Praha, Wien, & Budapest

It's been about three weeks since we returned from our fabulous trip to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. And while I've traveled to Europe before, I loved how each country offered something completely different than the other. I like to give a rundown of my trips not only to share my experiences, but because it actually gives me a chance to process the 10 day whirlwind that our trip entailed. So read, enjoy, and book the next flight!

The first thing you need to know about our trip is that it began at 6 a.m. when Lufthansa texted us to say our flight was cancelled. Uh what? After countless attempts to contact both our travel agency and the airline, we'd learn that there was a pilot strike in progress, that nothing could be solved after standing in line for three hours in Germany, and that we'd be spending the night in Frankfurt. Well, at least it earned us a stamp in our passports.

Despite the fact that someone later told us that Frankfurt is the "Armpit of Germany," we found it to be quite beautiful.

 And when in Frankfurt, one must dine on frankfurters and pig knuckle. So we did. Plus some apple wine concoction that everyone loved, but I thought tasted like olive juice.

With a belly full of pork and a restless night of sleep, we woke early to make sure we wouldn't miss another flight. First up was Prague.

Here's what I can tell you about Prague:
1. It's a beautiful city. I loved just looking at the landscape because every building has intricate architecture, every roof is a different color, and if you can climb the hills, you get a great view of the entire city.

2. There are literally hoards of people everywhere. The tourist-trap-ometer was a bit off the charts here, which was rather unfortunate. While the sites here are amazing, just know that you won't be the only one there to view them.
3. Food! My favorite thing! From the Prague ham, to the gingerbread museum, to the ultimate find of the trip- trdlo (cake baked over charcoals, see below), the food here was legit. Good thing you do a ton of walking in this city, because the goulash is worth every extra step. Oh, and don't forget to cap off the night with a freshly fried Smažený sýr ala Anthony Bourdain, (that's a fried cheese sando).

4. You should go off the beaten path. We saw all the popular attractions like the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle, but we also explored a bit because Pinterest told me to. Seriously though, due to my extensive research on Pinterest we saw:

• The Old Jewish Cemetery- there are rooms filled with names of Jews who disappeared during WWII, a cemetery that held 10 layers of graves, and Hot Stuff got to wear a yamaka!
• The Funnicular- A super steep tram to the top of the hill for amazing views and a visit to the Eiffel Tower, (though we were assured this wasn't the actual Eiffel Tower...good thing they clarified that for us...)
• The John Lennon Graffiti Wall- Hidden in the streets of Prague, this wall has been a symbol of rebellion and peace since the 1980s.

 

 

The only thing that I didn't like about Prague was that we didn't have enough time there. After only two days, we were on the move via train, or as I like to call it, the Hogwarts Express.  Good times- Czech! (No, that joke still isn't old). 

While I never managed to find Platform 9 3/4 (damn it), we did make it to Vienna where a Hell's Angel cab driver took us to our hotel. I loved every little bit of Vienna. It might be because the city  is all about everything that I enjoy- cleanliness, safety, symmetry, beauty, music, culture for days, and most importantly CAKE!

When in Vienna:
1. Eat your face off. When researching for our trip, we heard that your wallet will be smaller but your waistline won't be, and man were they right. The best thing we ate on our trip was a doner kebab sandwich at the Naschmarkt where we stood on the corner and polished it off in 4 minutes flat. So. Good. Then we walked to eat, yet again, at one of Vienna's most famous coffee shop, Cafe Central. Oh, NBD, just having a cappuccino where Freud and Hitler have both dined. I could go on about the food for days, but just go, eat schnitzel, and enjoy!

2. Listen to the music! Rarely have I felt classier than getting dressed up to go to the symphony/opera in Vienna. We heard Bach and stared at the intricate ceiling for two hours, it was awesome.

3. Do what Pinterest tells you to (again). This time it brought us to the Mozart Statue, Demel Bakery, and the National Library. Pinterest wins again.

 4. Live like the royals. It's hard to describe just how impressive Schönbrunn Palace and The Belvedere Palace are. Apparently these guys were related to Marie Antoinette and they ruled a lot of people for a really long time. It wasn't necessarily the wealth and the ornate rooms that impressed me, but the sheer magnitude of each place.

 The closest we came to living like royals was for our friend's birthday where we celebrated by dining at Steirereck, a restaurant that boasts two Michelin stars. It cost an exorbitant amount of money, but we were served milk skin on a linen pillow for the love of Pete. I don't even know what that means! See us pretending to be classy below.

I hated to leave Vienna, but it was another train ride to our final country of the trip- Hungary.

Budapest is:
1. A heaven for history buffs. Whether learning about their Nazi ties during WWII or the hardships of Soviet brainwashing, I was utterly fascinated by what I learned here. We saw a building that was first the stock exchange, turned into a Communist educator training center, turned into a Communist television station. To top it off, our tour guide's grandfather was a Nazi. Cuh-razy! Did I mention I learned all this whilst on a segway...oh yes (I fell off three times, and I am not ashamed to admit this).

2. Really into their statues. There were statues in the subway, on the streets, and by the river banks. I guess you could say it's part of the charm. This is Hero's Square:

3. Known for their thermal baths. We decided to "take in the waters" like the locals at Szechenyi, the largest bath in the city. I expected the experience to be akin to visiting the hot springs in Ouray...which I suppose it was, but with 200 Italian spring breakers and big men in little swimming suits. The water was lukewarm with the cold winds, and I suspect we picked up a few bacteria while there, but I'll admit that the saunas were quite nice.

4. A tale of two cities. Did you know that on the west side of the Danube you can visit Buda and on the east you're in Pest? We started on the Pest side where the city is very urban and home to the Parliament. This was also where the "Shoes on the Danube" memorial was located which is in remembrance of the Jewish citizens who were murdered by the Nazis at that very spot.  It was eerily beautiful.

 We also walked across a bridge to Maragret Island which is a local spot for running and a tourist spot for these sweet bikes!

The Buda side of the city is definitely older. It's been rebuilt numerous times due to war, but had much more charm. I especially like going to visit the Hospital in the Rocks which was built as a hospital but later turned into a top secret nuclear bunker.

We ended the trip with an amazing cruise down the Danube and one last delicious trdlo.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing trip with amazing people. Some people scoff when they hear how I spent my spring break, and to that I say, traveling doesn't have to be something just for the rich and famous. To me, seeing the world is a choice, one that I'm so thankful to be able to do. Each time I go somewhere new I'm reminded of how lucky I am and just how big our world is. So I will end with my favorite traveling quote, "There is no end to the adventures we can have, if only we seek them with our eyes open."

Seesters

It's spring, so that means that it's time for my sister to move again. You see, my sister works in theater which comes and goes with each season. It's typically around this time of year she tells me that she's uprooting from our shared zip code to her next job at a theater far, far, away. This usually sends me into a flood of tears, because as the wet blanket of the family, it's what I do. But as she prepares for the next chapter, for the first time ever, I'm overwhelmed not by the sadness that my sister is leaving me, but by the happiness that she's about to go follow her dreams. Travel the world, work for fair trade crafts, who knows? But whatever it is, there's no doubt that she's determined to find her bliss. And so, as I'm missing her terribly, I'm documenting the top five reasons why I love my sister.

I love my sister because together we can survive anything.

So a few years ago, we were visiting St. Louis during July, which essentially means it was hotter than hell. Because we are cheap, we decided that we would ride the train to the park to go do some sightseeing on foot. As each minute stretched on, the 95 degree heat and 1,000,000% humidity began to take a toll on both of us. Luckily we found refuge at the park's boathouse where we had some lunch before heading out on a paddle boat in hopes that being on the water could help counter the oppressive heat. About 40 minutes from shore, my sister began to peeter out, claiming that her skinny little legs could carry us no further...great. We managed to paddle ourselves under a pedestrian bridge to park for a few minutes in the shade where the only thing we had to wipe our sweaty brows was a panty liner...what can I say, we were desperate! After a painful journey back to the dock, complete with me fanning my sister in hopes she wouldn't pass out, we crawled out of the boat with sweat dripping down our backs where we read the back of our train tickets which told us that the air conditioned trolley was in fact free. We couldn't stop laughing at our stingy mistake and spent the rest of the day enjoying the sites with the breeze of the AC. So be it touring the Gateway City, climbing the Great Wall, or parallel parking in City Park, I know we can survive anything!

I love my sister because sisters never tell.
My all-time favorite story from my childhood is the day we broke our swimming pool. As kids, we had a round, stand up pool in our backyard where our favorite way to spend the afternoon was to spin in an endless whirlpool. On this particular day, our pool had seen better days and as our dad plunked us into the water, he reminded us not to push off the sides, which I, of course, ignored. As our circular laps began, I took a giant push off of the side wall and looked up just in time to see half of the pool bend...and then come crashing down. Immediately, 2,000 gallons of water created a tsunami in our backyard mowing down everything in its path. I will never forget looking over at my sister standing with floatie toys still in hand, looking at me like, "Who is going to go tell dad!?!" Well apparently no one, because the noise of the crash brought him running. Up until about three years ago, my dad never knew that I was the culprit behind the Great Pool Crash, nor did our parents know about the nail polish spilled on the carpet, or any of our other child secrets, because like I said, sisters never tell.

I love my sister because we make a great team.
If you're a member of our family you like to play games. This could be anything ranging from Cranium to baseball. If there is one thing I can tell you, it's that if you play against me and my sister, you're going to lose. You see, we make a great team. I assume this has something to do with being raised in the same environment with only 15 months separating us, but whatever it is, we kill it. We'll be playing a game, and I'll be like, "Mesopelagic!" And then she'll scream, "Oooh, let's name the zones, the zones, the zones. Let's name the zones of the open sea!" 10 points for Gryffindor!
 
I love my sister because she's nothing like me.
 My sister and I went to the same college, but most people didn't know we were related. Anytime someone made the connection they'd go on and on about how shocked they were that we are sisters because we are so incredibly different. We look nothing alike, (she's the spaghetti and I'm the meatballs), we don't act the same, (she's quiet and reserved, I'm loud and outspoken), and we like very different things, (she digs the arts, I dig the mall). But to me, that is what makes us get a long so well. When my grandfather passed away, my grandma asked my sister to speak at the funeral to represent the grandkids. Initially I was hurt because I wanted an opportunity to honor my grandpa. However, as I helped my sister practice her speech and watched her at the podium, I knew that she did what I never could have. She was perfect and I was in puddles and it was this difference between us that made her shine. I love our
differences because ironically, they bring us closer together.

I love my sister because she inspires me.
One of the bonuses of being the younger sister is that you get to watch your sister do everything first. She often gives me a hard time because she paves the way for me to do just about everything. Recently, I was telling her that I was planning to move in with Hot Stuff and asking her how to best break the news to our parents. Her reply was simple, "Well, I just told them I'm moving to a foreign country, so I'm pretty sure yours will be a breeze." But besides making things easier for me, I get to watch her achieve great things. If there's one thing that our family does well, it's that we support each other. I know I can look to her for everything from advice about an outfit to inspiration for my next adventure. How lucky am I?

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm so happy to have a fabulous sister in my life. So excited to see what happens next for you seester. I love you BV!