"Le bonheur est parfois caché dans l'inconnu." / "Happiness is often hidden in the unknown." - Victor Hugo

A street musician fills the bustling morning market at the Münsterplatz with charming music, completing the atmosphere of feeling like one could be in a German market a century back.

Like every other student that decides to travel abroad, I am tasked with several missions: learning my surroundings, enhancing communication skills (whether this be elaborate hand gestures for some, or the actual local language for others), and assimilating. And, as I am sure is the same for all students abroad, I am having the most difficulties with the last goal: assimilation.

As I write this, I’m sitting in the strangest place I’ve ever been in my life.

In the United States the coming of spring is celebrated most famously on Groundhog Day, the second day of February. On this day, Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog that lives in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania, is brought out during a festival filled with music and food to predict the end of winter. According to legend, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he's predicted six more weeks of winter (or winter-like weather, to be more precise). If Phil does not see his shadow, spring will come early.

An epiphany brought to you by a captivated visitor to the Giant’s Causeway:

Please understand the value of staying in your towel.

It’s 9:07 am and my doorbell is buzzing incessantly. I want it to stop, I want to go back to sleep, I don’t want somebody waking me up right now. It takes a few minutes to realise that the person ringing my bell is my friend, and he’s waking me up because we’re leaving on a weekend trip to Utrecht in 13 minutes. I scramble to pack and am out the door.

Vienna's architecture is filled with hidden gems hiding in the ornate facades and rooftops of buildings.

Modern sculpture showing the way on the rooftop.

Carnivale in Siena, Italy

Welcome to Madrid, where tapas are ridiculously, fantastically cheap and somehow pork finds its way into almost every dish. Where strange nooks and famous plazas are around every corner and at times it’s cheaper to order sangria than water. Where the people are friendlier than you might expect for a big city and the metro is surprisingly navigable (albeit after a few mishaps).