Buda or Pest?

Before we left for Budapest I was told that the city was split in half with Buda on one side of the River and Pest on the other side. The entire time I thought it was a joke...it wasn't.

Day 1:
Our flight was out of the Pisa airport so we decided to go to Pisa a couple hours early in order to see the leaning tower. When we arrived in Pisa we took a city bus to the tower. We spent about an hour trying to get a good picture, it was somewhat successful. We wanted to have a nice dinner by the tower, but we realized we spent too much time taking pictures and had to get back to the airport. I am ashamed to admit that we ate McDonald's for dinner. After our wonderful Italian dinner.... we waited at the bus stop for about 10 minutes. A bus came and we all got on it. Good thing one of my friends asked the bus driver if he was headed to the airport and he shoot his finger in front of him saying "no aeroporto". We all jumped off before we got on the wrong bus. We looked at the bus schedule and found out that the bus we needed stopped running. Picture 9 American students with huge carry on bags running through the streets of Pisa trying to catch a plane. We looked ridiculous and got plenty of funny looks. After running about 4 miles we finally made it to the airport. Of course we looked like we just ran a marathon and had sweat dripping down our faces, but that didn't stop Nicole from getting our flight attendants number.

I was told that Ryan Air was one of the worst companies in Europe, but we had a wonderful experience. We paid 70 euro for round trip tickets, which included the extra 5 euro we paid for priority seating (best investment I've made in Europe). They weren't very organized and basically everyone just stands in a jumbled mess fighting to board the plane. They do not have section numbers or assigned seating. They kind of just say "okay, everyone line up to board", you can imagine the mess that makes. We were able to board the plane first and pick any seat we wanted. They opened the door and I expected to walk through a tunnel to the plane...nope we literally walked on the runway right to where the plane was parked and walked up the stairs right onto the plane. Ryan Air was very entertaining... they speak in 3 different languages so everything they say they repeat 3 times, which meant they were talking for the entire flight. They also has many opportunities to shop on board. The sold smokeless cigarettes, perfume, and scratch off cards. We found it quite funny. Before we knew it we were walking off the plane and were in Hungary, a place I never pictured myself visiting on my last free weekend in Europe.

 

We stayed at a hostel named Tiger Tim's. On the website it mentioned that there are no signs advertising that the hostel actually exists so it has a picture of the entrance and it tells you to remember what this door looks like, because that is the only way you will know you are at the right place. It was 1:30am and the shuttle pulled up to the street, let us out, and left. The 9 of us were searching for this mysterious door. One of the boys knocks on a door that he believes is the correct place. This door was located between a kebab store and a sex shop....we were a little nervous to say the least. The door opens and we start walking up a stairs, having no idea what or who we might run into. After 4 flights of stairs a very skinny Australian man greets us in his underwear with a notebook in his hand. We weren't sure if we should be scared or entertained. He started calling out our names and led us to our rooms. The owner of the hostel, Tim a funny Irish man, introduced himself and told us to all meet in the lounge area in the morning and he would go over everything with us. 

Day 2: 

When we woke up we all met upstairs and Tim handed us each a map of Budapest. He told us everything we needed to know about the city from good restaurants to the famous Turkish baths. Budapest is a walking city, even if it's 30 minutes away, you walk. 

We began our adventure exploring the city. We went to the 3 story central market. It had a lot of fruits, vegetables, and meats.. not the market we expected, but it was still cool to explore. We then went to the green bridge and just sat in the sun for a little bit. There wasn't a cloud in the sky! After relaxing we walked on the Pest side along the Danube River and we ran into the shoe memorial. It is 60 pairs of shoes made out of iron that give remembrance to the Jews who were shot into the Danube River by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest in World War II. 

 

We followed one of Tim's suggestions and went on one of the free walking tours. As you've already read I do not enjoy tours very much, but this was an exception. The guides were young and energetic. The brought us to both sides of the river showing us famous places in Buda and Pest. They brought us to a statue of a fat police man and told us if you rub his belly you will eat good food while you are in Hungary. We also saw more locks on an iron gate. Our guide told us that couples who are in love come here, write their initials on the lock, lock it on the fence, and throw the keys into the river. Europe really likes this lock tradition. They have it in Florence and Cinque Terre. We ended the tour on Castle Hill on the Buda side. The view was of the entire city and was beautiful.  

We finished our day of sightseeing at the popular Hummus Bar. I guess rubbing the statues tummy worked because our that was the best falafel I've ever had. The made the falafel balls fresh to order. After dinner we had to get ready for our night around Budapest. Tim has organized things each night of the week for anyone in the hostel to participate in if they wish. Saturday night was a cruise along the Danube River that ended on Dream Island, which is an Island known for night life. It was a good time and we met a lot of really cool people. The view of the river at night was awesome.

Day 3:

Our third morning was when I realized how cool staying in a hostel is. We were upstairs sitting at a table full of about 15 people and when you listened around the table you heard accents from England, Australia, Norway, and Ireland. I'm not sure the next time I will be around such a diverse group of people. 

We walked to a local market one of our tour guides told us about. It had about 15 vendors and would take a regular group of people 30 minutes to go through, but it took us group of 6 girls about 2 hours. Everything was so cool and unique. 

After shopping we visited a museum called the House of Terror. The museum contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial government in 20th century Hungary. It also a memorial to the victims of the regime. The entire museum is in Hungarian so we had to read the English papers that explained every room. Tim warned us that the museum was very shocking, but we didn't get that feeling until we went to the basement. This is where the memorial is and prison cells that make you feel like you were actually there. It sent shivers down my spine. 

After the House of Terror we were ready for a relaxing couple of hours at the Szechenyi Baths. This Turkish bath was the first of its kind on the Pest side and is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. It has over 15 baths ranging from ice cold to steaming hot. We laid by a pool that had a whirl pool in the middle. It turned on every 10 minutes and once you are in it, it is very hard to get out. The water pushes you in circles, bumping you into the people around you...sounds weird, but it was so much fun!

After the baths we went with the Hostel the the World's 3rd most famous bar, Szimpla. This bar is considered a ruin bar, but it blows all other bars out of the water. You can spend hours exploring the bar. It is full of computer screens and strange junkyard artifacts.

When I booked my flight to Budapest I had no idea what to expect. I couldn't be happier with our decision to travel there. It was a place I'll probably never have the chance to go to again. It was the cleanest city I have been to and not very touristy, which was nice. We ate good food, had a fun time, saw awesome places, and met cool people.

When in Rome...

Roma was not one of my favorite cities in Italy. I enjoyed seeing all of the cool sites, but I'm not sure if I'll ever go back. It was just very crowded and a little dirty. I am also not a tour person. I like to wander around on my own and go at my own pace, which is usually faster than tour guides. Sometimes I get bored staring at a picture for 20 minutes learning about the history. I have to say that the night life in Rome was very alive. Every piazza was full of locals and tourists each night. One night we sat at the Trevi Fountain for a couple of hours just taking pictures and enjoying our surroundings.Those couple of hours were my favorite hours spent in Rome.

Day 1:
We went to Vatican City the first day. We visited the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Square and Basilica. Vatican City felt the Disney world. It was packed! It was cool to visit one of the smallest countries in the world. At one point I took off my sweater because it was so hot and I got yelled at by one of the guards because I was showing my shoulders. I had high expectations for the Sistine Chapel, but once we got inside it was so loud and everyone was taking illegal pictures. The police had to get on the microphone twice to tell everyone to stop being disrespectful. It kind of took away from the experience of seeing one of the prettiest chapels in the world.Walking around St. Peter's Square was very pretty and the Basilica was one of the prettiest churches I have been in (lets be real, all of the churches in Italy are pretty).

 

Day 2:

Another morning full of tours, but I guess that's what you get when you go to a touristy city with a lot of sites that need to be seen. Today we visited the Coliseum, Roman and Imperial Forums, Capitol Hill, and Piazza Venezia. The Coliseum was by far my favorite place of the day. I have seen so many pictures online and in movies and it was so cool to finally see it in real life. It was incredible to think that the gladiators fought in it so long ago. Also, I learned that gladiators were slaves, which I had no idea about. The tour ended around 1:30 and then we had free time for the rest of the day. Free time consisted of wandering Rome, taking a nap, and getting ready for the rest of the night.

Day 3:

My favorite day in Rome! Today was less touristy and more walking around the city and seeing places I really wanted to see. We visited Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain were my favorite places in Rome. The Spanish Steps are so pretty and surrounded by colorful flowers. The Trevi Fountain is an incredible work of art that also grants wishes. If you toss one coin with your right hand over your left shoulder you will return to Rome. The money thrown into the fountain is collected daily and is donated to an Italian charity.

The Tourist In Me Is Finally Coming Out

After being in Florence for the past 4 weeks my friends and I decided it was time to visit the touristy places in town.

Firenze Synagogue
We recently discovered that our apartment is 5 minutes from the only Synagogue in Florence. The Synagogue is only open for services during Shabbat and high holidays, all other times the Synagogue serves as a museum for the traveling Jewish community. When we walked inside we were all amazed. It was one of the most beautiful Synagogues I have been into. The walls and ceilings were all hand painted with such detail. After wandering around by ourselves we got a brief history about the Synagogue and Jewish community in Florence from one of the guides. He pointed out a small but important detail on the walls. He pointed to the wall at about 7 ft high and showed us how from the floor to about 7ft the wall was a little darker than the 10ft mark to the ceiling, all around the Synagogue. He explained to us how there was a flood that ruined the entire city and 7 ft of water sat in the Synagogue for days. He also explained to us how the Nazis tried to blow up the Synagogue by placing 30 bombs in and around the Synagogue, but luckily somehow something went wrong and only 2 of the 30 bombs went off, making very minimal damage.

Gallerie dell'Accademia
The time has come for me to finally see the famous naked masterpiece of Michelangelo, the statue of David. My museum pass makes me feel like VIP. It allows all students to skip the line at most of the museums in Florence. The statue was huge and intricate! The sculpting on his body made him seem like the perfect man. I'm not really a museum person, but I walked around the rest of the museum and appreciated some of the works of art. It was a short visit, but well worth it.

We were not allowed to take pictures of the real David, but here is the David in modern times.

Duomo
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, otherwise known as the Duomo, is the main church of Florence. It serves as my landmark in Florence and is basically the only reason I know how to get around Florence. When you see the Duomo you know you are headed in the right direction. We decided it was time to finally climb the Duomo. We put on our hiking outfits and Nike shoes and set out to climb the tallest building in Florence. Unfortunately, the Duomo is not on our museum pass so we had to wait in line like ordinary people. While in line we thought of every possible staircase that we might have to climb. Would it be a spiral all the way up? Can we just take a elevator? What if we fall? We walked in an the adventure began. The climb up wasn't too bad (of course we were all out of breath half way through), it just felt like it was never going to end. We finally reached a point that was almost to the top. It was one of the steepest staircases I have ever climbed, and it had no railing. We were a little scared, but then we saw a cute old couple coming down and they gave us motivation. We reached the top and it was magnificent. We were standing on a balcony at the top of the largest building in Florence. We could see everything surrounding Florence. After about 20 minutes of admiring the view we headed back down. The climb down was scarier than the climb up. I consider myself and adventurous person, but these stairs did not seem very trustworthy. The were thin and small. Once we arrived at the bottom we decided to reward ourselves with a refreshing cup of gelato.

Croatia: Europe's Best Kept Secret

This weekend I fell in love. Some people want to marry the Eiffel tower, I want to marry the entire country. Split, Croatia is comparable to Miami beach. Our hostel was located right on the port, overlooking the coast. Restaurants, bars, & live music lined the streets.

I decided to take my second trip with Bus2alps, but this time I went not knowing anyone and it was the best decision I could have made! 

Day 1: A 12 hour bus ride later and we finally arrived in Croatia at 9am. We checked into our hostel and 2 hours later I was on a bus headed towards the Cetina River for white water rafting. It was 75 degrees out and we had to wear wet suites and water booties. At first we were a little confused, then we felt the water and understood why we had to wear this. Our rafting "skipper's" name was Marco, he is a semi-pro soccer player and a white water rafting guide, hard life? I think not. He was explaining to us that Americans are his favorite people to work with and Italians are his least favorite (this is the first time I've heard good things about Americans in Europe). Half way through our adventure we reached a cliff that had fresh spring water flowing off of it. Marco taught us to all put on hand in a fist and hold it against the rock and it served as a water fountain. Croatian water is the official water of Madison Square Garden, how cool is that and we got to drink it fresh from the mountain! At the end of the river Marco surprised us with a cliff jumping experience. As we approached the cliff it didn't look very high, but once we were on top of it we all wanted to turn back. Marco did not let us, and I'm very happy he didn't because it was so much fun. The river wasn't as intense as I expected, but the scenery blew my mind. At one point marco had us stop paddling and just sit and take in the nature around us for. The rippling of the water, chirping of the birds, and rays from the sun  were so relaxing. Our adventure ended at a delicious restaurant right on the river. When we got home we had to get ready for the pub crawl that was organized for our bus2alps trip. I had never been on a pub crawl before, but this one definitely set the bar. The crawl began with 2 hours of unlimited drinks on a boat that was docked on the port, it then went to three different bars that lined the coast. 

 

Day 2: After a bright and early wake up call we were on the boat about to begin our day of island hopping. We thought it would be a good idea to sit at the front of the boat.  We were wrong. 5 minutes into the boat ride we were soaking wet from the waves hitting against the boat. The boat crew came around with shots and donuts for everyone. What a wonderful start to our day. The first island was little and cute, while the second island was big and beachy. When we got home from island hopping we went to a city nearby named Trogir, It was a beautiful city on the coast and has wonderful calamari. 

 

Day 3: We packed up our bags and left our hostel. We headed to Krka National Park, otherwise known as the land of the waterfalls. We headed 2 hours north and reached the anticipated destination. We has 3 hours to explore the parks natural beauty. We took a scenic trail that led us to the parks renown waterfall into the Visovac Lake. After a couple minutes of taking pictures of the falls we decided to take a dip. The water was freezing, but there was no way I was leaving this beautiful place without swimming under the waterfall. After 30 minutes of attempting to walk on the rocks on the water we decided to jump in and swim. There was a rope in front of the waterfall that was clearly there so no one would cross it, but the daredevils that we are we all crossed the rope. After 15 minutes of climbing rocks and swimming under the falls one of the park rangers came and told us to go back to the swimming side. The waterfalls were the highlight of my trip. 

 

Overall, Croatia is one of my favorite places I've ever been to and I will definitely be back!