Feria!

Feria.  aka Sevilla's week-long party including lots of Flamenco dancing and drinking for nights on end.  For this wonderful excuse for a holiday we got 12 days off of school which gave us the perfect opportunity to travel!!

But first, we spent the first night of Feria in Sevilla seeing what it's all about.  The first night is the "Pescaito" which is where everyone eats fish dinner in their "casetas" which are big tents.  It is also the "alumbrada" which is the lighting of Feria that happens at midnight Monday night.  

This is the Puerta de Feria (the entrance to the Feria grounds) all lit up at the Alumbrada

After getting home around 4 we had to sleep fast before our 8a.m. flight out of Sevilla.  Next thing we knew we were on our way to Germany, which was our first stop of our Feria travels! Berlin was so great.  I didn't expect to really "love" this city, but I did.  I loved it.  There was so much history everywhere, and it was a lot more beautiful than I had expected!

Berlin is full of beautiful buildings like this one (:

We may or may not have accidentally taken part in a peace rally...Umbrellas for Peace! 

The second day in Berlin we visited a concentration camp.  It is definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I would recommend to everyone.  Our tour guide was great and had a way of making us think about the holocaust in a way that I never have before.

Before we left Berlin, we went to tiergarten, which is basically a big garden right smack dab in the middle of Berlin.  It was beautiful! And a nice escape from the city life.

Before we knew it our time in Berlin was over and we were headed to Prague.  I think I had unreasonably high standards set for Prague, and they just weren't quite met.  It was a beautiful city, sure, but it was SO crowded with tourists that I could hardly think straight!  I think my highlight of the time we spent in Prague was renting paddle boats--our one escape from being surrounded by tourists!

Finally we headed to our last city, Vienna.  Vienna was my favorite of the trip.  It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.  I wish we would have had more time there, but the time we did have was great! We couchsurfed in Vienna with the best hosts ever, Johanna and Sebastian.  They were so great, and had a great apartment right in the center of the city with an incredible view from the roof (which they kindly showed us).  

Random Asians wanted to take pictures of us and with us haha People are so funny!

Beautiful gardens of Schonbrunn Palace

Johanna and Sebastian in their apartment! Best decision of the trip was to stay with them (:

After a bit of conflict (saving that for another blog) we made it home safe and sound.  Feria was an unforgettable trip with three girls that I have grown to love.  <3 It was a great way to spend our 12 day vacation, and I wouldn't change a thing about it!