1. There Will Always Be That One Assshole/Weirdo/Jackass
This lesson has been learned through our various adventures in the hostels we have been staying in. In Liverpool we were lucky enough to have buddy who thought it was okay to hover over people's beds in the middle of the night but he also thought it was okay to put his hands down his pants, honestly buddy. There was never a moment before in life that I have been more mortified to be in a space. In Dublin and Berlin we were blessed with the worlds largest idiots who thought coming in at three in the morning and being as loud as humanly possible was okay. I had to get my teachers voice out at that point and reprimand them with a shh and a very bitchy reminder of the time. All this not evening mentioning the jack asses on the street who throw garbage every where, grab coffee cups out of street peoples hand's and the people who just push you around without even apologizing. It is hard to not call them all assholes while walking around but that wouldn't be very Canadian of me.
2. The Holocaust is so much bigger than you can imagine.
Growing up we learned a good chunk of European history in high school but it was such a small fraction that it could be argued as neligible. Today we ventured into the old Jewish sector of Prague where the old ghetto was still in tact from world war 2. One of the buildings here was a synagogue full of names marking the Jewish people killed during world war 2. Imagine your kitchen or living room wall full of names of people old enough to be your grandparents or young enough to be your kids with their death dates falling on the time where they had no freedom. A building full of names of just young children and older people, people who could not defend themselves, the truly vulnerable. The worst part? This was only the people from Prague. Overall numbers in a textbook give none of it justice nor does it truly explain the depth of so many innocent lives taken so heinously.
3. Life is only as fun as the people you share it with.
I've noticed a big thing to do here is a trip with friends. There are a lot of moments when I see these groups of friends and I undoubtly get a bit envious. I am not jealous because I am unsatisfied with my travel partner but because there are nurmerous moments in a day where I know people in my very small social circle would enjoy something. There is so much in this world to see and the experience is only made better by the people you decide to share it all with. I am lucky in the sense that my travel partner is my best friend and the lessons we are learning together about the world and each other will be lessons that will stick with us for the rest of our lives as a couple. I am lucky that my antics don't unnerve him and he is lucky that on my best days I have the patience of a saint. (Kind of)
4. No matter which way you cut it I am not an Olympic athlete nor am I built like one.
Getting ready for this trip I decided I was going to get in better shapes to best prepare myself for this trip. The reality of my preparations just brought to light that although I did play soccer competitively for a long time I have managed to allow myself to get a little fat and a lot out of shape. Carrying around packs that are around 30-35 pounds for an hour or more and endless kilometres leaves me sweaty and out of breath. There is no need to pretend that I carry my pack as peaceful and graceful as a swam carrying it's wings that is just not the case. The best scenario I am a hippo marching it's way around with a mouth of a sailor. The very best thing to come from this trip apart from it being a once in a lifetime experience is that I am able to shed a few unwanted pounds. If that does not happen I will just have to throw in the towel and embrace the obesity and just work more at home to become a fitter person.
5. Flexibitilty and compromise will get you far in life.
I would really like to think that what we are doing is backpacking through Europe, we have the backpacks and we are staying in hostels but that's where it stops. My idea of backpacking is living as cheap as possible to free up money else where but my idea does not match my travel partner's idea. My travel partner is very particular in what he eats so eating from the food trucks/stalls is probably the equivalent of eating off the ground. I hold very tightly to my purse strings so this is the biggest clash we are having. I am also easily bribed so as long as the overpriced dinners are not coming out of my pocket I can be flexible.
6. Don't lose sight on how lucky you are.
There are undoubtably moments where I look at people's lives and think there is a better use of my time than doing this. It is in those very foolish thoughts I forget about how lucky I am to be here and see how beautiful the world is. It is very easy to get caught up in worrying about the money, transportation and food and forget that I am here and lucky to be. It doesn't take much to remind myself though, all it takes is one look at my travel partner willing to take a hiatus from work and the scenery and buildings overflowing with history and beauty. Getting down to the reality is that of course the grass seems greener on the employed side of life but being broke in Europe isn't half bad either.
My final lesson so far: my view is infinitely better than yours. 
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