Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Obviously, the little situation in Budapest set me back on my timeline just a bit but fortunately for me I hadn't purchased my bus tickets before hand. Throughout this traveling adventure I have re-affirmed the fact that I really work best when I have a plan. Spontaneity is all well and good but I really like to have a general idea, a game plan of sorts... it totally aids in my peace of mind. I am now a master of economical European travel, whether it is by train, plane or bus, I have it down and can for you all the major websites, those available in English and those you have to blindly attempt to translate. If anyone is up for a bit of Euro adventure and needs some assistance, I am your gal! haha!
The bottom line was that I only had one full day in Prague. This was a bit sad, I had heard so much of the beauty of this city. It is the only one to escape WWII nearly unscathed! Quite an impressive feat! I guess it pays to have old history... ohh and to know the right people!
When I arrived in Prague it was evening time and I had been on a bus (albeit a comfy one) for the better part of the day. I only had USD (thanks to Casey for the money transfer) so had to make massive deposit on hostel room until money changers opened in the morning! That evening I met some really great people here and had awesome chats about natural healing, energy work, meditation and other topics not usually discussed in a youth hostel...fantastic and really refreshing! The next morning before embarking on another guided walking tour of the city I stopped by an electronic shop to purchase batteries for the camera lent to me by the Nagy family. I am not sure what happened exactly but when the man in the camera store was putting the new batteries in the camera he broke the small clip that held the battery door closed... really? My third camera on this trip! WTF next stop disposable! After the guided tour I took out my camera frustrations by walking consistently for the next 5 hours. I am pretty sure that I covered the majority of Prague in one day. Conclusion: great palace, lovely churches (big surprise), absolutely fantastic architecture, rad history and wayyyy too many tourists. It was a bit difficult to see what your average Czech citizen living in Prague would do on a daily basis if it were not for all the damn tourists! Honestly, I would love to go back again when I didn't feel like I had to do speed sight seeing... Next time! Woo hoo!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Buda and Pest, Hungary
Budapest, HUNGARY
ohhh Budapest... Budapest, Budapest, Budapest...A girl I met in Vienna had recommended that I stay in a guesthouse when I came to Budapest. She gave me the name and the contact information and said it was a lovely, clean apartment owned by a sweet older lady and her daughter. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it was only 8 Euro/night! What a deal! I met Helena (the appropriately named owner of Helena's Guesthouse) at the train station when I arrived in Budapest. She was the darn sweetest thing to ever walk the streets of Budapest and was giving me hugs, kisses on the cheeks and a discounted stay by the time we were to the train station steps. Within the hour I was settled into my pre-schooler sized foam mattress nestled atop a bed of press board boxes. Helena's daughter had even done my laundry so naturally, I was loving Budapest. The weather wasn't perfect but I managed to spend several hours walking around the Buda side exploring the city and getting a feel for a post-communist country. Day 2 in Budapest I went on a walking tour of the city and learned loads about what it was like to live during communist rule from someone who actually experienced it. As expected, we visited all the desirable sites (bridges, castles, lucky statues that required rubbing) on both the Buda and the Pest sides of the city. I had a lovely time and even made friends with the tour guides. After the tour we decided to go to a local hang out spot where we had agreed to meet up with a few other folks from the tour. A great time was had by all until I realized that my purse had managed to walk off without me. I was clearly upset to have lost damn near everything thing important that I had with me (passport, wallet, all cash, jewelery, travelers cheques, phone, credit cards, IDs, ipod, brand new camera [only 3.5 weeks old] and ALL - yes, every single one - of my pictures from the last month of traveling!). But my body is safe and I am healthy and have learned from that silly mistake. I know better than to travel with all my important documents in one bag but since I was staying in that guesthouse there wasn't anywhere safe for me to lock my possessions so I figured they would be safest with me. Well, it turned out not to be so safe in a crowded park... I am obviously so sad about this but I have to keep thinking about the positive. Live and learn. After all it was only stuff and stuff can be replaced. And I will always have the memories and experiences from this trip!
I am so fortunate to have met the Nagy's! Gabor (my tour guide) and his sweet wife Aggie were so kind and generous to me by allowing me to stay with them in their home until I could get things sorted out. I spent six nights on their couch, waking each morning at 7 AM to sweet little Lily's face in mine. Lily was my little dolly! She is the Nagy's 2 year old daughter whom I adore. I was able to play with Miss Lilyana to my heart's content and possibly to her mother's relief because they also had a brand new 3 week old baby girl at home! Needless to say it was a busy little flat. I hope that one day I am able to repay their kindness! Everyday, Aggie made me breakfast of fruit, local pastries, wonderful teas, veggies... you name it. Then Gabor and I would either ride bikes or the scooter into town where we would split ways. He would give the morning Budapest tour and I be off to do whatever errand I made up for my penniless self such as contending with the US embassy to get a new passport, wonder through the parks, scrutinizing any individual who looked like he or she could have been the thief, or window shopping for the delicious local foods and incredibly cheap clothes... Around 1 PM each day I would wonder over to the Pest side, up the massive hill (I consider any hill to be massive if there is the option to take some sort of trolley to the top) and meet the tour group in the castle. Gabor had a deal with one of the local restaurants that if he brought a bunch of tourists from the tour into their joint to eat then the tour guides would eat for free! For that week I was a "potential tour guide in training!" This was awesome because it gave me an opportunity to eat some serious Hungarian food at a cost that wasn't a burden to my missing wallet. Throughout the course of the week I was able to get to know the Nagy's better and to really get a taste of what it is like to live in a post-communist country. They call it this because the nation still has so many issues and hasn't fully achieved what is necessary for it to be called a true democracy.
Finally, the day before I planned to leave, my sweet brother Casey was able to wire money to me. Let me tell you, Western Union has got a darn good thing going and are making bank by just moving around numbers!!! My final day, I decided to treat myself and experience one of the Turkish bath houses that are so famous in Budapest! Oh my, what an awesome adventure! I chose to got to the bathhouse with several immense outdoor pools (all of varying temps) and nearly countless indoor pools, tubs, saunas (dry, wet and aroma) ranging in temperature from effin freezing (16 degrees Celsius) to what I was certain to be just under boiling! I spent the day running around this place in a bathing suit teasing/testing/torturing my body as I cooked in the hottest of all hot saunas then immediately sat in the ice bin until I was in danger of frost bite then did it all over again!!!
ohhh Budapest... Budapest, Budapest, Budapest...A girl I met in Vienna had recommended that I stay in a guesthouse when I came to Budapest. She gave me the name and the contact information and said it was a lovely, clean apartment owned by a sweet older lady and her daughter. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it was only 8 Euro/night! What a deal! I met Helena (the appropriately named owner of Helena's Guesthouse) at the train station when I arrived in Budapest. She was the darn sweetest thing to ever walk the streets of Budapest and was giving me hugs, kisses on the cheeks and a discounted stay by the time we were to the train station steps. Within the hour I was settled into my pre-schooler sized foam mattress nestled atop a bed of press board boxes. Helena's daughter had even done my laundry so naturally, I was loving Budapest. The weather wasn't perfect but I managed to spend several hours walking around the Buda side exploring the city and getting a feel for a post-communist country. Day 2 in Budapest I went on a walking tour of the city and learned loads about what it was like to live during communist rule from someone who actually experienced it. As expected, we visited all the desirable sites (bridges, castles, lucky statues that required rubbing) on both the Buda and the Pest sides of the city. I had a lovely time and even made friends with the tour guides. After the tour we decided to go to a local hang out spot where we had agreed to meet up with a few other folks from the tour. A great time was had by all until I realized that my purse had managed to walk off without me. I was clearly upset to have lost damn near everything thing important that I had with me (passport, wallet, all cash, jewelery, travelers cheques, phone, credit cards, IDs, ipod, brand new camera [only 3.5 weeks old] and ALL - yes, every single one - of my pictures from the last month of traveling!). But my body is safe and I am healthy and have learned from that silly mistake. I know better than to travel with all my important documents in one bag but since I was staying in that guesthouse there wasn't anywhere safe for me to lock my possessions so I figured they would be safest with me. Well, it turned out not to be so safe in a crowded park... I am obviously so sad about this but I have to keep thinking about the positive. Live and learn. After all it was only stuff and stuff can be replaced. And I will always have the memories and experiences from this trip!
I am so fortunate to have met the Nagy's! Gabor (my tour guide) and his sweet wife Aggie were so kind and generous to me by allowing me to stay with them in their home until I could get things sorted out. I spent six nights on their couch, waking each morning at 7 AM to sweet little Lily's face in mine. Lily was my little dolly! She is the Nagy's 2 year old daughter whom I adore. I was able to play with Miss Lilyana to my heart's content and possibly to her mother's relief because they also had a brand new 3 week old baby girl at home! Needless to say it was a busy little flat. I hope that one day I am able to repay their kindness! Everyday, Aggie made me breakfast of fruit, local pastries, wonderful teas, veggies... you name it. Then Gabor and I would either ride bikes or the scooter into town where we would split ways. He would give the morning Budapest tour and I be off to do whatever errand I made up for my penniless self such as contending with the US embassy to get a new passport, wonder through the parks, scrutinizing any individual who looked like he or she could have been the thief, or window shopping for the delicious local foods and incredibly cheap clothes... Around 1 PM each day I would wonder over to the Pest side, up the massive hill (I consider any hill to be massive if there is the option to take some sort of trolley to the top) and meet the tour group in the castle. Gabor had a deal with one of the local restaurants that if he brought a bunch of tourists from the tour into their joint to eat then the tour guides would eat for free! For that week I was a "potential tour guide in training!" This was awesome because it gave me an opportunity to eat some serious Hungarian food at a cost that wasn't a burden to my missing wallet. Throughout the course of the week I was able to get to know the Nagy's better and to really get a taste of what it is like to live in a post-communist country. They call it this because the nation still has so many issues and hasn't fully achieved what is necessary for it to be called a true democracy.
Finally, the day before I planned to leave, my sweet brother Casey was able to wire money to me. Let me tell you, Western Union has got a darn good thing going and are making bank by just moving around numbers!!! My final day, I decided to treat myself and experience one of the Turkish bath houses that are so famous in Budapest! Oh my, what an awesome adventure! I chose to got to the bathhouse with several immense outdoor pools (all of varying temps) and nearly countless indoor pools, tubs, saunas (dry, wet and aroma) ranging in temperature from effin freezing (16 degrees Celsius) to what I was certain to be just under boiling! I spent the day running around this place in a bathing suit teasing/testing/torturing my body as I cooked in the hottest of all hot saunas then immediately sat in the ice bin until I was in danger of frost bite then did it all over again!!!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Vienna Some More...
I forgot to mention that I also attended the famous Vienna Opera! You can buy standing room tickets for something like 5 Euros and you actually get pretty decent seats! I started chatting with a girl while waiting in line and she turned out to be a young aspiring opera singer!!! It was awesome because she helped guide me through the opera house, which seats were best, what to do and where to do and then took about 100 pictures of me attending the opera! It was such an awesome night! I highly recommend the cheap opera seats (or floor space)if anyone visits Vienna!
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