Harvey Scholar Travel- Mollie in Europe

Mollie- Europe 2014

July 16^th- July 20^th

The first leg of my trip was spent in Paris, France where my mom and I met my oldest sister Sarah for a few days. One of my favorite experiences was the night time bike tour that we took of the city. It was a beautiful summer night and we got to see many of the ornate, iconic sights of Paris. The tour concluded with a boat tour down the Seine River, and a short ride back to get back to the Eiffel tower by midnight. 

Another of my favorite memories from Paris was the day that my mom, sister and I got lunch at Galeries Lafayette, an enormous mall/grocery store/shopping center. When we decided to go on the roof to eat, we didn’t know that we would have such a wonderful view of the city, and it was a fantastic surprise. We were right across from the opera house, and we could see the Eiffel tower as well as much of the city from the rooftop.  

July 20^th- July 25^th

After a few days spent admiring the elegant sights of Paris, we ventured to my sister’s home in Berlin, Germany. Despite the extremely different atmosphere of Berlin, it was just as charming to me. The history, ruggedness, and adventure that Berlin offered was especially exciting to me. My mom and I again took a bike tour of the city in order to see many of the sights and learn more about the history of the city. 

One relaxing day in Berlin was spent with my mom, visiting the East Side Gallery and a lake right outside of Berlin called Schlachtensee. It was fun to explore the city while my sister was at work every day, but it was also exciting to go with her to see all of her favorite places in the city to hang out. It is nice to have a clearer idea of what her day-to-day routines look like now. 

July 25^th- July 30^th 

After spending much of the week in Berlin we traveled to Lisbon, Portugal. My sister was able to stay through the weekend with us, before having to go back to work. This was one of my favorite cities I have ever visited. Unlike the elaborate beauty of Paris, or the grungy comfort of Berlin, Lisbon is delightfully quaint and the beauty is in all of the small details and touches of elegance and simplicity. It was absolutely wonderful, and I would go back in a heartbeat. The city was very hilly, and had an old tram that was still in use, as well as many new ones. The picture below is of my mom and I on the tram. Another fun detail in the city was all of the beautiful tile that lined the walls of the buildings everywhere.

One of the most adventurous days we had in Portugal was spent in a small town called Sintra, just outside of Lisbon, where there are a few castles to explore. We only had time to go through one of the properties, but it was amazing. There were all kinds of surprises in the gardens and main building.

Of course we couldn’t see everything that we wanted to in these three cities, but what we did get to see makes me excited to visit these places again, and to explore many more cities in the future. I am so thankful for the opportunities to see the world, and I can’t wait to see where else I will get to visit in my time here at Mines.