Back to Paderno

Budapest 

After nearly 12 hours on the bus, we arrived in Budapest Saturday morning around 9. Vanessa, Lauren, and I checked into our hostel and immediately left for a free walking tour. Our guide Agnese did a great job of telling us the history of budapest (which is actually pronounced buda-pescht) and giving us advice on places to visit while there. We walked all over the flat Pest side and the hilly Buda side. After a little rest, we went to a hummus bar for dinner. It might not have been traditional Hungarian food but it was delicious. 

On Sunday, we started off with a trip to the Kiraly bath house. It is one of the smaller bath houses on the Buda side with only 3 baths in it. Since it is so small there were less than 10 people there, including us! The water was so warm and relaxing. If I ever visit Budapest again, I will definitely go back to Kiraly. Sunday afternoon we went to the cathedral and the hiked up Gellert Hill. From the top, the views were amazing! After a nice long walk back to our hostel we got ready and headed to dinner at Cactus Juice to meet one of Lauren's friends studying at the central European university in Budapest. With the exchange rate in our favor, we were able to score big, juicy steaks for around $12. 

Vienna

We arrived in Vienna around noon on Monday. It was very cold and snowing which made walking around the city miserable. We opted to purchase transportation passes since Vienna was so big and the weather was not in our favor. With this being my first experience with public transportation, it took a couple wrong tram rides to get the hang of it. But in the end, I absolutely loved the metro system. We visited the Sigmund Freud museum and a vintage store before meeting some CIMBA friends for a valentines day dinner. I had a wiener schnitzel and shared potatoes with Elena. 

Tuesday we all met at the Spanish riding school to watch the Lippizaner's morning practice. I absolutely loved every minute of it but it made me miss riding so much. After the practice, Vanessa and I went on a tour of the facility. The barn and both riding rings were really nice. We then went to the Albertina Museum to see the staterooms and their abstract art collection.  Overall, I loved Vienna. The city was so clean, historic, and beautiful. I didn't get to see or do everything I would have liked since we had such a short time there so I want to go back in the future. 

Prague

We arrived in Prague around noon on Wednesday. After checking into our hotel we headed to the Old Town Square for a free walking tour. Our guide showed us all around the Old Town and New Town districts. The architecture in Prague is absolutely beautiful. Vanessa, Lauren, and I then went to Palladium Mall to warm up and do a little window shopping. We walked by the river before grabbing some dinner at a  traditional Czech restaurant in Old Town Square with some other CIMBA girls. 

Thursday morning we visited the castle district across the river. The hike up wasn't too bad and the views of Prague were amazing. Once inside the complex, we walked around and went inside the cathedral. It was even colder inside the cathedral than outside, but it was so pretty. Upon the recommendation of a friend we went to Bohemia Bagel for lunch. I have been missing my Brueggers since coming abroad so it was a special treat to have a fresh bagel. After lunch we headed to Charles Bridge which was so cool. There were bands playing and a lot of little booths selling souvenirs. Once across the river we stopped to take pictures at Lennon Wall. It reminded me a lot of the free expression tunnel at State, except that it's a wall of course. Vanessa and I then went back to Old Town to go to the Chocolate Museum. It was really neat to learn about the origins of chocolate and actually see it being made. We then met up with Elena, Kailyn, Megan, Kate, and Eric (Kate's brother studying in Prague this semester) at an Irish pub. There was a Prague vs Liverpool soccer game that night so it was fun to be there watching the game. 

Munich

When we arrived in Munich at 1 on Friday I was starting to feel a little sick. Once we checked into our hotel I decided to stay and rest rather than walk around in the cold with Vanessa and Lauren. Once they got back we headed to dinner at a little Italian restaurant and walked around Marienplatz, the main shopping district in the center of Munich before going back to our hotel. 

Saturday morning we took the S-bahn to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Our tour guide Franz was from the area and gave us a good overview of the horrific things that happened there from 1933 to 1945. Dachau is special because it was the first concentration camp to be opened and was in operation until liberation at the end of the war. It's hard to imagine how people survived the winters in Dachau working outside and sleeping in bunks without heat. The whole camp was converted into a memorial sight after the war with many monuments reading "never again". Once back in the city we did some sightseeing in Marinplatz before picking up some fresh fruit and going back to the hotel to watch movies. 10 days of travel was catching up with us; all three of us were exhausted and I was still sick and running a fever. 

Sunday morning Vanessa and I walked to a hotel around the corner to have breakfast; it was probably the best meal we have had since leaving the US! We then walked to Marienplatz one last time to discover all the stores are closed on Sunday's. Since we wouldn't buy anything, we did some window shopping and sightseeing in a nearby park before going to meet the bus. 

I am now back in Paderno and I have never been so happy to be here! As much as I loved Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Munich, I am worn out! I am looking forward to a nice nights sleep in my own bed before going back to the grind of classes, homework, LEAP commitments, and travel planning. Next stop: Venice for carnivale this weekend! Also, pictures from travel week will be posted soon.

Ciao!