Boston the 2nd

I love Boston. It’s a great city, almost perfect size with so much to see and do. Like always, I prefer to discover a place on foot at first without going to museums (or pay any entrance anywhere). So that’s what I did. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

Thursday, 19 August 2010

After two years of waiting and one year of preparing and applying, the day had finally arrived when I would leave Austria for about eleven months to study in the US for a year. The flight from Munich to Boston via London went really smoothly. But apparently I got spoiled for life with my flight to and from Central America. Those were the ultimate flying experiences (Romana, you know what I’m talking about). The food wasn’t too bad and I watched I love you, Philip Morris. Unfortunately I could only understand half of what was said in the movie because I sat close to the engine. I arrived in Boston at around 10 pm and was already anxious to see what the immigration procedure would look like. Since it was quite late the line was short and I was welcomed to the US by a very nice immigration officer who immediately gave me some advice about places to see. Then I went to the hostel where I was staying where an extremely helpful man helped me carry my heavy, heavy suitcase to the fourth floor (I mentioned this before). The first night reminded me of my first night in Costa Rica – quite sleepless. I am not sure whether it was only due to my jetlag, but I also blame the AC which was really loud and right next to my bed.

I decided that the best way to start my time in the US and particularly in Boston would be to go to Harvard. And so I did. And I was right. Harvard is such an amazing, beautiful place. At first I was wandering around a bit on my own before I joined a free student-led tour through Harvard. After the tour was over I hung out a little longer in Harvard, read my Moby Dick and enjoyed the beautiful day. That night I had my first burrito and I loved it. So good.

On Saturday I walked around downtown Boston for most of the day (which was again really sunny and resulted in a slight sunburn on my skull…). At first I did a little bit of window shopping and enjoyed a big cup of coffee. Then I spent some time in the Boston Common and Public Garden where, conveniently, also the Freedom Trail starts. Along that trail are my colonial sites of historical and political significance. It is easy to follow because there’s a double row of sidewalk bricks (or paint) which marks the trail. Some of the highlights were: the State House, the Faneuil Hall, the USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill Monument. The trail is about three miles long and it took me between three and four hours to finish it – with lots of breaks and window shopping squeezed in. After I finished it I got myself a delicious, energizing smoothie.

Sunday wasn’t such a nice day anymore. It rained during most of the day. Since I was still quite tired I decided to sleep in. In the afternoon I headed to Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) where a game was just going on and people were lining the streets. My walk also led me to some other parks, beautiful residential areas, and Harvard Medical School. All in all a very mellow day.

My last day in Boston had come with Monday. I wanted to check out the Brookline area but unfortunately it was still raining so I ended up window shopping and enjoying a sandwich at Subway. In the afternoon I left Boston to head to my next destination: Portland, Maine.