As a typical 19-year-old girl, my dream vacation is Paris. I have dreamed ever since I was a little girl to see the Eiffel Tower in person, hear the bells of Notre Dame and walk through the glass pyramids to enter The Louvre. Paris is the city of lights and love and this summer I got to experience it for myself.
Somehow I worked enough to scrape up some extra money and travel to Europe. I have heard people talk about culture shocks before, but have never experienced it for myself; let me say it is a very real thing. For the first few days in Europe, I travelled across southern Germany and was shocked by the architecture and history I was surrounded by. Cathedrals lined every corner and buildings dated back to the 1500's, a time before America could even dream of being an established nation.
The language barrier was a lot harder to cross than I thought it would be. It is true what they say that most Europeans speak English, but some don't and no matter how long you study the language, it still won't prepare you to hold a proper conversation. Luckily, I had friends that could help me translate and without them, I would have been lost.
A random fact that is wherever you find a bathroom, more than likely, you will have to pay to use it. Not an outrageous amount, just 50 cents or an euro.
Water is not free when ordered with a meal. It costs about three euros a drink and refills are not free either. I once ordered a coke with dinner, and it cost 9.50 euros! My friend ordered a pint of beer, and it cost four euros. Needless to say, after that, I stuck with just ordering wine for the meals.
After traveling around Germany, I took a train to Paris for a few days, and it was magically beautiful. I was a typical tourist and went up the Eiffel Tower, saw the Mona Lisa and walked the Champs-Elysees. While merchant workers were kind to me, I did notice that Parisians live up to the rumor that they are not very nice. People do not say excuse me while passing you, and when they realize you are American they sneer. However, you can't really blame them because Americans don't exactly have the best reputation.
The two countries I saw in Europe was amazing and beautiful and I cannot wait to go back one day. If I were to give one piece of advice to a fellow amateur traveler, it would be to prepare. Buy your tickets to everything in advance to avoid the lines, plan where you are going at what time and have an itinerary set to save time overseas. Also, prepare for customs getting back into America because they are a pain in the ass.
