...and so it ends.

We are home. I think I speak for everyone on the trip when I say that we are all exhausted, enlightened, and ready to go back ASAP. After everything that we experienced, you would have to be crazy not to want to hop on a plane and do it all over again. Sitting here in my room back in oh-so-lovely Parkland (certainly very removed from the opulence, grandeur, beauty, and history of Vienna) writing this blog post, I can't help but feel like the entire trip was one giant dream - It's still a very surreal feeling coming back to the humdrum routine of everyday college life after having had the experiences and adventure of the past three weeks. My mind is still set to travel mode, and not having the narrow cobblestone streets and ancient buildings of Europe right outside my door to explore and lose myself in is, quite frankly, a major bummer. Classes, routine, and responsibility just don't quite hold the same charm.

Looking back on the things we experienced over the trip, the sheer volume of what we did is rather mind-boggling. We wandered the hills of Salzburg; we explored the ancient cobblestone streets of Prague; we ventured into crypts and castles, palaces and cathedrals; we walked the Berlin wall; we stood in the room Mozart was born in on his birthday; we ate in cafes and restaurants that were frequented by some of the greatest musical minds the world will ever know; we walked the banks of the Vltava (Moldau), Danube, Spree, and Salz rivers; we ate food and pastries unlike anything available at home; we attended a Mozart high mass in the cathedral which it was likely written to be performed in; we attended concerts of two of the best orchestras in the entire world... and so the list continues. If asked to name the highlight of the trip, the only response I could possibly give would be "the whole thing". This trip reminded me why I love traveling so much, and made me that much more anxious to get out and explore the world - I have definitely been hit smack over the head with a serious case of wanderlust.

And the music. Oh my goodness, the music. The sheer brilliance of the music we experienced and were immersed in still blows my mind. If you ever find yourself doubting the sheer genius and beauty of Mozart's writing, go hear the Camerata Salzburg play his music in the Mozarteum on his birthday. That is an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It is performances like that which justify why it is that we musicians do what we do, and why we work ourselves to the bone in the name of an intangible (and often verging on the esoteric) art. 

Needless to say, spring semester is going feel particularly lackluster after the experiences of the last three weeks. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat some Manner wafers, drink slivovice out of my Leipzig stein, and cook myself some gulasch while listening to Brahms 4.

Danke schön, Europe. You are beautiful.