Cards # 12, 13 and 14 – junior year abroad

In deciding to use photos I have on hand already (instead of reprinting some from many years ago), this post includes three different countries. I couldn’t find three pictures of any one country in the "extras" photo box, so the college year in Europe seemed like a good theme. During spring break, we all got Eurail passes and took trains all over, and on long weekends we took closer excursions by train. I would highly recommend all of these as travel destinations. 

We started in the Austrian Alps, and amassed quite a collection of stamps over the year. This was in the very early days of e-mail and most people didn’t use it on a daily basis. One of the orientation activities was a blank map of Europe, and students were asked to fill in the names of countries they knew. Thankfully, the same quiz was administered at the end of the year, and we zipped through it much faster and with more accuracy the second time! My favorite part of Austria was Vienna, though skiing in the Alps comes a close second.

I remember during 5^th grade geography learning about the country of Czechoslovakia (at that time), and determining that I was going to go there some day. It sounded pretty exotic! I couldn’t figure out a way to include the stamps without taking away from the serenity of the photo, so I pasted them inside the card. Someone will appreciate them. Prague was marvelous; the people were so kind to us, the architecture and history just amazing. I got some crystal glasses there that are still in my china cabinet. The countryside was peaceful and lovely. 

Portugal was a nice experience, with delicious food and beautiful beaches. I like the “real” quality of this photo, showing industry and ordinary neighborhoods that might not be on a tourist brochure, but are part of every day life. I still have the sweater I got at the market in Lisbon. We weren’t there long enough to have a thorough visit- we had 2 weeks and chose to visit Paris, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid, Niece, Venice, and Vienna. I would be glad to return to Portugal!

I wanted to show a variety of city and country photos, and my next project is to really sort the photos I’ve amassed (remember the days of getting “doubles” from film? No? Oh, yes, some of you- whew!). To be continued...