recent grad.

As some of you know, I have recently graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and a Minor in Horticulture. And what am I going to do with that you might ask? I'm going to OLIN. Check it out.

I got the phone call on Tuesday when I was mowing the lawn at the farm. I was, ironically, thinking about my internship there when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but picked it up, and I think I may have scared Sydney, the Director HR. I was definitely beyond ecstatic to receive the offer and accept. So, instead of coming back to Minnesota for the summer after my backpacking trip through Europe, which I will talk about in a minute, I will be moving out to Philly and starting a professional job on the 5th of July.

But, back to the reason why we're all here...

During my last semester of college I was talking with one of the guys in my class, Payton, and found out he was thinking about backpacking through Europe. My mom had instilled the idea of backpacking through Europe after I studied abroad in Australia in 2004. She told me that it was something she had always wished to do and it has always been in the back of my mind since. When Payton mentioned he might not go because his other travel buddies could not go, my hand shot up and I said I would go.

We started researching where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Random side note: I would recommend making sure you give yourself A LOT of time to do this and get everything organized. It takes longer than you think. We decided on 13 cities - Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Florence, Geneva, London, Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice, and Vienna. But, after an insightful email from my aunt's fiance, we decided to cut four cities out of the trip to experience the culture of each place better. So, Payton and I said goodbye to Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, and Venice, which was unfortunate, but maybe some other time.

We will be flying into London and then head to Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Florence, Geneva, Paris, and then fly back out of London. We decided on a full month for the trip, staying in each city for at least two days, hitting the bigger cities for four. Along with all the touristy sites in each city, we are going to try to get off 'the beaten path' and actually experience the city. And we are even going to go see the Pope, hopefully he is there that Sunday.

I will keep everyone updated with this blog as to what we are doing, what we are seeing, and what we are experiencing. I may not be able to post every day, but I will try as much as I can. And I see that I can even post videos on here, ooooh!

steinkraus.