It's been almost five months since I have returned from that memorable and full of emotions journey. Now I sit in front
of my computer hit so many memories and amazing experiences around Europe. So
let’s get it started.
After a year of expectation, finally
the end of the school year came. Not only the end of the school year but also
the beginning of our journey. That was the first time I was travelling so far
from my country. I was excited!
It was the third of July. Early in
the morning we were all in front of hotel Trimntsium, from where we left for
Switzerland, CERN, which was our purpose. And the excursion began.
We traveled through Serbia, we saw
Belgrade , and passed through Croatian and after 17 hours we arrived in the
capital of Slovenia - Ljubljana . After so many hours spent in the bus we
couldn’t wait to check in, get some sleep and prepare for the next day when we
had to travel a lot more.
The next day we left for Geneva. The
day was very exciting for me because I was going to see the Alps. We went
through the Simplon Pass. The view that opened up for me was fascinating. The majesty
of this mountain made all of us stand up and "stuck" our cameras to
the windows. Later we saw the famous Lake Geneva, the second largest lake in Central
Europe where we could also watch a splendid
view of the magnificent Alps. It was July, but the temperatures below the Alps
did not feel like summer.
On the third day of our journey we visited
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). It is located on the
territory of two countries - France and Switzerland. When we arrived at CERN a
very friendly Bulgarians welcomed us. They were our guides. Our first visit was
of the detector - ATLAS. Fortunately there was a prophylaxis of the detectors
and we had the opportunity to go down to 100 meters under the ground and see
it. Then we listened to a lecture as an introduction to CERN, which have helped
us to understand what is happening in the detectors and accelerators, and what
work is being done at CERN. At lunch and we headed to the restaurant first.
Surprisingly as it may sound, it was one of the places that greatly impressed me.
The restaurant looked like a collection of nations. Around me it was full of
people of different races, speaking different languages, from different
countries, even continents. All these people were smiling, happy , enthusiastic
, motivated, which made me feel great .
Our next destination - the palace of
the United Nations. There we were able to see so different and interesting
rooms and corridors. I have never imagined that such a diplomatic place could
be so aristocratic and ornate. I was impressed that everything there was a gift
from a country, even the tiles on the floor and on the walls. When you’re
walking down the corridors you can see a variety of pictures from around the
world.
The trip around Geneva continued. If
there is a place that I would come back one day, this is definitely Geneva.
Everything there was so tidy and clean . In the old town we saw the Flower
Clock , whose 6000 colors change every
season and the cathedral " St. Peter ." We were very disappointed
when we found out that we won’t be able to see the largest fountain in Europe
because it was stopped. And because we were in Switzerland , as a lover of
chocolate I could not miss this chance to experience a taste of Swiss
chocolate.
The fourth day began in CERN. Our
group was included in a physical experiment to observe cosmic rays in the
particle detector that we built ourselves . The experiment was conducted
personally by the director of the educational department in the center Mr. Mick Storr. We visited the room in which
at real-time particle were register by the AMS detector / alpha magnetic
spectrometer / installed on the International Space Centre. We saw the
headquarters of the Computer Centre, and of all accelerators. We heard a fascinating
lecture on the work of the Large Hadron Collider underground and about the detectors
registered " divine particle" - the Higgs boson . Our day continued
with a visit to Annecy - a small town located in the Alps. Also called the
Second Venice due to the channel in the center of town. I strongly recommend
you to try the ice cream there - one of the attractions of Annecy .
On the fifth day of our trip we
visited Vevey . The hometown of Charlie Chaplin, where is also located the
building of the Nestle chocolate . We went to the next town situated on the Lake
Geneva - Montreux. We visited Castle Chillon which atmosphere of a palace and a
prison , was able to transfer me back in the Middle Ages. We went to the city
of Milan . Next - a memorable walk along the center of Milan, where you can sit
and enjoy an aromatic Italian coffee .We visited no less memorable Milan Cathedral
, which architecture impressed even me - a sixteen -year-old girl who has no
idea of what architecture is.
We continued our walk through
northern Italy as we went to Verona. Stroll through Piazza Ebre , visited the
houses of Romeo and Juliet and enjoyed delicious Italian pasta .
After a night near Verona , the bus
drove off to our final destination - Venice. There we waited for a boat that
took us to the old town. We went to San Marco Square , through the Bridge of
Sighs and the Doge's Palace . Invigorated by the Venetian coffee, went to the
Rialto Bridge , as we passed through the small and narrow but charming streets
of Venice. Headed to Ljubljana, where was our last night .
Even unforgettable everything has an
end. We saw a world famous cities, a worldwide famous landmarks only for seven
days that I can not even believe it. It was unique, memorable , interesting and
fun. Traveling to Bulgaria I wished I could bring the time seven days back and
live those emotions again , but time is in front of me and I'm sure that one
day I will go through these amazing places which are a result of the work and
mind of man and the greatness of nature.
Know the world to love it . I can
not wait to see what new adventure awaits me next summer.
