Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Oktoberfest
Two of my roomates bailed, one because he's sick and the other because he doesn't want to spend the money...so i'm flying solo for what I hope will be one of the greatest days of my life. Taking the night train there tonight, arriving at 6am, drinking all day, and taking the night train back and getting to Budapest around 9am...and then leaving for a 4 day weekend in Romania with the API group. Hoping I make it back alive.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Note to self:
Never order sushi in a landlocked nation...everything i know and love about sushi could be destroyed if I ever eat it here again. Soooo not worth it.
Cologne, Germany
The night train to Munich was interesting. Second class cabins on Hungarian trains consist of individual 'rooms' with 6 seats in each. Leg room would have been a bitch had my cabin been crowded, but there was only two others in it with me, and they each departed before the arrival in Germany. After that, a man got on somewhere in Austria and so we each had a row of 3 seats to ourselves to stretch out and attempt to get some rest. I had my backpack on the ground next to me, having read up on possible robberys on trains. The other man however, put has bag up top on the shelf, right next to the door. Over the course of the approximately 2 hours that we both fell asleep, his bag had been stolen. The reality of what I had read began to set in, and I immediately checked my bag to make sure everything was still there. It was. He however lost his credit cards, his TWO cell phones, and his keys to two flats, one in Munich and the other in Bratislava. I felt terrible and offered him money, but he refused. Luckily, he works in Munich and said he would be able to get a hold of a computer to cancel his cards and phone.
Arriving in Munich I randomly passed by a few Americans who are in some of my classes and were on the same train. They were there for the weekend for Oktoberfest, and I told them of the possibility of me being there on Saturday after my trip to cologne, and the possibility of meeting up. But my next train was leaving for Cologne soon, and I didnt really have long to talk to them about specifics, so I grabbed a pretzel for breakfast and hopped on the ICE (Inter City Express) high speed train bound for Koln.
My lord, German Transportation is amazing. The cabin was spacious, sort of like an airplane but with only two seats on each side of the isle, with plenty of legroom. We zoomed along through the countryside, at times reaching 300 km/hr.
After some quick stops in Nuremburg, Frankfurt, and Bonn, among others, I arrived in Cologne around 1130am. I was to meet up with my friend Dan outside of the train station on the other side of the Dom. After meeting up, we went to a brewery house that was right next to the station, called Gaffel, for a few drinks and a quick bite to eat. The beer there was nothing special, and Dan informed me that it was one of his least favorite in the city. I also enjoyed a beef tartar that was just delicious. Afterwords, we made our way to his flat so I could freshen up before heading out into the city.
Dan lives right around the corner from the city park and University of Cologne, so we walked around the campus for a little bit. After grabbing a Brat, we made our way into the city center, and strolled through the shopping district before returning to the Dom. The Dom was worth the trip in itself. It's Gothic architecture makes the building seem almost creepy, but the inside was enormouss. We walked the 500 or so stairs to the top of the lookout, which was the hardest set of stairs I've ever climbed. My calves were still hurting two days later. After admiring the view, we headed down to the treasury, where it is said that the remains of the three wise men are kept. There was also some very impressive artifacts from the 11th century onward, laced with gold and precious gems and the like.
It was then dinner time, and we walked a short distance over to another Brewery House called Fruh. In Cologne, they only serve beer in .2 liter glasses called Kolsch. But the waiters are quick to give you a refill when necessary. The beer was much better here, and I also enjoyed a true German dinner, Fried pork shank with sauer kraut and potato balls. Very good, although the potato balls had a bit to much flour in them for my liking.
After dinner, we moved on to Dan's favorite brewery house, called Paffgen. The beer here was also excellent, as was the atmosphere. We befriended an elder german man named Berndt and his girlfriend Jaclyn and struck up a nice conversation, some in English but a majority in German that Dan had to translate for me every so often. This guy apparently has thrown rock concerts and the like all throughout Europe and knows Mick Jagger. He is now writing a book, I think an autobiography, and hopes to have it finished within the year. This conversation also brought to my attention the tension that is still felt between the Eastern and Western parts of Germany, as well as what Germany on the whole is doing in the political and economic spectrum. Berndt is unhappy with how the German government is shaping up, and expressed deeply his love for the USA, and how it is "the land of the free, people can do as they please and make a living out of nothing." Dan is a very nationalistic German, and disagreed with a few points that Berndt was making, but it made for quite the interesting conversation. In the US, I would find it hard pressed to walk into a bar and strike up a conversation with a stranger about politics, world happenings, and life, but in Germany, this is normal occurance that happens over a few drinks. I wish I could have remembered some of the specifics that Berndt talked about and had been able to actively contribute to that particular topic, but my knowledge of German Politics is not exactly top notch.
Feeling pretty good from drinking a majority of the day, we went back to Dan's Flat to try and plan what that night. I had not slept very well on the train, so we ended up just going out for some late night pizza and a beer before heading to sleep.
I left to catch the 10:20 am train back to Munich so I could get on the last connection back to Budapest without having to take the overnight train, therefore throwing away my chances of spending a few hours at Oktoberfest. However, I do not have class on Wednesday, and am planning on going then, hopefully in the company of a few others to make for one heck of an experience.
The city of Cologne is actually a pretty remarkable story. It was almost completely destroyed by allied bombing during WWII, and little was left standing besides the cathedral. The master plan developed for the city for reconstruction after the war was done up beautifully. It took into account motor vehicle traffic, and incorporates the "ring" system of road networks, with each outer ring extending around the city center like a half circle, eliminating the criss-crossing of roads that many cities in the United States have. The public transportation network is also top notch, as it probably is anywhere else in Germany, with metros, trams, and buses operating routes to get you anywhere in the city in a very timely manner. I wish I had more then just a day to explore the city and its surroundings.
Arriving in Munich I randomly passed by a few Americans who are in some of my classes and were on the same train. They were there for the weekend for Oktoberfest, and I told them of the possibility of me being there on Saturday after my trip to cologne, and the possibility of meeting up. But my next train was leaving for Cologne soon, and I didnt really have long to talk to them about specifics, so I grabbed a pretzel for breakfast and hopped on the ICE (Inter City Express) high speed train bound for Koln.
My lord, German Transportation is amazing. The cabin was spacious, sort of like an airplane but with only two seats on each side of the isle, with plenty of legroom. We zoomed along through the countryside, at times reaching 300 km/hr.
After some quick stops in Nuremburg, Frankfurt, and Bonn, among others, I arrived in Cologne around 1130am. I was to meet up with my friend Dan outside of the train station on the other side of the Dom. After meeting up, we went to a brewery house that was right next to the station, called Gaffel, for a few drinks and a quick bite to eat. The beer there was nothing special, and Dan informed me that it was one of his least favorite in the city. I also enjoyed a beef tartar that was just delicious. Afterwords, we made our way to his flat so I could freshen up before heading out into the city.Dan lives right around the corner from the city park and University of Cologne, so we walked around the campus for a little bit. After grabbing a Brat, we made our way into the city center, and strolled through the shopping district before returning to the Dom. The Dom was worth the trip in itself. It's Gothic architecture makes the building seem almost creepy, but the inside was enormouss. We walked the 500 or so stairs to the top of the lookout, which was the hardest set of stairs I've ever climbed. My calves were still hurting two days later. After admiring the view, we headed down to the treasury, where it is said that the remains of the three wise men are kept. There was also some very impressive artifacts from the 11th century onward, laced with gold and precious gems and the like.
It was then dinner time, and we walked a short distance over to another Brewery House called Fruh. In Cologne, they only serve beer in .2 liter glasses called Kolsch. But the waiters are quick to give you a refill when necessary. The beer was much better here, and I also enjoyed a true German dinner, Fried pork shank with sauer kraut and potato balls. Very good, although the potato balls had a bit to much flour in them for my liking.
After dinner, we moved on to Dan's favorite brewery house, called Paffgen. The beer here was also excellent, as was the atmosphere. We befriended an elder german man named Berndt and his girlfriend Jaclyn and struck up a nice conversation, some in English but a majority in German that Dan had to translate for me every so often. This guy apparently has thrown rock concerts and the like all throughout Europe and knows Mick Jagger. He is now writing a book, I think an autobiography, and hopes to have it finished within the year. This conversation also brought to my attention the tension that is still felt between the Eastern and Western parts of Germany, as well as what Germany on the whole is doing in the political and economic spectrum. Berndt is unhappy with how the German government is shaping up, and expressed deeply his love for the USA, and how it is "the land of the free, people can do as they please and make a living out of nothing." Dan is a very nationalistic German, and disagreed with a few points that Berndt was making, but it made for quite the interesting conversation. In the US, I would find it hard pressed to walk into a bar and strike up a conversation with a stranger about politics, world happenings, and life, but in Germany, this is normal occurance that happens over a few drinks. I wish I could have remembered some of the specifics that Berndt talked about and had been able to actively contribute to that particular topic, but my knowledge of German Politics is not exactly top notch.Feeling pretty good from drinking a majority of the day, we went back to Dan's Flat to try and plan what that night. I had not slept very well on the train, so we ended up just going out for some late night pizza and a beer before heading to sleep.
I left to catch the 10:20 am train back to Munich so I could get on the last connection back to Budapest without having to take the overnight train, therefore throwing away my chances of spending a few hours at Oktoberfest. However, I do not have class on Wednesday, and am planning on going then, hopefully in the company of a few others to make for one heck of an experience.
The city of Cologne is actually a pretty remarkable story. It was almost completely destroyed by allied bombing during WWII, and little was left standing besides the cathedral. The master plan developed for the city for reconstruction after the war was done up beautifully. It took into account motor vehicle traffic, and incorporates the "ring" system of road networks, with each outer ring extending around the city center like a half circle, eliminating the criss-crossing of roads that many cities in the United States have. The public transportation network is also top notch, as it probably is anywhere else in Germany, with metros, trams, and buses operating routes to get you anywhere in the city in a very timely manner. I wish I had more then just a day to explore the city and its surroundings.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Weekend traveling....
Yesterday's bike ride to Szentendre went fairly well...except that I got a flat tire 12 kilometers outside the city with about 6 more to go, so I had to hop on the commuter train the rest of the way! Trying to get a ticket with a bicycle outside the city brought me back down to earth a little bit, as I haven't really had any problems communicating because a lot of people in the city speak English...however outside the city it is not as much of a requirement to learn it. I missed the first train because I tried to enter a cabin that apparently I wasnt allowed to with a bike, and everyone sort of yelled and pointed and I didnt know where to go. Fortunately I found a nice lady who pointed out the area where you could get on with a bike, so I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next one. Once I got on it was no big deal, but it really hit me that I should get a few sentences in Hungarian down for situations like these that would help me out a great deal.
Once I arrived and met back up with Kevin, we went to grab lunch and we both had goose liver with caviar, which was scrumptious, and walked around the town and visited Kovacs Museum, which displayed artwork from local artists, most of it being pottery and sculptures and the like. We also visited the Marzipan Museum (for those that dont know, Marzipan is similar to cake icing, only made primarily out of almond meal. They had a life size sculpture of the late great Michael Jackson made completely out of the stuff, and also different scenes from disney movies and sculptures of notable Hungarians, past and present. It was pretty interesting to say the least.
Last night we went to the Moulin Rouge Budapest to meet up with some of the Frenchies and Germans, expecting a caberet and dancers and whatnot, but it really was just a glorified dance club/bar with a stage and two girls in feathers not really doing much of anything. But I had a really good time, and the music there was awesome. I've discovered that in Budapest, some DJ's are extremely good, and others just play 5 year old American Pop/Hip-Hop songs that honestly I've had enough of back home. My love for techno and electronica, as well as house music has increased since I've been here, and I always seem to have a good time at the clubs/bars that play those types of music.
Tonight, I am leaving for Germany. I am taking the overnight train from Budapest to Munich, and then transferring for my train to Cologne, arriving around noon time on Friday. Thankfully, most sightseeing in Cologne can be done in a day, and my friend Dan has promised to take me out to enjoy some traditional Cologne meals and drinks. Saturday morning I plan on hopping on a train to Munich with hopes of spending a good 7-8 hours at Oktoberfest, and taking the night train back and arriving in Budapest Sunday morning. The API group has a day trip planned to visit the Danube Bend and visit the towns of Visegrad and Esztergom, and take a short hop over to Slovakia. I hope to update sometime Sunday evening, but it will most likely be on Monday!
Enjoy your respective weekends everybody!
Once I arrived and met back up with Kevin, we went to grab lunch and we both had goose liver with caviar, which was scrumptious, and walked around the town and visited Kovacs Museum, which displayed artwork from local artists, most of it being pottery and sculptures and the like. We also visited the Marzipan Museum (for those that dont know, Marzipan is similar to cake icing, only made primarily out of almond meal. They had a life size sculpture of the late great Michael Jackson made completely out of the stuff, and also different scenes from disney movies and sculptures of notable Hungarians, past and present. It was pretty interesting to say the least.
Last night we went to the Moulin Rouge Budapest to meet up with some of the Frenchies and Germans, expecting a caberet and dancers and whatnot, but it really was just a glorified dance club/bar with a stage and two girls in feathers not really doing much of anything. But I had a really good time, and the music there was awesome. I've discovered that in Budapest, some DJ's are extremely good, and others just play 5 year old American Pop/Hip-Hop songs that honestly I've had enough of back home. My love for techno and electronica, as well as house music has increased since I've been here, and I always seem to have a good time at the clubs/bars that play those types of music.
Tonight, I am leaving for Germany. I am taking the overnight train from Budapest to Munich, and then transferring for my train to Cologne, arriving around noon time on Friday. Thankfully, most sightseeing in Cologne can be done in a day, and my friend Dan has promised to take me out to enjoy some traditional Cologne meals and drinks. Saturday morning I plan on hopping on a train to Munich with hopes of spending a good 7-8 hours at Oktoberfest, and taking the night train back and arriving in Budapest Sunday morning. The API group has a day trip planned to visit the Danube Bend and visit the towns of Visegrad and Esztergom, and take a short hop over to Slovakia. I hope to update sometime Sunday evening, but it will most likely be on Monday!
Enjoy your respective weekends everybody!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Artist colonies, child operated trains, and the like
It has been a few days so let me recap:
Thursday and Friday I don't remember doing much of anything of note besides going to my two classes on thurs and just relaxing on fri. Actually, on Friday my roomate Dan's friend Kevin arrived. He is backpacking through eastern Europe, and we offered him accomodation to use as his home base on his travels, and I may even be accompanying him to Croatia at somepoint.
On Saturday, the API group took a day trip to the town of Szentendre, approximately 25km north of the city center. The town has become somewhat of an artists colony, and you cannot walk around a corner without seeing one of them set up with all their artwork out on display. There are also many contemporary and non-contemporary art galleries located sporadically around town. An open-air exhibit is also very popular, and is located just outside the town limits. This is from its website: "The aim of founding the Szentendre Open Air Museum was to present folk architecture, interior decoration, farming and way of life in the Hungarian language area from the 2nd half of the 18th century to the 1st half of the 20th century, through original and authentic objects, relocated houses arranged in old settlement patters. The more and more elaborate settlement plan appropriates the relocation of more than 400 edifices into the museum, arranged into village-like regional units on the basis of ethnographical considerations. Within the units buildings are fitted into the traditional system of peasant households, supplemented by sacred, communal and outbuildings which used to be integral parts of traditional villages. Dwellings and farm-buildings represent the typical houses and outbuildings having evolved historically in each region." Basically it was a trip back in time to see what typical Hungarian villages were like in specific time periods.
The town was very laid back and you could walk around the center in about 15 minutes and see everything. The Danube also runs right along side it so it made for some very nice views from up top and down below. Food wise, we snacked on what might be my new favorite thing in the world. It is called a Langos, and is a deep fried flat bread topped with sour cream and cheese and rubbed with garlic butter. It is the greasiest, most garlicy, most delicious thing I've ever had, and oh my god was it a heavenly experience. For a lunch, we ate at the most well known restaurant in Szentendre, called Rab Raby. My roomates have yet to really been adventurous eaters, and both ordered goulash. I on the other hand ordered a crispy goose leg with red cabbage and potatoes...soooo good. It was between that or goose liver and caviar, but I've decided to go back there soon just to have it. Kevin and I are actually thinking about biking back to Szentendre on Wednesday just we can eat there haha.
Hannah's friend came to hang out Saturday night with one of his buddies. She knew him from home, and he is now playing basketball for a team in Hungary after playing for UMASS for four years. Now, I consider myself a pretty tall guy, but you can imagine what I was thinking when I only came up to this dude's shoulders. I think he said he was 7 feet tall. But he said it was nice for them to come and interact with other American's, because I guess where they play not a whole lot of people understand or speak English. We all enjoyed drinks together and ended up at a bar called Szimpla later that evening. All in all it was a good night, and we all promised them that we could come and enjoy one of their basketball games sometime soon.
We had a free morning on Sunday, and most of us took advantage of this by sleeping in. In the afternoon, the API group, Kevin, and Erica's parents who were in town met up for an afternoon excursion in the Buda Hills. We took a cog rail train up one of the hills, which really was nothing special as it was no different from the regular trams I take everyday except for the fact that it went uphill.
At the top, we walked a few minutes over to the entrance to the Children's Railway. It is operated almost entirely by children, except for the driving of the engines. It was started back in the days of communism, and was called the Pioneer Railway. It was initiated to help children get acclimated to the railroad network, but today is more of a boy/girl scout sorta thing. The children are under close watch by adults, but they mainly are in charge of ticketing, the gates, and for lack of a better word, 'watchmen.' We road for a little while, winding around the tops of the hills, until we reached what seemed to be nothing in particular. Reka told us we had to hike up to the top of the hill to where the lookout tower was, and it was quite the hike! But wow it was well worth it. At the top was Elizabeth Tower, a newly fashioned building that sort of looked like it was part of a castle. Stairs led us to the top, and WOW...I will let these pictures describe the type of view I was looking out on...
Yesterday started up another week of class, and besides my little biking excusion back to Szentendre on Wednesday with Kevin, nothing really exciting will be happening until the weekend. So peace out girlscouts!
Future travel plans: This weekend, I am heading to Cologne, Germany to meet up with a German friend I have met here in Budapest. I am leaving Thursday night and coming back Saturday night, with a possible 4 hour stopover in Munich to get just a taste of Oktoberfest before I go next week. Sunday the API group is going to the Danube bend to visit the towns of Visegrad and Esztergom to explore the castles and take in the scenery. I am looking forward to it.
Thursday and Friday I don't remember doing much of anything of note besides going to my two classes on thurs and just relaxing on fri. Actually, on Friday my roomate Dan's friend Kevin arrived. He is backpacking through eastern Europe, and we offered him accomodation to use as his home base on his travels, and I may even be accompanying him to Croatia at somepoint.
On Saturday, the API group took a day trip to the town of Szentendre, approximately 25km north of the city center. The town has become somewhat of an artists colony, and you cannot walk around a corner without seeing one of them set up with all their artwork out on display. There are also many contemporary and non-contemporary art galleries located sporadically around town. An open-air exhibit is also very popular, and is located just outside the town limits. This is from its website: "The aim of founding the Szentendre Open Air Museum was to present folk architecture, interior decoration, farming and way of life in the Hungarian language area from the 2nd half of the 18th century to the 1st half of the 20th century, through original and authentic objects, relocated houses arranged in old settlement patters. The more and more elaborate settlement plan appropriates the relocation of more than 400 edifices into the museum, arranged into village-like regional units on the basis of ethnographical considerations. Within the units buildings are fitted into the traditional system of peasant households, supplemented by sacred, communal and outbuildings which used to be integral parts of traditional villages. Dwellings and farm-buildings represent the typical houses and outbuildings having evolved historically in each region." Basically it was a trip back in time to see what typical Hungarian villages were like in specific time periods.
The town was very laid back and you could walk around the center in about 15 minutes and see everything. The Danube also runs right along side it so it made for some very nice views from up top and down below. Food wise, we snacked on what might be my new favorite thing in the world. It is called a Langos, and is a deep fried flat bread topped with sour cream and cheese and rubbed with garlic butter. It is the greasiest, most garlicy, most delicious thing I've ever had, and oh my god was it a heavenly experience. For a lunch, we ate at the most well known restaurant in Szentendre, called Rab Raby. My roomates have yet to really been adventurous eaters, and both ordered goulash. I on the other hand ordered a crispy goose leg with red cabbage and potatoes...soooo good. It was between that or goose liver and caviar, but I've decided to go back there soon just to have it. Kevin and I are actually thinking about biking back to Szentendre on Wednesday just we can eat there haha.Hannah's friend came to hang out Saturday night with one of his buddies. She knew him from home, and he is now playing basketball for a team in Hungary after playing for UMASS for four years. Now, I consider myself a pretty tall guy, but you can imagine what I was thinking when I only came up to this dude's shoulders. I think he said he was 7 feet tall. But he said it was nice for them to come and interact with other American's, because I guess where they play not a whole lot of people understand or speak English. We all enjoyed drinks together and ended up at a bar called Szimpla later that evening. All in all it was a good night, and we all promised them that we could come and enjoy one of their basketball games sometime soon.
We had a free morning on Sunday, and most of us took advantage of this by sleeping in. In the afternoon, the API group, Kevin, and Erica's parents who were in town met up for an afternoon excursion in the Buda Hills. We took a cog rail train up one of the hills, which really was nothing special as it was no different from the regular trams I take everyday except for the fact that it went uphill.
Yesterday started up another week of class, and besides my little biking excusion back to Szentendre on Wednesday with Kevin, nothing really exciting will be happening until the weekend. So peace out girlscouts!
Future travel plans: This weekend, I am heading to Cologne, Germany to meet up with a German friend I have met here in Budapest. I am leaving Thursday night and coming back Saturday night, with a possible 4 hour stopover in Munich to get just a taste of Oktoberfest before I go next week. Sunday the API group is going to the Danube bend to visit the towns of Visegrad and Esztergom to explore the castles and take in the scenery. I am looking forward to it.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Bratislava Recap
6:00am Wednesday morning: I wake up 20 minutes later then I want too, most likely due to the fact that we all went out the night before and I didnt go to bed til 3. Keep in mind the bus is leaving Nepliget station, not exactly right around the block, in an hour at 7.
6:03: I stumble into Corey's room and yell at him to wake up.
6:05: I jump into the shower to try and wake up.
6:10: I get out of shower, Corey gets in shower.
6:18: Corey and I are running around getting dressed and packing up our backpacks. I still had all my stuff in from my flight so I basically threw everything onto my desk and packed money/passport/change of shirt/language book.
6:25: About to walk out the door when I realize I dont have my camera. I run back and grab it trying not to wake Dan up in the process.
6:27: Walking towards the elevator when I ask Corey if he has his passport. He says "oh crap," and runs back and gets it.
6:30: We leave the apartment building and start walking toward Deak Ter, where we are getting on the "Red" line, or so I thought.
6:38: We arrive at the metro station, and I look at the metro map while heading down to the red line to make sure its the right one. I don't notice a Nepliget stop, so I check the blue line map, and of course its there...6 stops away.
6:41: We hop onto the blue line hoping 6 stops doesn't take longer then 15 minutes in case we have to look around for the station once we get there.
6:50: I am getting nervous because we've only just arrived at the 4th stop. Two more to go. I'm worried the bus station won't be right there and I will have to ask someone. Ugh
6:54: We arrive at Nepliget metro stop, and Corey immediately sees signs for buses and "Orangeways," which was the company we were looking for.
6:58: We board our bus to Bratislava and find our seats in the very last row.
7:01: Bus leaves the station.
7:20: It is announced that they will be showing Wedding Crashers in Hungarian with English subtitles, woo.
7:33: Corey falls asleep.
9:15: I wake Corey up.
9:34: We arrive at the bus station in Bratislava. Wooo.
9:40: Trash is talked about how shitty the bus station is.
9:44: We look around desperately for signs and or guidebook/map stands to no avail.
9:47: Corey and I wander aimlessly out of the bus station onto the street, with no plan. The one thing I thought we could have done a little better was PLANNING aka writing down what bus/tram to take to the city center, where to eat, what to see, etc etc before we left. Guess that's what happens when you book the trip the day before, go out the night before, and wake up to late the morning of...
9:49: The walk begins as we start to go toward the Castle that we saw on the way in, hoping to find a nice little breakfast shop on the way.
10:00: After walking by about 6 coffee shops that served no food at all, not even pastries or croissants, we happen upon a nice little place that actually has a menu.
10:04: We order coffees.
10:10: We finish our coffees.
10:20: Pondering why our waiter has yet to bring us over food menus as we watch him walk by and look at us a good 5 times.
10:22: We finally are given menus, I order an omelet with peas, mushrooms, and something else while Corey orders the Vienna plate; some slices of ham, cheese, tomatoes, and hard boiled eggs.
10:23: Our waiter gives us a basket of bread, but we were smart and asked if it was complimentary or extra charge. Of course it was extra charge, so we decided not to eat it to stick it to the man.
10:36: We finish our breakfasts and pay, and head back out to try and find the city center.
10:40: Luckily it wasnt that far away, and we finally found signs showing us exactly where to go and what was near!
10:45-4:15: We explore the city. The main touristy area of Bratislava is called the Old Town, and that is where you can find most of the historical buildings and whatnot. We visted the Primate's Palace, Michaels Gate, Grassalkovich Palace, the National Theatre, Bratislava Castle, Novy Most, Saint Martins Cathedral and crypt, walked by dozens of different embassys, explored cobblestone streets and alleys and alot of walkways on Castle Hill. We had lunch at a Slovak Cellar restaurant, and Corey and I both enjoyed a creampy cheesy potato soup as a starter, while Corey had the schnitzel (given its proximity to Austria not surprising), while I had some bacon and onion dumplings.
4:15: Hop on a bus for about a 20 minute ride over to the municipality of Devin, where the remain's of the famous Devin Castle are.
4:33: We arrive in Devin and are greated by a towering cliff side with bits and pieces of what used to be a castle on top. It is pretty impressive.
4:37: Walking up towards the entrance to the top, a guard tells us that they are closing for the night. We look at the hours and it is supposed to be open until 5pm, so I am a little angry we cant go up there for at least a few minutes to look around.
4:38-5:35: Corey and I decide to explore the area beneath the cliff that is open all day, and let me just say it was an extremely beautiful area. The Danube roars by and the Morava river empties into it right below the castle. I didnt realize this at the time but everywhere I looked across either rivers was the the territory of the country of Austria. Found that fun fact out when I got home later that evening.
5:35: Caught the bus back to Bratislava city center.
6:00-7:15: Sort of meander around the old town. Corey was on a mission to find cookies gelato because he had seen a sign for it earlier in the day. We found the place, but unfortunately they didnt have any, so Corey had a small let down.
7:20: We arrive back at the bus station for our 730 departure only to find that there werent any Orangeways buses hanging around. Nervousness comes over me that maybe it left earlier or was heading to a different station in Bratislava, but after 25 minutes of checking schedules and talking to other passengers we are sure it is just arriving a little late, and sure enough it does.
7:55-1030: Board the bus and drive back home to Budapest.
All in all, I'd say the day was a success. We felt that we had seen all the important sights that needed to be seen, and both of us came to the conclusion that any longer then two days in Bratislava on a sight-seeing trip was too long. It can all definately be done in a day, especially at the pace we were going at, but taking a normal pace to it and spending more time at each place or in a museum would get you a good two days worth of exploring to do. The city itself was a surprise to me, as I didnt think it would be as built up as it was, but there were still reminders all over of its soviet/communist past in the architecture across the city.
Future travel plans update: On Saturday, the API group gets to go to the town of Szentendre, 20 minutes north of Budapest. Sunday we are heading off to the Buda Hills for a short train ride and a hike to an observation point. I will update again detailing those journeys.
Until then...
6:03: I stumble into Corey's room and yell at him to wake up.
6:05: I jump into the shower to try and wake up.
6:10: I get out of shower, Corey gets in shower.
6:18: Corey and I are running around getting dressed and packing up our backpacks. I still had all my stuff in from my flight so I basically threw everything onto my desk and packed money/passport/change of shirt/language book.
6:25: About to walk out the door when I realize I dont have my camera. I run back and grab it trying not to wake Dan up in the process.
6:27: Walking towards the elevator when I ask Corey if he has his passport. He says "oh crap," and runs back and gets it.
6:30: We leave the apartment building and start walking toward Deak Ter, where we are getting on the "Red" line, or so I thought.
6:38: We arrive at the metro station, and I look at the metro map while heading down to the red line to make sure its the right one. I don't notice a Nepliget stop, so I check the blue line map, and of course its there...6 stops away.
6:41: We hop onto the blue line hoping 6 stops doesn't take longer then 15 minutes in case we have to look around for the station once we get there.
6:50: I am getting nervous because we've only just arrived at the 4th stop. Two more to go. I'm worried the bus station won't be right there and I will have to ask someone. Ugh
6:54: We arrive at Nepliget metro stop, and Corey immediately sees signs for buses and "Orangeways," which was the company we were looking for.
6:58: We board our bus to Bratislava and find our seats in the very last row.
7:01: Bus leaves the station.
7:20: It is announced that they will be showing Wedding Crashers in Hungarian with English subtitles, woo.
7:33: Corey falls asleep.
9:15: I wake Corey up.
9:34: We arrive at the bus station in Bratislava. Wooo.
9:40: Trash is talked about how shitty the bus station is.
9:44: We look around desperately for signs and or guidebook/map stands to no avail.
9:47: Corey and I wander aimlessly out of the bus station onto the street, with no plan. The one thing I thought we could have done a little better was PLANNING aka writing down what bus/tram to take to the city center, where to eat, what to see, etc etc before we left. Guess that's what happens when you book the trip the day before, go out the night before, and wake up to late the morning of...
9:49: The walk begins as we start to go toward the Castle that we saw on the way in, hoping to find a nice little breakfast shop on the way.
10:00: After walking by about 6 coffee shops that served no food at all, not even pastries or croissants, we happen upon a nice little place that actually has a menu.
10:04: We order coffees.
10:10: We finish our coffees.
10:20: Pondering why our waiter has yet to bring us over food menus as we watch him walk by and look at us a good 5 times.
10:22: We finally are given menus, I order an omelet with peas, mushrooms, and something else while Corey orders the Vienna plate; some slices of ham, cheese, tomatoes, and hard boiled eggs.
10:23: Our waiter gives us a basket of bread, but we were smart and asked if it was complimentary or extra charge. Of course it was extra charge, so we decided not to eat it to stick it to the man.
10:36: We finish our breakfasts and pay, and head back out to try and find the city center.
10:40: Luckily it wasnt that far away, and we finally found signs showing us exactly where to go and what was near!
10:45-4:15: We explore the city. The main touristy area of Bratislava is called the Old Town, and that is where you can find most of the historical buildings and whatnot. We visted the Primate's Palace, Michaels Gate, Grassalkovich Palace, the National Theatre, Bratislava Castle, Novy Most, Saint Martins Cathedral and crypt, walked by dozens of different embassys, explored cobblestone streets and alleys and alot of walkways on Castle Hill. We had lunch at a Slovak Cellar restaurant, and Corey and I both enjoyed a creampy cheesy potato soup as a starter, while Corey had the schnitzel (given its proximity to Austria not surprising), while I had some bacon and onion dumplings.
4:15: Hop on a bus for about a 20 minute ride over to the municipality of Devin, where the remain's of the famous Devin Castle are.
4:33: We arrive in Devin and are greated by a towering cliff side with bits and pieces of what used to be a castle on top. It is pretty impressive.
4:37: Walking up towards the entrance to the top, a guard tells us that they are closing for the night. We look at the hours and it is supposed to be open until 5pm, so I am a little angry we cant go up there for at least a few minutes to look around.
4:38-5:35: Corey and I decide to explore the area beneath the cliff that is open all day, and let me just say it was an extremely beautiful area. The Danube roars by and the Morava river empties into it right below the castle. I didnt realize this at the time but everywhere I looked across either rivers was the the territory of the country of Austria. Found that fun fact out when I got home later that evening.
5:35: Caught the bus back to Bratislava city center.
6:00-7:15: Sort of meander around the old town. Corey was on a mission to find cookies gelato because he had seen a sign for it earlier in the day. We found the place, but unfortunately they didnt have any, so Corey had a small let down.
7:20: We arrive back at the bus station for our 730 departure only to find that there werent any Orangeways buses hanging around. Nervousness comes over me that maybe it left earlier or was heading to a different station in Bratislava, but after 25 minutes of checking schedules and talking to other passengers we are sure it is just arriving a little late, and sure enough it does.
7:55-1030: Board the bus and drive back home to Budapest.
All in all, I'd say the day was a success. We felt that we had seen all the important sights that needed to be seen, and both of us came to the conclusion that any longer then two days in Bratislava on a sight-seeing trip was too long. It can all definately be done in a day, especially at the pace we were going at, but taking a normal pace to it and spending more time at each place or in a museum would get you a good two days worth of exploring to do. The city itself was a surprise to me, as I didnt think it would be as built up as it was, but there were still reminders all over of its soviet/communist past in the architecture across the city.
Future travel plans update: On Saturday, the API group gets to go to the town of Szentendre, 20 minutes north of Budapest. Sunday we are heading off to the Buda Hills for a short train ride and a hike to an observation point. I will update again detailing those journeys.
Until then...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Travel Plans
Tomorrow (Wednesday), Corey and I are venturing off to Bratislava, the capital city Slovakia, because neither of us have Wednesday classes. We found a bus that leaves Budapest at 7am and arrives in Bratislava at 930am, and the return bus leaves at 730pm and we arrive back home around 10. So we will have a good 10 hours to explore the city and surroundings. It was very cheap at only 22 dollars a person for the roundtrip. I'm expecting it to be a good time and I will let everyone know how it goes!
Cheers
Cheers
Monday, September 14, 2009
Operation Goulash = Complete
Here is a pic of the traditional Hungarian meal that I took a shot at making myself...Goulash. It was very yummy!
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