Katie Fuhrman

“Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will –whatever we may think.”

Lawrence Durrell

My remake of The Beatle’s album cover for “Abbey Road”

Ciao, bella!

Spaghetti, gondolas, wine and an unnatural amount of cats. Italy is, without doubt, my most-favored travel spot. There is something about the Italian culture that goes absolutely unmatched in all competing aspects. In June, I’ll be making my third trip to Italy with about 30 other people my age. Normally, I prefer traveling alone or with a small group of people, but in all honesty, I can’t think of any better way of celebrating my post-graduation life before entering this so-called “real world.” I’ll be spending a week in Italy, followed by a week in Greece. More than anything, I’m looking forward to returning to the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre consists of five villages located along the Italian Riviera. Cars aren’t allowed in the towns and there are no roads. You walk along the mountain coastline in between the towns and get, without doubt, some of the most scenic views I have ever seen. The Cinque Terre ranked third on National Geographic’s “Top 10 Hiking Trails in the World” list.

What’s a Malta?

Roughly 9/10 times I tell someone I’m moving to Malta after graduation, they respond with “what in the world is a Malta?” So here you go. Last summer when I was living in Cambridge, England, I worked for a company whose headquarters is located on a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean, just south of Italy: Malta. Recently, I was offered a job upon graduation working for the headquarters. Originally, I had planned on returning to England and finding work there. However, when the Malta opportunity arose, I knew it was one that I wouldn’t be offered again. With that, I accepted the position and will be moving there for 8 weeks for the employment opportunity.

Photo Credit: Hotels in Malta

Photo Credit: Commerciante Di Maiali

I’ll be living at Hotel Riviera- a resort hotel along the coast:

Photo Credit: Hotel Riviera Malta

Malta in relation to Italy:

Photo Credit: Sites Atlas

 

Hofbrauhaus Haven

You can’t get much more German with the last name Fuhrman. I’ve been to Germany twice now, covering Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and of course- Munich. I first went to Deutschland with my family three years ago, and then once again with 20 of my co-workers for a conference this last January.The typical stereotype of Germany includes beer that comes by the buckets and pretzels the size of your head. Upon reflection, I’d have to say that is about 100% accurate.

Jumping (or failing to do so) at the Feldhermhalle- the square Hitler would give his speeches to Munich residents shown below. SIDE NOTE: WE WERE NOT AWARE THIS WAS THE SAME SPOT, OR WE WOULD NOT BE ACTING SO ENTHUSIASTIC. While I do find it intriguing that we were in the same spot, I do not find it appropriate to act so celebratory and we would NOT have if we knew where we were standing.

Photo Credit: At Last

Volksbad, whatever that means, overlooking the Isar River that runs through Munich

Dachau Concetration Camp- Photo Credit: TravelPod

 From what I have understood, dancing on tables in the middle of a restaurant isn’t exactly appropriate. On the contrary, at Cavos in Munich, it’s required. I met up with some friends in Germany to go out to dinner at a Greek restaurant called Cavos. The restaurant was beautifully decorated and had people of all ages dining there. About halfway through the dinner, out of nowhere, Greek music starts blaring from the all around and the waiters are handing out literally thousands of napkins. Then the waiters proceed to stand on the tables and help everyone around them up to onto the tables to dance with them. Once everyone is on the tables, for twenty minutes Ouzo (notorious Greek alcohol) is passed around freely to everyone while the dancing continues. Once the music stops, everyone gets back into their chairs and continue dining as if nothing happened. If there is one restaurant I could recommend to anyone going to Munich, it would be Cavos.

Cavos Restaurant- Munich, Germany

Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam may or may not be famous for the extracurricular activities it offers. I went with fifteen of my friends to Amsterdam for a sleepless weekend of adventures. However, as soon as I walked out of the the train station, I was stunned by how beautiful it was. When people talk about Amsterdam, they seem to centralize their discussion on the “coffee shops” and the red-light district. While these both contribute to the overall culture of Amsterdam, there is much more to it than the nightlife spectrum. The old buildings outlined by the canals are stunning, entwining into some incredibly antique stores. Visiting Anne Frank’s house is obviously a must, but there are a lot of museums in and around Amsterdam that simply can’t be covered if you’re only there for a weekend. The Van Gough (pronounced Van Gof) museum is a popular one, however, I personally am not an art-enthusiast. With that, I knew I didn’t want to spend the little time I had there looking at the art I knew I wouldn’t understand. Instead, as a World War II enthusiast, I decided to visit the Dutch Resistance museum. The museum is extremely small and far from a popular tourist spot. Regardless, it was the highlight of my trip. The letters written to family members describing the invasion of the Germans into Holland were absolutely fascinating and the gas masks the children were forced to wear were intriguing to look at. While disheartening, surrounding oneself with such memorabilia provides an insight to World War II that cannot be found elsewhere. Aside from the museum, my favorite part of the city was simply walking around. The red light district is worth the walk, simply because it was like nothing I had ever seen. Lastly- side note: if you want a coffee, don’t  go to a coffee shop. I went into 18 coffee shops looking for coffee and ended up getting one in a restaurant. Let’s just say coffee shops are not what serving coffee is for…

Photo Credit: FunnyFunda

Anne Frank's House- Photo Credit: Triloquist

Snowball Fight in Amsterdam- January 2010

The Most Expensive Country in the World to Live: Switzerland

Montreux, Laax, and Zermatt were our three stops in Switzerland. We all got our international driver’s licenses before renting a car to drive through the Swiss Alps. Our first stop was Zermatt, the home of the Matterhorn (not Disneyland? Yes, I was surprised too). We had to take a train into the town, for no cars are allowed there. It’s a hiking and skiing town with some of the most phenomenal views the Swiss Alps have to offer. From there, we went driving back through Switzerland went we decided to randomly pull off to stay for a night to experience the real Switzerland- not just a tourist town. We ended up in Laax, a beautiful town hidden in the Alps. Somehow, we happened to end up there on Swiss Day, the equivalence of the 4th of July in the United States. Fireworks were going off everywhere and there was a huge celebration down by the lake, the heart of the town. While we couldn’t communicate with anyone due to an unbreakable language barrier, we had an entertaining time trying. The next morning we woke up and went to Montreux, Switzerland. It was striking how absolutely clean the town was. The entire community was on a lake and also surrounded by the Swiss Alps.

Montreux, Switzerland- Photo Credit: Open Travel

Photo Credit: Best Tourism

The Home of Arnold

We felt pretty popular in Austria, let me tell you. When we arrived in Salzburg and we told people we were from California, you would think they thought some type of lifelong bond had been created. Austrians rarely make it into U.S. headlines, but the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger had been elected our governor shortly before, everyone was proud to show us where he was from. Originally, I wasn’t overly-enthused about visiting Austria. I was too excited to get back to Italy and France. I wouldn’t have been more of an idiot. Austria was absolutely incredible. We first went up to Hitler’s underground bunker, “Eagles Nest” and spent the following three nights in Salzburg. Salzburg had a charm I still have yet to come across in any other European town. Every shop was completely different and the people were always happy to show us around their town.

Hitler's Eagle's Nest- Photo Credit: Mslen Flickr

Salzburg, Austria- Photo Credit: Weissess

Pass the Guinness

St Patrick’s Day in Ireland was quite an experience. The streets are flooded all week long and people are flowing out of the pubs. Whether you want to or not, you’ll end up singing the Irish drinking songs along with the thousands of people in the streets. We stayed at a friend of mine’s house, who lives just a five minute walk from the Belfast Castle. Every morning, I would wake up and walk his two Golden Retrievers up to the castle and walk throughout the mountains that overlook the Irish Sea. Below is a picture from the Belfast Castle I took while there:

Belfast, Ireland

Arrrrrrrrrrrriba!

Barcelona, Spain. I went to Barcelona for Spring Break in 2010. The second we got off the place, we knew we had chosen the perfect location. As an ignorant American, I assumed Spain would resemble Mexico. Why? Absolutely no idea. On the contrary, it was the complete opposite. There was vegetation everywhere you looked and absolutely no burritos within sixty miles (I looked, trust me). The main road, La Rambla, was always packed with hundreds of people singing and chanting Spanish songs. One night, we went out to a “discoteca” around midnight and nobody was there. We were told the Spanish go out late, but literally no one began arriving until 3 am! The Spanish enjoy their late nights- something I cannot keep up with. Call me a grandma, but I like to be in bed by eleven.

Barcelona, Spain