the afternoon we came to a crossroads, Rachel wanted to bike and I wanted to run, so we decided to go our separate ways.  At first I was shocked, wondering what I would do all alone, but in the end I decided to take a trip to Kahlenberg, the mountain overlooking Vienna.

I shakily left her with only the knowledge that I needed to get on bus 38A.  I found the first bus stop I could (1A) and tried to speak with the driver- no English.  After pointing and some confusion, I took his bus to another stop where he anxiously pointed into the maze of the city.  I finally found the tram that he must have been directing me to, and took it until the end of the line.  I reached Grietzing, a small city 40 minutes in the suburb, with still no mountain in sight.  After getting directions from a cafe, I took another bus to the end of the line, which was at the base of a hill.  I began running up, and there it was, a beautiful mountain about the size of Flagstaff looming before me.  I ran up the grass trail with glee, loving feeling the burn in my legs that has been missing this trip.  I ended up on the wrong trail, but it was just as well because I was there just in time to witness a beautiful sunset.  It was amazing being up so high, overlooking the entire city of Vienna, alone, and feeling so empowered having met my goal independently for the first time this trip.  At dark, I ran back down the hill and through the city, elated with my success.  It gave me much needed confidence and a chance to discover a completely different part of the city that I never would have otherwise.  I can’t wait for the next time that I can conquer the world on my own!

As per usual, it has been a pretty hectic couple days.  Since I last wrote, we had another funfilled day in Budapest and have traveled to Vienna or Wein as it is properly called.  I have had many realizations in the past couple days including my preferred method of travel, and the importance of people over places when traveling.  More on that later though.

Our last full day in Budapest was quite rainy, and it led to a fortunate series of events.  After a sleepy start, we decided to venture into the heart of the city for a well-mannered game of frisbee.  While my goal is to run in every country that I visit, it is Rachel’s to toss her ‘bee around in each one.  We stepped out of our friendly hostel only to discover somewhat substantial rain.  We jumped the nearest bus in search of a park anyway, and when we finally found one it was pouring.  We ducked into the nearest building, which happened to be an incredibly swanks restaurant frequented by Arnold S.  We spent three hours ordering luscious treats and chatting over tea waiting for the rain to stop, but to no avail.  We finally conceded to the rain and went on our merry way, having what would seem like an ordinary day.  We did some shopping in a funky store off the beaten path (my wallet is doomed this trip), internet surfing which allowed me to work out my itenerary, and then we went to the store to buy some dinner supplies.  The rain continued on our small parade, and it was determined that rain, darkness, traffic, and a substantial amount of pedestrians could not deter us from helping Rachel meet her frisbee goal, and thus on a busy street corner, we commenced our quest.  Forehands, backhands, hammers, and even a scoober or two soared through the air.  Our brave frisbee narrowly avoided shaving inches from passerby’s hair, withstood many a steely gaze, and even survived hitting a pole and being rescued from underneath a somewhat ominous cab. 

After a homemade dinner of gnocci and apples, we headed off to listen to some acoustic music in an underground cellar.  The hot cocoa was nothing short of fabulous, but it was really the conversation that made the day.  Our time spent in Budapest with our new friend Steve, Rachel’s contacts there, and the new people that we met while caving were really what made the trip enjoyable.  It has come to my attention that a smile not returned can dent my day, but every good conversation and moment in good company can bring a trip to life.  Train rides that would otherwise be dull, moods dampened by rain, and meals focused only on food are enhanced and sweetened by the people that you share them with.

Well well. There is already so much to tell. Also, I can’t make exclamation marks so pretend that this post reads like I am really excited. Budapest is a very interesting city, filled with all types of people and beautiful architecture. I have already had some crazy adventures here, but I thought that I would first sum up with a couple of lists.

Things that I love about Budapest;

1. Intricate architecture and statues

2. Nice hostel roommates and room

3. Delicious pastry scent at every train station

4. Caving

5. Activity Island

6. Meeting new fun people

There are also some things that I have found that I don’t like.

1. Smoking everywhere

2. Complete lack of smiles returned.

3. Radioactive jam and salads made entirely of cheese.

That is pretty much it though. I am finally de-jetlagged and feeling much better about life. I have only been here a couple days, and it seems like we have accomplished so much! We have walked all over this city in search of food (my calves can attest to that) and seen many many sights, the architecture really is spectacular here. It is so intricate and there are secret metal twists, statues, and curls everywhere. The food has been interesting to say the least. It is sometimes tough being a veggie in a hungary land of meat when you don’t speak the language. No matter what you order though, it seems that they love cheese as much as meat and that is what you end up with. As far as fun activities go, I went caving yesterday, and I don’t know when I will go again. We went up high into the hills on the Buda side of the river, where there are great limestone cliffs. Due to the lack of info on the brochure, we didn’t quite know what to expect, but the answer was a skinny guide who was as slippery as a snake. He led us to the side of the cliffs and showed us the way inside. We descended down a ladder into well, a cave. Weird. Huge slabs of limestone were all around us, and the dust in the air filled our lungs. We spent the next couple hours walking across slippery floors into small and large chambers, crawling on hands and knees through tunnels, and my personal favorite, army crawling uphill on slippery mud. Fortunately, our roommate Steve was behind me and is a patient guy. Our home-cooked pasta and brie dinner went down well after that.

Today has been good too, Rachel and I decided to go on a little jog on the island that sits in the middle of the Danube river. My favorite part of the city by far- it is dedicated to sport it seems. The island has a running track around the perimeter, tennis courts, and parks all over. In the middle there were also reindeer and peacocks. It was excellent. Tonight we are going to go see the opera (Cinderella in Hungarian) and tomorrow we are off to the famous Hungarian baths.

Well hello friends! Thank you for stopping by. Since I will be in Europe until May first, this site can be your friendly guide to hearing about my adventures, as well as dodging those long winded mass emails. A way for you to keep up with my life, if you so choose. So please, indulge yourself. ‘Why is Kristen going to Europe?’ you ask, well the answer is quite simple and somewhat convoluted…

For those of you not aware, my life has taken some tipsy-turvy turns and twists since my graduation in December. There were the glory days of January: soaking up the sun (and clouds and rain) in beautiful Hawaii, surfing my days away and playing in (well, near) lava and rainforests, and overdosing on pineapple. Then came the beach, clubs, pools, and eternal sunshine of Miami. And then there was CO2k7: hot tub and mountain mayhem in lovely Winter Park, CO.

Then came February, a month of extremes. The job search began, a fruitless quest might I add, where my days were spent perusing Yahoo! and becoming very frustrated, both with the cold weather ruining my runs and my feelings of confusion about entering the working world. I didn’t really want a job quite yet, turns out. The travel bug was alive and well in my system, so I decided one night that I would go meet my friend Rachel from Texas, one of my favorite travel partners, on the last leg of her year long Euro adventure. It is why I graduated early, and I have been telling her that I would make it over since last summer. A classic case of opportunity knocking. So, on Monday, I am headed on a twenty-some hour adventure through Minneapolis and Amsterdam, to meet her somewhere in Budapest. Should be an adventure in and of itself meeting up with her without a phone in a country that I don’t speak the language. Truth be told, I am looking forward to it. We are going to be in Hungary, Austria and Germany together, and who knows where fate will lead us after that. Some goals that I have include surfing in Portugal, eating Swiss chocolate, eating a brioche in a patisserie in Paris (my sixth-grade dream come true) and visiting friends. Rachel has kindly thought of some titles for our adventures to come, and I will sum up with them:

Alp Madness with Kristen and Rachel

Mary Anne and Barbara learn to yodel

Austria has no Kangaroos

From Australia to Austria…a friendship that spanned three continents

1 planet, 2 hotties, 3 countries

and my favorite…

Hungary for Love