The Budapest Break Down (and a hint of Lienz)

KBudapest. A city neither of us knew too much about, a city we weren't too sure what to make of, but a city that slowly crept into our hearts and found it's own special place.

The train from Vienna to Budapest was (once again) a breeze. We'd reserved our tickets the day before to ensure we got seats, and after an altercation with an old man who we're pretty sure didn't believe we had the reservations, we were settled in for the three hour journey south to Hungary. Three hours seemed like no time at all after what we'd had so far, and soon we had made it into the station which looked run down from the outside, but had the most beautiful facade. All I know about Budapest is from what I've been taught in history, which is more the old political side, and so I knew nothing about the actual city. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what we found sure wasn't it.

The street we found ourselves on was lined with old buildings, many of which looked derelict and rundown. We felt a little apprehensive. Budapest was by far the biggest cultural shock we'd experienced so far, and not knowing the city or having a physical map didn't help. But we soldiered on (with the help of google maps) and soon came across our hostel in the Jewish area of Budapest. The street our hostel was on was probably the nicest we'd come across so far, and the hostel was no disappointment. We'd thought the Hostel Ruthensteiner was nice, but the Maverick City Lodge in Budapest looked more like a hotel than a hostel (and it was our cheapest!) We were two happy bunnies as we mounted the stairs to our double room, and this happiness only increased with the discovery of air conditioning and the knowledge that there was a wine tasting the next night! After spending some time chilling in the room and looking at a map, we set out with the intention of finding the shopping mall, and the thermal baths.

Well, we did find the shopping mall! And yes, maybe we have a problem, but we had a legitimate excuse this time. If we were going to go to the baths, I needed to get a swimming costume as I'd handily left mine at home. After perusing various shops and dismissing them as too expensive, we eventually hit Pull&Bear where I managed to pick up a bikini for about 4000 forint (£9!) in the sale. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised me it was so cheap, as I was essentially just paying for two strips of fabric. Great! After a quick Starbucks stop, we decided to get sandwiches and snacks from the Tesco Express and make our way back home, as my beautiful glittery sandals had munched up the sides of my feet and I was limping along like Quasimodo. The evening was spent (as per usual) lounging, eating, and watching youtube videos.

The second day dawned overcast and grey. But as proper travellers, we didn't let this spoil our fun, and after dressing and a quick breakfast it was off out into Budapest with a lot of sightseeing planned. As we explored the city further, we found ourselves conflicted and confused. So much of the city seemed poor and rundown, and then suddenly we'd come across a grand street filled with designer shops and posh cars. It was a real whirlwind. But walking across the bridge to Buda, we were struck with how majestic and awe inspiring the city really was, filled as it was with grand historical buildings in a variety of designs. After getting a good look at the skyline from up high, we explored Buda Castle (and went up an escalator to the top, which was genius), before walking back across the Chain Bridge, which gave us even more beautiful views of the city.

After walking back across to Pest, we wandered further down and came across the imposing parliament building, which obviously called for a photo session. I managed to get the most beautiful photo of Emily after she thought I'd already taken the photo! By this time we were both getting very peckish, so it was time to hunt and gather (or, well, search for the nearest food place). After looking at and dismissing several restaurants, we found ourselves in McDonalds. It was very cultural! After our hunger had been sated, we decided to explore the little island, before walking back through a rather rundown area of Pest to find the Szechenyi Baths, which ended up being in the most beautiful park. I had to drag Emily away from the lake side restaurant, which did look absolutely gorgeous! The baths themselves turned out to be amazing, beyond what either of us were expecting. Surrounded by gorgeous architecture, perfectly warm, with a lazy river in the middle, we were in our element (after taking pictures, of course!). Alas, the serenity of the baths could not last, and after an hour it began to rain. Fearing for our towels, we exited and got redressed, before hiking back through Budapest (with a quick trip to Starbucks on the way), taking in sights like the House of Terror and some beautiful buildings.

Our stay in Budapest concluded with noodles, a trip to the supermarket for supplies for the train the next day, and a wine tasting! It was free, how could we say no? The wine tasting was essentially just drinking glasses of wine and mingling, which was so lovely. But unfortunately, we soon had to go back to our room and tidy up as it was (obviously) a complete mess, and we had to be up at 6:00 the next day. I know, disgusting.

6:00AM. The beginning of what we dubbed 'hell day'. After Budapest, we wanted to go to Venice, but doing it all in one would be far too much. So instead, we decided to stop off in the beautiful mountain town of Lienz. But to get here meant ten hours of travelling, including three trains and around three hours of waiting at stations. But hell day went off without a hitch, and we'd soon made it to Lienz, with the journey turning out to be the most beautiful trip through the Austrian mountains. I am so, so in love. In fact, the only parts that turned out to be hell were when I realised I'd lost my cash card (which a quick call back to dad soon fixed), and when we had to trek half way up the mountain to our apartment. So, so worth it. We not only have a beautiful apartment complete with kitchen, living room, and bath, but we also have a terrace! And not just any terrace, but a terrace with a hammock! Of course, we made proper and efficient use of the hammock. And i fell out. Well, someone had to.

Tomorrow it is time for Italy, and we are so, so excited. Happy halfway!

The Viennese Whirl

Sunday mornings are made for relaxing. And so, upon waking up in Prague, that's exactly what we did. We didn't have to check out until 10am, and our train wasn't until 12:42, and so we stayed in bed for as long as humanely possible, before dragging ourselves up. We packed, ate breakfast, checked out, and decided it was time for a supermarket run. Which obviously turned into a supermarket/quick look in the clothes shops run. Soon after we made our way to the train station, and had a pretty pain free journey from Prague to Vienna on a fairly packed train. However, some fairy god-mother type had obviously been looking down on us, as we sat down in the first available unreserved seats which weren't together. But luckily the two people sat next to either of us were travelling together, and once this fact was established Emily and the guy next to me swapped, and we settled into demolishing a pack of our new favourite bacon snacks. Four hours later, we had arrived in Vienna Hauptbanhauf, and it was time to eat a Subway sandwich before boarding the train to Vienna Westbanhauf (our first change!). The journey and the walk to the hostel was smooth, and we were soon settled in, our room already turning into our customary shit pit. The evening was spent skyping/FaceTiming home, utilising the wifi, and drinking a few cocktails!

Monday dawned, and unlike most Mondays where I just want it to be Friday already, we were excited to get out and explore the city! We already had a route planned, and so after a quick breakfast it was time for the first stop, which happened to be the station again. We felt very grown up very successfully reserving the train to Budapest tomorrow, and so we sauntered down to the very long shopping street which (we hoped) would lead us in the direction of the Spanish Riding school. Along the way we obviously had to indulge in a spot of shopping, and so I invested in a few items of clothing and a pair of sparkly sandals, and Emily bought a jumper and a hat. All very essential, I assure you. A quick trip to Starbucks was made along the way when the heavens decided to open, and I discovered the delights of the matcha green tea frappuccino. Thank you Starbucks gods!

After our quick shopping spree, we ventured off to find the riding school via the museum quarter. Looked easy on the map. However, after making our way through, the roads on the map handily ran out. Well. That's what we thought anyway. And so Emily used the free data on her phone to google where it was. Excellent! We cried. We'll find that easily! And we did, after trekking for miles and discovering beautiful buildings and a majestic fountain along the way.

Imagine our surprise to then find that what Google had taken us to wasn't in fact the riding school, but to a hotel with the same name! Thanks google! Not your biggest fans. After consulting the map once more, we trudged the streets and eventually made it to Josefplatz, which was allegedly where the school was. Well, it was closer this time. We found where the horses were obviously stabled. But it wasn't quite what we were expecting. One more consult of google, which came up trumps this time, and it was further down the street to Michaelplatz, where lo and behold we found the majestic renaissance building which held the Spanish Riding School! I have honestly never seen Emily so happy. We admired the building, watched a video clip, and Emily indulged in two tshirts from the shop. Mission accomplished, it was back to the shopping street (which took a mere five minutes this time), and back home to the hostel, both of us practically dead on our feet by this time. After investing in some tape to tape up an aggravating blister, we made it back to the hostel and cooked ourselves pasta for dinner. Oh yeah, be proud.

And now, after hair washing and leg shaving in the sink, relaxing, and contacting home, we are once again indulging in some cocktails before heading back up to pack and tidy, all ready to venture forth to Budapest tomorrow!

We also discovered the best chocolate in the world :D

The Prague Profile

Our adventure in Prague started with a long wait in Berlin the morning of the 24th. Check out at the Berlin hostel was at 10am, and this left us with a good four and a half hours to kill before we had to board the train. We spent the time utilising the hostel wifi, shopping for leggings and shoes, and breaking my phone. Nice one Beth! Eventually the time came to get to the train station, and without too much hassle we found both the right platform, and the right compartment where our reserved seats were. Stepping on to the train we were greeted with the beautiful sight that the train we were on was essentially the Hogwarts Express, with the long aisle down the side and the different compartments with six seats each. Completely content to spend the next four hours on the train, we settled in with our various entertainments for the journey through the German and Czech countryside. And what a beautiful journey it was. Germany was flat, but had a picturesque quality about it which lasted through the forest until we hit the stunning mountains and rivers of the Czech Republic. The rest of the journey was spent in awe as we fell further in love the deeper we went into the country. Once in Prague, the next challenge was to navigate the metro! After getting out some koruna (600 to be precise), we worked out the ticket machine, which we had obviously googled the day before, and with more ease than we had anticipated we made it to the right stop, and exited into the bright sunshine. What we hadn't expected was that it would be trickier to find the hostel than use the metro, and after wandering in circles through the pretty cobbled streets, we eventually asked someone and soon after we were settled in for our whistle stop stay. The evening was spent using the wifi (in our room, such a luxury), and working out the plan for the next day, before settling in for the night.

And what a night it was. Not only did we have to contend with loud drunks in the street outside, but at the oh so pleasant time of 5:30am, a thunderstorm hit right above us! Luckily, once we'd eventually woken up at a more sensible time, the rain had gone to leave a sunny day in its place. After dressing and making full use of the free breakfast, we were off to the nearby shopping mall to explore and buy me a phone and Emily some sandals. Exploration and sandals achieved, it was off to do some sightseeing and lament about just how beautiful every single area, road and tiny alley was. Without planning it, we'd managed to come to Prague in the middle of some kind of folk festival, so everywhere we went there were people from all over the world dressed in traditional dress and dancing and singing. It was utterly magical.

Next it was on to the Charles Bridge, which is possibly the most majestic bridge I have ever seen! (Sorry tower bridge). The gothic architecture lends an air of mystery, whilst the views across Prague are perfectly complimented by the variety of musicians spanning from traditional folk music on the violin and accordion, to Michael Jackson played on instruments including a violin, a clarinet, and a double bass. After admiring both the views and the musician, it was time to find the John Lennon wall, and this took much longer than we had anticipated, Prague's winding streets not being kind to us. But find it we did, and it was so worth the initial getting lost. It's essentially just a wall dedicated to the memory of John Lennon and all he stood for, but is covered in the brightest and coolest graffiti. After a quick photo session, we set off again to find the Starbucks with the (apparently) best views of Prague.

Unlike so many times before, Starbucks did not let us down. It's at the top of a hill right next to the castle, and after grabbing much needed ice tea and a bagel, we settled in a window seat with the most glorious views across the whole of Prague. It so lives up to it's title of the city of a thousand spires. We spent a good long time admiring the view and expressing our amazement at the fact that this trip is actually happening, and isn't something that we are just planning! Eventually we tore ourselves away and made a quick trip around the castle and saw St Vitus church, which took 585 years to build, and it's easy to see why. Whilst we were walking around the castle, Emily threw a coin into a fountain for the first time, crossing it off her list! Our feet were very sore by this point (darn new sandal syndrome), and so we headed back to the hostel for some chill time. After spending a few hours resting, it was back out to buy me a phone in the form of a Nokia brick. We also went to a Czech restaurant for dinner, where I had goulash served in bread, Emily had chicken and bacon, and we shared some chips. Dinner over, we headed back to the hostel to pack up our (again very messy) room, write this blog post, and prepare to travel on to Vienna on the morrow!

 

The Berlin Blast

Wednesday morning. Tears were shed at the thought of packing up our tiny shit pit, leaving the view, and departing Amsterdam. However, those three things were done, and after three attempts at catching the tram (and looking complete fools as we did so), we settled ourself in at the train station, where we were mistaken for two homeless girls and offered food, before catching the crowded direct Inter City International train to Berlin. Luckily, we managed to get seats (after being turfed out of our first seats an hour into the journey by a family with a pushchair) and settled in for the last five hours of the journey through the beautiful Dutch and German countryside. Apparently no one needed to check our passports as we crossed the border, and after a relatively smooth journey, we arrived at Berlin HBF. The hostel was one I'd stayed in in a previous trip to Berlin, and so we confidently headed there (albeit with a few nerves about checking in). Check in was fine, and we practically jumped for joy when we realised that the room was not only on the ground floor, but was at least twice the size of the Amsterdam room, and came complete with a table, private bathroom, and TV. 4 stars to you Berlin hostel!

One good nights sleep later (other than the thunderstorm during the night) we awoke refreshed and spent a good hour lazing in bed and reading, before deciding that we probably should get up and explore the city we'd come to see. After dressing and consulting the city map, a route was planned and we decided to hire bikes to get around. First mistake of the trip. Berlin in the morning was a much busier city than we'd anticipated, and after struggling through the traffic and the people to Bernauer Strasse to see the Berlin Wall Memorial, we gave up with the bike idea and walked the length of the wall. After taking some pictures and spending some time looking at the artefacts, we meandered further down the street, where we came upon a photoautomat (photo booth) and stepped inside to get some €2 black and white photos, which came out better than either of us had anticipated! After grabbing a cheap baguette (wrong country, I know), we precariously navigated on the bikes back to the hostel, where we happily abandoned them in favour of walking the rest of the route we had planned.

And walk we did, back through the train station to see some of the historical sights. We walked past the Bundestag, the Reichstag, and through the Brandenburg Gate (with Emily getting an impromptu history lesson on the way), before heading down to Alexanderplatz to see the monumental tower Stalin had built during the times of the DDR. We paused on the way to grab €3 t-shirts and drinks, and saw the book burning memorial in Bebelplatz, before heading down the length of the Unter den Linden to reach our destination, where we inevitably found ourselves in Starbucks for iced tea, coffee, and free wifi! Before finding the sanctuary of Starbucks, however, we managed to walk through the background of what appeared to be a film being filmed. However, we're 99% sure the film isn't going to be PG. The two girls tied up with rope and being led through Alexanderplatz kind of gave that away. After a quick trip into Primark and what might be the worlds biggest mall (although not the one we were looking for), where makeup may have been purchased, it was off to trek to Potsdammerplatz. Potsdammerplatz found, we had a look in the Sony Centre, admired our surroundings, and set back off to the hostel, passing back through the Brandenburg Gate. On the way we stopped off to see the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a memorial I'm still not sure what to think about. Once back at the station, it was time to grab food and head home to eat it, change into our tops, and write this blog post!

It's slightly unbelievable to think that tomorrow we have to pack up this shit pit and head south to Prague, but both of us are very excited to see what this new country brings (although very nervous about the journey. We have a change!). Wish us luck, we'll see you in Prague!

(PS, if you want to see some pictures from Amsterdam, they have been uploaded to the previous post!)