Have I really been here over 3 months? That just blows my mind. This past weekend, I took my final trip outside the Czech Republic, to Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, Austria. These were both on my list of places to see when studying in Prague, so luckily I made it to the two cities.
My friend Sophie and I started our journey with an overnight train from Prague to Budapest. This was an experience in and of itself. We had a nice little sleeper car, complete with sink, towels, and power outlets. Believe me, power outlets on trains are great so you can watch movies on computers. I didn't sleep well because I'm a light sleeper, but we woke up in Budapest relatively fresh and ready to tour.
After checking into our hostel, Gabe, the hostel manager, basically spelled out exactly how to see Budapest in a day and a half. He was excellent. We had a huge circle to cover that day, so we started walking straight away. Over the course of the day, we had to have walked close to 8ish miles, but it was great.
Budapest, despite trying to be a central or more western European country, is eastern. The saying that the only country in central Europe is the Czech Republic seems to be true. Of the four possible candidates, the V4 "Visegrad" countries of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary, I can strongly say that Poland and Hungary are definitely eastern, and I haven't spent time in Slovakia but would guess it is similar to Czech Republic with a slightly eastern tint.
The old and huge Jewish synagogue; the huge indoor market; Sophie and I overlooking the city.
It is hard to qualify exactly why it felt so eastern. The people just act slightly different, slightly stranger. The way things run do not work the same. And in Hungary, the language is also bizarre. It is distantly related to Finnish, but unrelated to any of the languages of the surrounding countries. It is nothing like a Slovak language. And it was very strange to listen to. The way the city looks is just not a western European city.
Anyway, on our circuit we walked through things like the big Jewish synagogue, the flee market, and Chain Bridge, Parliament, and we hiked up two different mountains. One had great views of the city, the other held the castle district.
I won't bore you with too many details about my itinerary, except to say that the city was beautiful. It was not quite as beautiful as Prague, but I don't think anywhere is. The Danube river was really cool to see because it is so famous. Of course, we tried the Hungarian street snack specialty called Langos (pronounced Langosh, all the "s" are "sh), which is basically a fried pastry covered with garlic, onion, cheese, sour cream, or whatever toppings you would like. What's not to enjoy about that?
Me eating a Langos; Parliament.
I also saw one of the weirdest "attractions" I've seen in Europe. Underneath the castle, in the limestone, is an underground hospital. It was built during WWII and expanded during the Cold War, and at the time was one modern both technologically and medically (according to the tour). Upon entering the lobby area, which was previously used for ambulance drop off, I could already see it was kind of bizarre from the fact you could buy "civilian defense equipment" in the "gift shop" such as gas masks, Geiger counters, radiation suits, guns, and more.
The tour was fascinating. This hospital had been dug out and constructed through the naturally occurring caves in the rock, so was more secure from bombings and later nuclear radiation. The hospital was almost completely self-sustaining, although it relied on the main hospital building for most of the food because the in-house kitchen was so small. But, there was a power generator, air heaters and coolers, and "modern" medical equipment from the 50s. There were several wards to the hospital, including an operating room and emergency center.
In an attempt to make the exhibit realistic, the museum set up wax figures throughout to show what the hospital would have looked like. These wax figures were the creepiest things I've ever seen. Besides being covered with fake blood and wounds, they had the strangest facial expressions of pain. Most of the equipment and first aid kits were all original, which made it pretty authentic. The tour guide alternated between English and Hungarian. The smell and the lighting were all creepy, but what really put it over the top was the mushroom-cloud-shaped lamp.
That's right, it looked like a mushroom cloud. It was sitting next to radiation detectors and air raid sirens, which we were able to try. Next to that were decontamination showers and hospital gowns, and procedures for how to handle radiation scares. We were shown where the filters were that changed the air inside the hospital extremely frequently. I wish we could have taken pictures, but I'll just say that it is worth the visit.
At the end of our walking circuit, we visited the Budapest mall, which showed us the other end of the spectrum of culture. It was very Westernized, but also convenient because I had to buy a belt and flip flops. There were more shoe stores than I could count.
That night, Sophie's friend Alexas took us around because she was studying in Budapest. We had a nice meal at a good local restaurant, where I had my Hungarian Goulash of course. We went to a couple interesting bars also. The first one was hidden away in some old building, and was very authentic, as in we were probably the only Americans there. The center courtyard had a roof that could be opened, with a weird collection of wooden fish hanging from it, next to the vines. The rooms throughout the bar were strange, ranging from old sitting rooms to a room that looked like a communist dentist office. Seriously.
We then went to the cheapest bar ever, and took the tram to this outdoor bar/club area next to the Danube. It was a great time, although not a scene I'm used to. Besides getting elbowed every five seconds, the atmosphere was fantastic. The place was packed, as people gathered in the center pit of what was probably a bunch of outdoor bars and a DJ table. It was hard to really see what was going on because there were so many people.
Exhausted, Sophie and I eventually took a cab back towards the hostel and tried to sleep. I say "tried" because we were woken up in the middle of the night due to one of our roommates snoring, and then falling out of bed (at least I'm pretty sure). Luckily, the next morning was relaxing, as we hit the Hungarian baths.
We walked through heroes square and entered Szecheny Bath, probably Budapest's biggest and most famous bath. We quickly changed into our bathing suits, and explored the vast collection of hot and cold baths, inside and outside. There were many old and large Hungarian men and women mixed in with tourists and some regular Hungarians. It was pretty funny to watch some of the people. It was such a warm and beautiful day outside that we spent most of our time by the outdoor pools.
The famous baths in Budapest.
The whole experience was extremely soothing, and I could see why the Hungarians have embraced this Turkish tradition (although it wasn't cheap, though nothing in Budapest was expensive). On the way back, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in what appeared to be a drained lake in a park where a bunch of shops had set up, and headed to the train station, Budapest-Keleti.
Although I never got used to the currency, the Florint, which is about 200 to 1 USD, things were very reasonable in Hungary. The people in touristy areas were very friendly. The market was great, full of an awesome selection of fruits, vegetables, meats, bizarre meats, paprika (they loved spices), juices (amazing fresh blood orange juice), and flea market stuff. The food was similar to Prague, but more flavorful. The beer, not as good, of course.
It was hard to really understand a city in less than 48 hours, but the history and importance of Budapest was obvious the entire time. It was also a larger city than Prague, both in population (by a little bit) and by feel (felt a lot bigger). It is also important to understand Budapest in the context of Hungary's political and economic situation (which I am writing about in my classes).
They are struggling from the international financial crisis, a lot. Their currency is highly volatile, but to get on the Euro they are having to make some drastic changes. As a result of unhappiness with government, the Conservatives just won a huge political victory, beating the Socialists for the first time in 8 years with over 2/3 of the seats in Parliament. A right and extremist party also won seats in Parliament, which is scary because they are nationalist, anti-Semitic, and, well, extreme. Hungary faces an uphill battle the next five years for sure.
Our next stop on this trip was Vienna, Austria. In Vienna, we were to meet up with some other friends from our program, Hannah, Rachel, and Drew. I have traveled with them before, so we were all pretty close. Pulling into Vienna, I headed to the hostel and immediately felt back in the West, and while it was not "normal" by American standards it was certainly more of what I was used to.
Outside the Imperial Palace in the heart of Vienna; the famous silver collection.
The buildings were pretty modern, the tram system was well run, and while everything was in German I felt like most people spoke English. At one point in history, Vienna was arguably the capital of the world, the most important city in Europe. This was because the Hapsburg monarchy was seated in Vienna, and we saw both their winter and summer palaces.
In the center city, the architecture was just massive, with palaces and government buildings and museums and the opera and the cathedral making up the skyline. I got there Friday night, so we pretty much went straight to dinner at a place around the corner with cheap, delicious, Weiner Schnitzel, an Austrian favorite. The restaurant people were so nice, and showed us the best things to get on the menu. And compared to other places on the Euro, it was pretty reasonable.
We hung out at the hostel bar that night, but were all pretty tired so went to bed early in order to get up early the next day and see as much as possible.
And we did see a lot. We started with the Winter Palace, the Hofburg Imperial Palace. What a sight it was. The history and the massive size and the art and beauty of the place was astounding. It was almost too lavish to appreciate, as was the Summer Palace the next day. We walked through the silver collection, which included hundreds upon hundreds of dinner plates and silverwear. To think that there were poor people in the Hapsburg Empire while the royal family had so much is absurd. We saw the living quarters of the family, and also saw an exhibit about Sisi, the last Queen who was assassinated. Most of the palace was still set up/catered to Franz Joseph, who ruled the Empire for almost 70 years and died during WWI.
The gardens were beautiful, although I wish more things had been in bloom because they had something like 100 different variety of roses. Everything was so impressive though, and as Mel Brooks said very well,
"It's good to be da king." Thank you Napolean, thank you Hapsburgs, thank you History of the World Part I. If I had to pick a theme from Vienna, that would be it. Everything was geared towards making the Hapsburgs happy.
From the garden to the cake shop...
That day we also visited Cafe Demel for afternoon cake and coffee (very European, right?). The Austrians take their cakes very seriously, as in there was recently a huge lawsuit between Cafe Demel and another cafe called Sacher Ek to settle who could use the title, "The Original Sacher Torte." Sachertorte is a type of chocolate cake, with a slightly different consistency than normal cake. It is hard to describe, but was very delicious. They had many varieties of cakes, sweets, and even some appetizers. As a food guy, this was one of the highlights of my trip. I like to think it is a big part of the culture as well.
We finished the afternoon by climbing almost 400 steps to the top of the famous cathedral, which was cool but I'm not sure the dizziness was worth the view. After, we rushed back to our hostel to shower, put on clean clothes, and go to the opera!
I have never been to an opera before, so seeing one in German was certainly an interesting experience. It was opening night for a traditional German opera, so the house was packed with everyone from Vienna's finest in suits and tuxedos to the tourists standing in the back in the standing seats for four Euro. It was definitely worth the ticket though, as we saw a pretty real Viennese tradition.
At the Vienna Opera.
As much as we enjoyed listening to a play while watching the subtitles and sweating profusely in the back, we had seen enough after the second of three acts. We headed out to wander around town, go down towards the big nightlife areas near the Danube (also runs threw Vienna), and grab a quick drink before sleep. We were all worn out again, so went back to sleep relatively early to try to see the summer palace the next day.
I must say, the summer palace was one of the most impressive and luxurious things I've seen in Europe. On the grounds of the castle were the living quarters itself, surrounded by a massive park that included fountains, a zoo, greenhouses, and more. It was pretty crowded, but it was so huge that outside was relatively quiet. Again, "It's good to be da king."
Throughout the summer palace in Vienna.
Unfortunately, we didn't realize we needed timed tickets to go inside the palace, so we poorly planned our visit and ended up not being able to see the inside. Nevertheless, it was amazing to walk around and think about the history and royalty that was with us. Talk about living history.
I went with the group to the Leopold Museum, which showcased many of Austria's famous artists, but quickly had to head back to the hostel and train station because I was on an earlier train than everyone else. The ride back was nice, and it was so weird realizing that the next time I would travel outside the Czech Republic I would be going home.
I enjoyed Vienna a lot, even though I was only there a short time like Budapest. It was not as big or as important as it once was, but it still had the feeling of a regal city. Some things were closed on Saturday for May Day/ Labor Day, so we didn't get to see some things such as the Nachmarket (big outdoor market), but I think we got a pretty good feel for things. Austrians seemed nice enough also.
As with every single place I've traveled (with the possible exception of Spain), I was more than ready to come back "home" to Prague by the end. I am thrilled with my choice, but also feel so lucky to be able to have traveled to so many different countries. I'm sure I'll reflect more on this later, but I've traveled to Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic of course, going to 1-2 major cities in each place. This doesn't even count the travel with the CZ.
One thing is for sure: I will be far less daunted with travel to new places than I was before. Public transportation is easily masterable now (especially in America, where they speak English). It is sad because I'm not sure when if ever I will be back in some of these places, but am thrilled to have had the chance to see it all.
My blogs from now on may start to get a bit more reflective because my time in Europe is winding down, but I'll try to share my experiences from day-to-day as well. As always, please e-mail or facebook me with comments or questions!
Bye for now.
