I’m relaxing in a wonderful London flat after taking a train from Brussels to London yesterday. My parents met me at the train station and we spent the afternoon walking around London until it started pouring. I’m excited to do more exploring today — the Churchill War Rooms and an organ recital at Westminster Abbey are on our agenda.

Prague

It’s hard to believe the amazing RIAS Berlin fellowship is already over. I learned so much during the program and it makes me want to read more about European politics and foreign relations. I never thought I’d say this, but the program tempted me to go back to school!

Our last two stops during the program were Prague and Brussels, two places I would love to revisit. We spent time at the German Embassy in Prague and also visited Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which was especially interesting. I loved seeing the powerful journalism the staff there is producing.

We also had a little time to do some exploring in Prague. A few of us walked down to Old Town Square to watch the Astronomical Clock and its hourly performance. We then headed down to the Old Charles Bridge, which gave us a beautiful view of the city. Prague looks like it came straight out of a fairytale. We only had about 24 hours in the beautiful city, so I would love to go back. I really want to check out Prague Castle next time and wander around some less tourism-driven neighborhoods. Maybe we’ll bike from Hamburg to Prague someday and revisit some of these amazing places. 

I would also go back just for another Trdelnik, a pastry roasted over a fire and covered in sugar. So good! It tasted similar to a churro and paired perfectly with a cup of hot wine.

Brussels

After our quick stop in Prague, we made our way to beautiful Brussels. We stayed just a few blocks away from the Grand-Place, which made it easy to wander around and explore. We, of course, sampled our fair share of Belgian chocolate. There were several different chocolate shops on every block, but several people told us Neuhaus was best. Their pralines are out-of-this-world delicious.

For me, the beer in Belgium was one of the highlights of the trip. Belgium has the largest number of authentic Trappist breweries — there are only ten officially recognized in the world. The beers are brewed in monasteries and are some of the strongest, most delicious brews you’ll ever try.  I loved being able to sample the different Tripels available during our short stay.

A couple of us ventured out to Delirium Cafe for a couple beers one night, which was a blast. The number of beers on tap was impressive and I would have gone back every night if I had more time.

The sessions we had for the end of our fellowship in Brussels were among my favorites of the fellowship. We got to visit the European Commission and NATO, where I learned a lot about how the organizations work and the challenges they face today. I’m hoping to incorporate some of what I learned about the refugee crisis and current political climate into my future reporting.

Our trip ended with a quick afternoon visit to Bruges, where we took a boat tour to see the beautiful city. It was the perfect end to an amazing, life-changing trip. I plan to stay involved in RIAS and hope to host a German journalist in the future. I highly recommend the program to any radio, TV or digital journalists who are interested in foreign policy and European issues.

Now, it’s time to go do some more exploring!

The post Prague and Brussels Highlights appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Of all the towns along the Amalfi Coast, Positano was the one I was most excited to visit. The colorful town sits among the hills and offers breathtaking views of the coast. The scenery is absolutely stunning.

Because of wildfires, the road to Positano was closed while we were in Italy. That meant we had to take a boat instead of a bus and I’m so glad we did. We stood toward the back of the boat on the top floor, so we were able to take in amazing views of the coast and Capri as we made our way to Positano. The boat left for Positano at 10:30 a.m. and headed back to Sorrento around 5 p.m., making it an easy day trip.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever experienced. While Positano is a popular shopping destination (it has a family-owned ceramics factory and is also famous for its handmade linens), we spent most of our time soaking up the views. We made our way up the winding roads to the top of the hills and stood there for quite some time mesmerized by what we saw.

I loved the beautiful, tiled dome of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, so we decided to make our way inside and check it out. The church dates back to the 10th century when it was a monastery. It was abandoned for some time before receiving a makeover in the 18th century. According to Rick Steves, The parish is well-known for its Black Madonna painting:

“The Black Madonna icon-like painting above the altar was likely brought here by Benedictine monks in 12th century. But locals prefer their romantic legend: Turkish (or Saracen) pirates had it on their ship as plunder. A violent storm hit; it was sure to sink the evil ship. Then the painting of Mary spoke, saying “Posa, posa” (“Lay me down”), and the ship glided safely into this harbor. The pirates were so stricken they became Christians. Locals kept the painting and the town became known as “Posa-tano” (after Mary’s command).”

After walking up and down the hilly roads, we worked up quite the appetite. We had a wonderful meal at Buca di Bacco, which sits right along the beach and boasts beautiful views.

I had delicious pasta with pesto that I was happy to discover tasted very much like the pesto my mother makes. The basil used was extremely fresh and the pesto wasn’t overly oily like you’ll sometimes find in the states. James ordered the fried ravioli appetizer as his entree and loved the dish. Of course, we had a bottle of the white vino de la casa with our meal.

After lunch, we spent time walking along the beach and dipping our toes in the water. In hindsight, I wish we would have brought our swimsuits along. There is a small section of public beach for sunning and swimming. You can also rent a chair and umbrella along a small, private section of the shore.

We loved romantic Positano and would have liked to spend more time there, but going for the day seemed to be the perfect amount of time for our trip. You can check out James’ amazing photos (which put my iPhone pictures to shame) of Sorrento, Pompeii and Positano over on his blog. I can’t wait to get some of his pictures printed!

The post Our Honeymoon: Positano appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.