After my last midterm I hurried home to finish packing for my trip across Eastern Europe. Up to the last minute I had three fans pointing on a few clothing items in an attempt to completely dry them before leaving. After being partially successful, two roommates and I headed to the train station for an all-night ride to Vienna, Austria.
Day 1: Vienna- We woke up in Vienna ten hours later. After breakfast we left the hotel for a guided tour of the city. During our tour we passed many beautiful buildings, sculptures, and even managed to see a procession of horses from the Spanish Riding School. Personally, I think it is wrong to use horses as entertainment and as a means of transportation, but I appreciated being exposed to the cultural aspect of the horses. After our tour we went to St. Stephan’s Cathedral. I have seen numerous cathedrals since I have been in Europe so it takes a lot to impress me… but there was something about this cathedral… it was huge, but not overbearing. It was a very warm cathedral that smelt like vanilla candles and was filled with music from a choir. It reminded me of walking through a scene in a Christmas movie. We then headed over to a restaurant for our first real Eastern European meal which consisted of a beef soup, beef and hash brown dish, and apple strudel. We then headed to the Schonbrunn Palce. We were unable to enter the palace so we walked the gardens instead. The sun had fallen by this point and had cast long shadows across the garden, it was very picturesque. Before sundown we decided to head over to the Riesenrad, a famous amusement park, and ride one of the world’s oldest Ferris wheels. The barn shaped box we stood in with about twelve people all standing up and walking around while suspended in the air was actually pretty terrifying. After the amusement park we went to try to famous Austrian sacher cake. It is a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in the middle, which sounded delicious, but unfortunately it was a disappointment. It was dry and overpriced. Finally we went back to our hotel, met our roommates, and got ready for a night on the town in the Bermuda Triangle reign. This area is full of bars and late night food stands. It was the perfect place for a few drinks, some dancing, and a box of greasy chow-mein to eat on the way home. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you will always be able to find Chinese food.
Day 2: Bratislava and Budapest- We woke up the next morning, re-packed, had breakfast and were off to our next country-Slovakia. Basically, it went something like this “Okay, guys. We are in Bratislava, Slovakia. Meet us at the bus in three hours.” We all stood there thinking the same thing…What are we supposed to do in Bratislava, Slovakia for three hours? So we started walking toward a castle and found a beautiful view of the city. We wondered through “Old Town” and ate at a traditional restaurant. I got wiener schnitzel, fries, and onion soup. And that was Bratislava. Onto Budapest. Now, my Italian cell phone doesn’t like it when I switch countries, so by this point my poor phone was having a heart attack. It kept sending me messages along the lines of “Welcome to HUNGARY! It is going to cost you a fortune to use your cell phone here!” or “In case you were unaware, you are in SLOVAKIA! You have an Italian cell phone. We are not a Slovakian cell phone company”. Poor phone. We got to Budapest and checked into one of my favorite hostels. We had 13 girls to one bedroom, but we had a huge kitchen, living room, and dining room area. We shared the space with other travelers and met an Irish woman doing a bike tour and two Brazilian friends traveling through Europe together. That night we went on a pub crawl and discovered that wine and Coca-Cola mixed is considered a cocktail drink in Hungary. It tasted alright, but I prefer my wine separate from my fountain drinks. After an exhausting night I climbed up to the loft and passed out.
Day 3: Budapest- We began with a guided tour of Budapest by the sweetest tour guide imaginable. He was in his 40’s, living with his parents, shy but knowledgeable, and just so very precious. Before we had even gotten halfway done with the tour of Budapest, I was in awe of the city. Somewhere between walking through the beautiful parks covered in orange and red leaves, the light mist that barely touched my face, and the many bodies of water I fell in love. It is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. After the tour we split into our smaller groups of friends to do more exploring. We had lunch at a small Hungarian restaurant and got a lesson in cultural differences. As Americans, we tend to be on the louder side when we eat a meal. Hungarians, apparently, find this very disrespectful. The Hungarian waitress had a serious attitude with us from the time we entered her restaurant until the time we left. Halfway through our meal she even slammed her fist down on the counter and shouted “SHHH!!”. We were stunned and tried to eat as quickly as possible to go elsewhere. We actually ended up getting dessert next door and then spotted a Starbucks around the corner. Even back home I try to avoid Starbuck in favor of smaller coffee shops, but it was fun to order something we all missed from back home. I got a Crème Brule drink I remember getting in the past for the “fall specials”. It wasn’t nearly as good as the Italian cappuccinos I have had, but it was nice to hold something warm. We then headed off to Parliament and it turns out it was a national holiday in Hungary. There was music playing in the courtyard and an elderly man dancing alone to it. One of the girls in my program went to dance with him and he was so excited to have a partner. While we were in the courtyard we saw a special presentation of the flag. Later that night we walked up to the Buda castle which was simply magical. The lights all reflected off the river and the mist that hung in the air gave everything a special glow. It was nothing short of magic.
Day 4: Krakow- We left for Krakow the next morning. When we checked into our hostel this sweet polish woman saw me struggling with getting my suitcase up the stairs and came to help me. She was well into her 60’s but strong enough to carry most of the weight. This made my day. After checking into our hostel we realized we had two bathrooms for all 39 of us. Another adventure. We arrived early enough to grab dinner, so we went out for pierogies. Since Krakow is a huge college town, we went out to explore the night life that night. We ended the night with Gyro’s and McDonalds fries. I am learning that late night food is popular in many countries, especially those populated with college students.
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