"It's Closing Time"

            Well, the Summer 2011 European Adventure for Tyler Bednar is quickly coming to an end.  I must say how sad it is to see it go.  The epitome of bitter-sweetness is soaking the air right now.  As we’ve had plenty of time to wind down and catch up on rest here in Sestriere, we are getting ready to head home to the good ole US of A to see family and friends.  Magen has been ready for a while I think, but it took me just a little longer, just wanted to make sure I saw absolutely everything I could before picking up the sweat towel.  I can’t begin to explain what an amazing experience this has been for me, I think the pictures kind of speak for themselves in most cases, and what’s funny is, they don’t anywhere near do it justice.  The kick start to my adventure, studying abroad for four weeks where I made many friends “CIMBAnzees” from all over the world, was an amazing experience in itself, but being given the opportunity to stay for six weeks and see great parts of Europe with my sister-in-law was the pinnacle of a dream.  I can truly say I’ve fulfilled a childhood wish, marked things off of my Bucket List that I didn’t even know were on it, and have checked off a major feat in my journey towards becoming a man.  The opportunity has been just out of reach for so long, but not allowing myself to give up, it finally happened!  This journey tested my patience, independence, openness, risk averse attitude, communication skills (it’s amazing how far charades will get you), personal efficiency, my definitions of what life should be, and the list goes on and on!  I’ve made new friends, met so many interesting people, and observed just how large and diverse our Planet Earth really is.  I’m with Magen on the idea that a backpacking trip, four weeks minimum, should be required for all college students, especially graduate students.  Somehow it just helps mold you even further on not only growing up, but becoming a respectable American as well. 

            Traveling around another continent, especially one as beautiful as the European one, is what most adventurous people only dream of.  I realize what an opportunity of a lifetime I’ve just completed.  I find myself smiling all the time just thinking about it, and I’m sure the trend will continue for many months even back in the States.  Magen and I shared an amazing experience together and I couldn’t have asked for a better travel buddy.  The sharing of this amazing experience with someone that appreciated it, as much as I, is so fulfilling.  We’ve made some amazing memories together and become closer friends because of it.

            All in all, I’ve come to some general observations now on the other side of our journey.  Life seems to be a series of experiences, and for most, focuses mainly around the human connections that are made and the works that they produce.  I can only state how appreciative I am to the artists of ancient Europe and the modern minds that had the decency to preserve the masterpieces.  I’ve been pretty impressed by what mankind is capable of this summer, and if you’re still in doubt, just go stand inside Notre Dame and then reassess your opinion.  I’ve learned that humans are pretty much the same wherever you go (limited to America and Europe for the time being), you have your ladies and your gentlemen, your beggars and your homeless, your Samaritans and your thugs, your money hungry and your plainly happy, your young and your old, your rich and poor, your beautiful and your not so blessed, your tall and short, your fat and skinny, your light and dark, your friendly and your smug, your open minded and your closed, your complainers and your improvisers, your stressed and your easy goers, your families and the lost, your faithful and your searchers, your healthy and your addicts, your lovers and your haters, your friends and your enemies, and I’ll stop now since I’m sure you get the point!  We’re all just people trying our best to survive and give credit where it’s due.  We cling to our environments which can be a great thing or a threatening one.  I’m literally in awe at the availability and massive dedications that honor The Higher Power around Europe.  It literally oozes with a holy presence that just makes you tingle inside.

In general, life is beautiful, no matter where you are; sometimes we just have to search a little bit harder to find that special segment.  And in Europe you don’t have to search very far.  It confuses me a bit.  Absolutely no where in Europe did we come across a dry environment where plant life was struggling to survive, but yet back home it’s so dry, and lives are being lost in the horn of Africa due to drought.  I’m not sure why people ever wanted to leave such flourishing environments.

The backpacking lifestyle has taught me some important lessons.  How everything you really need can fit inside a 60 L backpack, the joys of just seeing life as an adventure and going with the flow or taking it as it comes, how to give even the grungiest of looking people a chance to talk, how to notice and appreciate the things that just seem to work out perfectly, the brutality and friendliness of people in general, how home can become mobile if needed, that every day is a gift, to take advantages of opportunities, and to realize that all the beauty the world holds was made, or allowed to be made, by a pretty awesome God.  I’m sure he’s getting a little tired of all my thank-you’s by now but I can’t say it enough.  I’m truly truly blessed, and not ever sure why. 

With the limited amount of time we’re given here on Earth I would have to say my Summer 2011 couldn’t have been spent in many better ways on the personal fulfillment scale anyways.  From making my own pizza, tasting wine from the local hillsides, swimming in the Mediterranean, earning six hours of MBA elective credits in four weeks, making new friends from all over the world, discovering a new love of Italian gelato, to seeing speech stealing houses of worship throughout Italy, probably would have been enough for a ‘successful’ summer.  Then a completely different adventure brought its own greatness:

·        Walking the streets of Caesar and experiencing the holy presence of the Vatican in Rome.

·        Witnessing ‘Sound of Music’ scenes and walking through the oldest fortress in Europe in Salzburg.

·        Feeling like a day in the life of royalty in Vienna.

·        Soaking in the Sczentchsky Thermal Baths, taking cold showers, and crossing over the famous Danube in Budapest.

·        Watching a ballet in the National Theatre, eating amazing raspberry kolaches, seeing where the Bednar name originated, and being treated to an Armed Forces Day Parade in Prague.

·        Taking a run along the Rhine river, eating a true bratwurst dog, falling in love with the German train system, meditating in the busy social park scene in Frankfurt.

·        Drooling over waffles and chocolate in Belgium.

·        The cheery people, the great accents, amazing archives, and the first Street Photography Festival of London.

·        Basking in the beauty, rushing to see it all, and being sung to in Notre Dame in Paris.

·        Shopping the great Ramblas marketplace and seeing the eclectic style of the Spanish in Barcelona.

·        Finding a gem in disguise and walking around the charming Old Town of Southern France’s days gone by, bargain shopping, and a homey restaurant scene in Lyon.

·        Experiencing the high fashion world and transportation hiccups in Milan.

·        And hiking the Italian Alps in Sestriere.

Let’s not forget the train systems that are wonderful at times and spiteful at others.  Sleeping in a train station, overnight sleeper car trains, sacrificing hostel stays to make a connection, moody metro systems, and common improvisation at all times. 

Establishing a great friendship with my sister-in-law, enjoying every surreal second, meeting a huge variety of people, and just growing up and changing (hopefully for the better)!  I would say I’ve had some experiences that are once in a lifetime!  And in my limited blogging I’m sure I’m missing some, it’s been a busy summer, but such a rewarding one as well.

I can only hope that I’ve in some way shape or form inspired each of you readers to see what beauty lies in the world around you, to test your limits, to open your mind, and to push your habits, emotions, and comforts to their limits.  And if not, then I hope it was at least a fun read for you.  Sometimes my humor was more available at the end of the day than others.  Thanks for sticking with me through my journey and please forgive the many proofreading errors that I’m sure were spotted.  I often just had enough time to spit out an update and post it on the challenging internet systems of the Eastern world before passing out in hopes of re-energizing for the next day. 

If you take out on a journey of your own someday, please let me know so I can follow your adventures.  If planning on Europe I would definitely suggest starting early May and being finished by early July, it gets so crowded.  Make use of raileurope.com, ricksteves.com (get his guide on every place you plan to go, seriously a travel guru), hostelworld.com, wellsfargo.com, statravel.com, and any forums you can find for helpful tips.  Budget at a 1.5 exchange rate and you will over budget probably, like us.  If planning on indulging in cuisine maybe budget a bit more.  Hopefully my future will bring other parts of the world, South America, Asia, Africa, maybe even the Middle East.  I most definitely plan on returning to the finer parts of Europe also.  For now, I’m more than satisfied though and have literally no complaints, because in the end, it’s all part of the adventure!

All in all, “It’s Closing Time,” tomorrow Magen and I head back to Turin to spend a night before catching our early flights to the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE!  Europe has a lot of appealing principles in its operations, but I’m still proud to be an American for so many reasons.  I’m currently sipping probably my close to last morning cappuccino, where the saucer, the cup, the sugar, and the coffee are all made by the same company.  I’m still interested to see how I will handle not being able to satisfy my new addiction.  I’m so ready to see family and friends and edit pictures on my big screen laptop.  I can only hope my memory holds up throughout my life to never forget the truly amazing and goose-bump giving summer that I just had.  I’m looking forward to familiar smiles and hugs, home cooking, the Texas heat and sky, the quiet of the country, the growing cotton (drip anyways), the fast internet, driving Old Blue, coke floats, a big bed, Taco Villa burritos, my money being worth what it displays (if they figure out the debt crisis anyways), the ease of communication, and really just the comforts of what I’ve always known.  I have one more MBA semester left and I will be doing lots of interviews to hopefully find that perfect petroleum engineering job (any prayers would be appreciated), and preparing for the ‘real world’; should be a busy semester as usual. 

It’s not a goodbye Europe, it’s an I’ll see you later!  Till next time . . . Grazie, Ciao, Arrivederci, Buon Voyage friends, may our paths cross soon, and we’ll see you soon, very soon!