Back in Maastricht

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Well, I'm back in Maastricht after a thrilling two and a half week trip through Europe. I am busy uploading pictures and unpacking, then packing again, so writing for the present will have to wait. I may get to start writing about where I went tomorrow, we'll see. In the meantime, I present you with a list of museums that I went to and something that I learned about each city that I have been to.

Vienna- Hofburg Imperial Apartments, Kunsthistorisches Museum, St. Stephen's Cathedral, town center
Prague- Castle Museum, Castle Quarter, Jewish Quarter, 4 synagogues, classical concert
Dublin- Temple Bar, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church, Dublinia, Trinity College, Chester Beatty Library, Grafton Street, National Museum
London- Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial War Museum, Westminster Church, Shakespeare's Globe, St. Martin-in-the-Field Church, Westminster Abbey, Palace of Westminster, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, British Museum, British Library, Stonehenge, Avebury, National Portrait Gallery
Stratford-upon-Avon- Royal Shakespeare Company play, Shakespeare's Birthplace and Museum, Hall's Croft
York- York Castle Museum, Yorkshire Museum, Jorvik, National Railway Museum


1 Thing Learned about Each City

- That there can be any more graffiti in the world (Rome).

- That old churches can also be used as train stations (Maastricht).

- Canals really mess up map reading (Amsterdam).

- It is possible to have a chocolate shop on every corner (Bruges).

- A 158-building living history museum really can make money (Oslo).

- Selling anything with Martin Luther's face on it is evidently the answer to the economic troubles in Germany (Wittenberg).

- If everybody went to a park, there would still be parks left, though not any grass in them (Paris).

- Sometimes combination tickets to museums right next to each other would be really, really helpful (Vienna).

- It's like Prague was anti-capitalism for awhile or something, the way things are booming now (no more Iron Curtain- Prague).

- However many coats you brought, it is not enough (London).

- When the current construction is through, Stratford-upon-Avon's three biggest buildings will be a Shakespeare theater, another Shakespeare theater, and...another Shakespeare theater (Stratford-upon-Avon).

And, finally,
- You know the best place to learn about Roman colonies is York, England, right? Oh yeah, sure, whatever...York?!

They kept me amused anyway.

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