Colosseum in Rome

I can’t believe that I am writing my final post for this semester’s blog. Where has time gone? I am finished with all my travels, excited to spend the last two weeks or so in Florence.

View overlooking Roman Forum from the Colosseum

This past month has been a great closing to the semester. My travels included Rome, Interlaken and Venice. Interlaken is a beautiful town situated between two lakes in Switzerland surrounded by a constant view of the Alps.

Jungfrau: Top of Europe from village of Mürren

Here I had the chance to travel by cable car to a tiny alpine village of Mürren above the fog that so commonly settles in the mountains. Seeing the Jungfrau, the top of Europe, was truly one of the most incredible views I’ve ever experienced. Both Rome and Venice only led me to love Italy more than I already do after living in the heart of Tuscany for the past semester.

Christmas Markets in Munich

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Christmas Markets in Innsbruck, Austria and Munich, Germany. On this trip we toured Dachau Concentration Camp. What a humbling and eye-opening experience this was. I truly felt I was seeing a piece of history frozen in time. I have always been extremely fascinated with the Holocaust and WWII time period so I feel blessed to have visited this memorial site first hand.

Looking back on the incredible experience I had abroad I realized how much I learned and grew as a person. I would have never expected living in a foreign country to so strongly shape and influence my personality—but it entirely changes your outlook on life. You quickly learn to appreciate things in a new manner.

Florence has served as a fantastic home for the past four months. Leaving with millions of memories, I have to remind myself that this by no means will be my last trip to Europe. It has given me such a hunger for adventure and desire to explore life to its fullest capacity. With graduation quickly approaching, I am extremely excited to watch life unfold with a new perspective from this experience.

Tuscan sunset over Fiesole

Knowing that I will never relive this time in my life I can only encourage others to embark on the same journey. The best way I can sum up my experience the last few months is this quote by Miriam Beard, “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

___

Laura is a student at Lipscomb University studying at Florence University of the Arts during the Fall 2013 term.