After a seven hour bus ride on the Orangeways bus(made bearable by their showing of Save the Last Dance, one of Brett's favorite films) we arrived in the Czech Republic. On the first day we did basically nothing, outside of eating dinner at a ridiculously cheap pizzeria and exploring the area around our hostel. Our hostel was the massive basically a cheap hotel Czech Inn. It was nothing like the small, friendly hostel iwe stayed at in Budapest. It was much harder to meet people, but we did end up getting to know the skinny English bloke across the room from us and also managed to share a few dangerous words with the very moody Australian who slept in the lower bunk of Brett's bed.
On the second day we walked into the old town, a beautiful section of the city seemingly populated entirely by tourists. We saw the Lennon wall (John not Vladimir, a mistake I made of course) which is a wall that has been frequently repainted with Beatle's related graffiti since the 1980s. We made our way to the Prague Castle, but it was far too expensive (an outlandish nine dollars with the student discount), so we walked down into the nearby parks. Sitting in a beautiful park for twenty minutes made us really tired, and we decided to head back to the hostel for an early night, via the cheap pizzeria of course. The route we took went right over one of Prague's best known landmarks, the Charles Bridge. Prague is really a very small city compared to Budapest, as we discovered while avoiding contact with the moody Australian as he went in the opposite direction across the Vltava River.
The next morning we finally got a chance to sleep in, and were the last ones out of our eight bed room. We left the hostel and walked aimlessly at a relaxing pace, with the ultimate goal of reaching Mozart's former house before the end of the day. We went up to the top of a hill, where we found splendid views and a very pretty old church. If you ever go to Prague I definitely reccommend it as the place to go, but I don't remember what it's called. If we have learned anything over the last ten days, it is that if you walk in the same direction for long enough, you will eventually find something interesting. It is definitely worth it. Speaking of worth it, the two hour search for Mozart's house probably wasn't. The museum inside had been cleared out when the Communists left in 1990, so it was basically one room with a few pictures. It was, however, in an attractive residential part of town that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. As Brett reminded me afterwards "every cloud has a silver lining." I then reminded him that he is an idiot, but probably correct. We then walked the two or so miles back to the hostel. And got plenty of rest before our flight to Zurich the next day.
Prague is certainly a lovely city. We give it the Adam & Brett Go European stamp of approval. Just don't go for more than three nights.
Next post will feature Switzerland, a land of tall mountain men, their bovine wives, and twelve dollar Mcdonald's meals.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Budapest: The Rest of the Story
After enjoying out daily breakfast at the hostel consisting of rolls with jam and cheese spread, we headed off for the short walk to the Parliament. We stood in line for about an hour and a half before getting our tickets and going on the 12:45 tour in English. The Parliament building, completed around the turn of the 19th century and constructed entirely of Hungarian materials, was spectacular with amazing art spread throughout the building. The center of the building houses the country's crown jewels which supposedly date back to St. Stephen, the unifier and first king of Hungary, who lived from 967-1038. The tour concluded in the room, originally an opera house, which now houses Hungary's unicameral legislature. We both enjoyed our visit to the Parliament very much and agreed it was the best part of our trip up to that point.
Following our visit to Parliament, we walked a short distance to St. Stephen's Basilica. The church, like any other antique church in Europe, was finally decorated and very beautiful, but in the church's chapel we discovered something quite peculiar. Housed in an ornate box and illuminated by depositing 400 Hungarian Forints (the equivalent of $2), was the preserved hand of St. Stephen. Due to it being almost a millenia old, it was obviously quite deteriorated and a bit grotesque, but I guess it demonstrates the Hungarians' true adoration for the father of their country. The day wound down slowly as we caught up on much needed sleep and chatted with some of the hostel's guests.
Thursday was certainly our most relaxing day in Budapest. We spent all of the late morning and afternoon at the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, a public spa which happens to be the largest in Europe. Built during Hungary's Golden Period in 1913, the baths are set among gorgeous, yellow-dominated architecture. We passed several hours in the baths, ranging in temperature from 20 C to 40 C, relaxing and rejuvenating our bodies while enjoying the surrroundings. Although we couldn't handle the sinfully hot saunas, we made sure to enjoy all the other steamrooms and baths. After trudging back to our hostel half-asleep and then taking a nap, we spent the evening wandering the city for a couple of hours, stopping to watch a bit of the World Cup and enjoying the beauty of the city by night.
After realizing early on in our stay that we knew virtually no Hungarian history, we decided we better visit the National Museum, which is dedicated to documenting the nation's story from the nation's founding in 900 to the fall of communism in 1990. We spent Friday afternoon meticulously exploring the 20 rooms of the stately museum before heading back to the hostel in time to get ready to watch the USA vs. Slovenia game in the World Cup.
Adam and I watched the game at the "Cheers Bar" right down the street with Cameron, a friend we made at the hostel who hailed from Toronto. Despite sometimes frustrating play, the game ended in a draw and we went back to the hostel satisfied. We were also interested in the final game of the day between England and Algeria, so we headed back to the pub a couple of hours later to watch the game with four Brits who were also staying at the hostel. The game ended in a 0-0 tie and we went back to the hostel where we spent several hours talking before heading off to sleep.
Our final day (and night) in Budapest was certainly our most eventful! After getting a late start due to our staying up the night before, we ventured across the river to Buda. Budapest is composed of two cities: Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. Up to this point, we had stayed in Pest, but we figured we had to visit Buda, the touristy part of the city, at least once. Accompanied by Nick, a just-arrived Irish college student who will be working at the hostel for a month, we walked up the hill to Buda Castle. Spanning the hilltop, the walled fortress contains several old buildings and is very popular with tourists for its attractions and beautiful vistas of the city. The three of us spent about an hour enjoying the view before heading back to the hostel in order to prepare for the "Night of Museums".
During this once-a-year event, all the museums of Budapest stay open until 2 a.m. and visitors can purchase a wristband for 1300 Forints (about $6) which grants them admission to all of the museums and special events. We decided the night before to participate in the event with Nick, Cameron, and Vanda, an American of Hungarian descent who is fluent in Hungarian and is currently writing the "Let's Go!" guidebook for Budapest. Before beginning our night of museums, we all went out for a traditional Hungarian meal. Our stomachs full, we headed off to begin our night at the Museum of Ethnography. Seven hours and several museums later, we decided to end the night in style at Szimpla, one of Budapest's famous ruin pubs. After getting back to the hostel around 4:30 a.m., Adam and I messed around on the computer for an hour before heading off to catch our 7 a.m. bus to Prague...
Following our visit to Parliament, we walked a short distance to St. Stephen's Basilica. The church, like any other antique church in Europe, was finally decorated and very beautiful, but in the church's chapel we discovered something quite peculiar. Housed in an ornate box and illuminated by depositing 400 Hungarian Forints (the equivalent of $2), was the preserved hand of St. Stephen. Due to it being almost a millenia old, it was obviously quite deteriorated and a bit grotesque, but I guess it demonstrates the Hungarians' true adoration for the father of their country. The day wound down slowly as we caught up on much needed sleep and chatted with some of the hostel's guests.
Thursday was certainly our most relaxing day in Budapest. We spent all of the late morning and afternoon at the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, a public spa which happens to be the largest in Europe. Built during Hungary's Golden Period in 1913, the baths are set among gorgeous, yellow-dominated architecture. We passed several hours in the baths, ranging in temperature from 20 C to 40 C, relaxing and rejuvenating our bodies while enjoying the surrroundings. Although we couldn't handle the sinfully hot saunas, we made sure to enjoy all the other steamrooms and baths. After trudging back to our hostel half-asleep and then taking a nap, we spent the evening wandering the city for a couple of hours, stopping to watch a bit of the World Cup and enjoying the beauty of the city by night.
After realizing early on in our stay that we knew virtually no Hungarian history, we decided we better visit the National Museum, which is dedicated to documenting the nation's story from the nation's founding in 900 to the fall of communism in 1990. We spent Friday afternoon meticulously exploring the 20 rooms of the stately museum before heading back to the hostel in time to get ready to watch the USA vs. Slovenia game in the World Cup.
Adam and I watched the game at the "Cheers Bar" right down the street with Cameron, a friend we made at the hostel who hailed from Toronto. Despite sometimes frustrating play, the game ended in a draw and we went back to the hostel satisfied. We were also interested in the final game of the day between England and Algeria, so we headed back to the pub a couple of hours later to watch the game with four Brits who were also staying at the hostel. The game ended in a 0-0 tie and we went back to the hostel where we spent several hours talking before heading off to sleep.
Our final day (and night) in Budapest was certainly our most eventful! After getting a late start due to our staying up the night before, we ventured across the river to Buda. Budapest is composed of two cities: Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. Up to this point, we had stayed in Pest, but we figured we had to visit Buda, the touristy part of the city, at least once. Accompanied by Nick, a just-arrived Irish college student who will be working at the hostel for a month, we walked up the hill to Buda Castle. Spanning the hilltop, the walled fortress contains several old buildings and is very popular with tourists for its attractions and beautiful vistas of the city. The three of us spent about an hour enjoying the view before heading back to the hostel in order to prepare for the "Night of Museums".
During this once-a-year event, all the museums of Budapest stay open until 2 a.m. and visitors can purchase a wristband for 1300 Forints (about $6) which grants them admission to all of the museums and special events. We decided the night before to participate in the event with Nick, Cameron, and Vanda, an American of Hungarian descent who is fluent in Hungarian and is currently writing the "Let's Go!" guidebook for Budapest. Before beginning our night of museums, we all went out for a traditional Hungarian meal. Our stomachs full, we headed off to begin our night at the Museum of Ethnography. Seven hours and several museums later, we decided to end the night in style at Szimpla, one of Budapest's famous ruin pubs. After getting back to the hostel around 4:30 a.m., Adam and I messed around on the computer for an hour before heading off to catch our 7 a.m. bus to Prague...
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Budapest Pt. 1: "Where everybody's a millionaire."
Three days into our visit, Brett and I already feel as if we've been here for months. Perhaps its the jetlag, or maybe the quality of the tap water, but everything has been a real blur. The hostel is very small and low-key, it feels as if we are living with an actual Hungarian family. Our first day started off slowly, with a walk into Heroes' Square (Hősök Tere), a breathtaking monument, built at the turn of the twentieth century, which was dedicated to the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century (in the year 896 A.D. as our tour guide at the parliament reminded us often). And so after visiting the Heroes' Square Brett and I, following a 30 minute walk through what is in our opinion one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, visited the Museum of Transportation, a slightly less touristy attraction. We did, however, have a great time, and particularly enjoyed the frequent confrontations in rapid Hungarian with local schoolchildren, desperate for help with their scavenger hunt. After playing a little Mario on the NES set up in new exhibit on videogames (doesn't really belong in the transport museum but we weren't complaining) we headed back to the hostel, and took a nap. The night was uneventful as we walked along the river for a short time and then went to bed around midnight.
For pictures of our trip so far click here
For pictures of our trip so far click here
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Our Trip Begins!
So we left Washington-Dulles International Airport at 6:40 pm on Sunday, June 13th and headed off for London. Our plane arrived a bit late to London Heathrow at around 7:30 am on the 14th. We quickly passed through customs and then...sat for nine hours in the airport while we waited for our connecting flight to Budapest. The flight was delayed by about an hour and we finally departed around 5 pm. After passing through customs in Budapest and taking a bus to a metro to our hostel (http://www.aventurahostel.com/tartalom_hostel.php?idt=20090423092628), we checked in and chatted with the desk man for a few minutes. Following a quick pasta in a bag dinner prepared by Brett and some light conversation with a few of our hostel-mates, we both headed off to bed, exhausted but eager to begin our exploration of the city the next day. More on our adventures in Budapest during the next post!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Welcome to Our Blog!
So Adam and I will be traveling together through Europe this summer. Our trip will span one continent, seven countries, fifty two days, and countless memories. We will try to update this blog as much as possible (read once a week if we're lucky) with photos and stories from our travels. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)