In Berlin: Part I

If there was a single city I could say I felt I didn't explore efficiently, it would definitely be Berlin. I joined a group of friends who had just begun to undertake the incredible task of visiting 11 countries in 13 days. Berlin was their second stop after Munich, and in an effort to add to my country tally I joined them on their German adventure. 

Much of the city's historical structure were destroyed as a result of heavy bombing during WWII, leaving a decent portion of the city's architectural landscape dominated by brutalist and functional modern artchitecture. Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz was an obvious and stunning exception. It's no wonder it serves as an essential trademark for the nation.

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Equally as stunning in its design, much more moving in its intent, was the Holocaust Memorial. The systematic rise and fall of the cement monoliths were meant to invoke "an uneasy sense of order," an elegant yet slightly disturbing reference to a tragic past. 

I guess it turned out our self-guided tour of the city was primarily fueled by its architectural landscape. We were supposed to visit the Reichstag dome, but me being me, I booked our tickets for the evening after we were scheduled to leave! And despite being in yet another new and unfamiliar environment, I found the familiar food to be sort of comforting. Growing up with a grandmother with a penchant for German recipes, I realized I've come to associate schnitzels and spaetzle with my childhood, to a certain extent. I'm sure, as I was filling my plate with a heaping spoonful of homemade spaetzle and gravy, I never would have guessed I'd been eating a plate of the same stuff on a sidewalk in Germany. 

Next up: Part II

Buda + Pest (Part II)

Our antics from the night before coupled with the relentless heat made us decide to take our second day in Budapest at a slower pace. We wandered through town, along the river, until we needed to retreat into some stores with air conditioning. Even though the apartment our hostel was hosted in was stunning, with tall ceilings and beautiful moldings, we were roughing it without AC.

It turned out that my favorite treat from Prague, a trdelník, was also called a kürtőskalác in Hungary. This one was the best I ever had, period. Imaging a hybrid between a donut and a croissant, wrapped around a wooden spool where the outside became crispy before it was doused in cinnamon sugar.

At the end of the day, before we caught our night train home, we stopped at a craft fair that was being held at what I think was a local university. I picked up a couple of really cool printed, with images printed on pages from a Hungarian dictionary, and a pendant as souvenirs for family friends back home.

If I learned anything from this trip, it was to pay up for a full bed on a night train. If I thought the cramped bunker I had to share with 5 other girls was tough, I was in for a rude awakening. Our train coming home was overbooked and so we were demoted to a pair of upright seats for the 7-hour journey home. I can confirm that it was just as bad as it sounds.

At times I regret only being able to visit Budapest for such a short amount of time, but I choose to see it as an opportunity to pay it a visit again in the future.

Read Part I here

Buda + Pest (Part I)

Budapest Keleti Station

Heroes Square

Just last night I met up with a couple of friends who spent the summer abroad with me. We picked a local beergarden, or biergarten, themed restaurant to pay homage to the foreign adventures that made us closer friends. Of course I was feeling all nostalgic and just a teensy bit tipsy, so as soon as I got home I started to flip through all of my photos from the summer. At that point, I realized I had forgotten to even write about most of my trips.

On our last weekend in Prague, a friend and myself took a train to Budapest, Hungary for the weekend. The city was beautiful and I refused to let the oppressive heat or the uncomfortable night train ride ruin the joy of exploring a new city. I don't remember where I heard this, but apparently Keleti Station is modeled after Gare du Nord in Paris, and it's the site of quite a few movie scenes as a stand-in for the Parisian location.

Budapest reminded me so much of Prague, in the architecture, the food and even the language. I spoke no Hungarian and neither did my friend, but we recognized that most people were using the word "prosim," a commonly used Czech work that meant pardon and you're welcome among other things.

The courtyard of the building where our hostel was located

Our train arrived at about 8 in the morning, so once we checked into our adorable hostel, we were off on our first day of exploratory adventures! We walked all the way to Heroes Square, but by the time we reached the monuments we were ready for a break from the heat. We coerced a clerk at the national art museum to give us the European Union student discount, and we took a respite from the heat inside the museum's collections.

City Park was home to scenic lake full of swans a boaters, a beautiful castle, and most importantly, ample shade. Did I mention it was hot? Because it was really hot.

That night we went to a couple of strange little bars on an island in the middle of the Danube. One, a beergarden called Wnderlnd, hosted resident artists who took turns redesigning its interior. When we arrived, the entryway was made out of bicycle frames and the central lamp post was surrounded by a fan of crash-test dummy limbs.

From the island in the center of the river, we could see both sides of the city, Buda and Pest, illuminated against the night sky.

Buda + Pest

On the last weekend of our program in Prague, three different groups of students set out to spend a couple of days in the Budapest, Hungary. One group chose the fly, the other rented a mini-van, but a friend and I chose the most economical option: an 8-hour long night train.

We left the Czech Republic at midnight and woke up bright and early in the city of Budapest, or Pest to be more specific. My grandpa always noted that the city was separated into two sections by the Danube river, Buda and Pest. Someone also told us that the train station was modeled after Gare du Nord in Paris and that it's often used as a stand-in for films. At the time I had yet to go to Paris, but I can confirm the similarity.

Our hostel was in a charming renovated apartment building, one with a central courtyard and massively high ceilings. Our trip was planned completely last minute, and while I can't say I regret going, the oppressive heat and lack of air conditioning made it hard to want to do anything.

After we dropped our things off in our hostel, we made our way to the beautiful monuments in Heroes Square. At this point we sought refuge in the national art museum on one side of the square, where we lied to get a European Union student discount and waited for the hottest hours of the day to pass. After we admired the Egon Shiele exhibition that happened to be visiting (I ran into it again at a later date in Vienna), we wandered through the shaded castle grounds of City Park. Budapest reminded me of immensely Prague in it's architecture and language, but its parks and islands had such a quiet and naturalistic atmosphere that seemed almost far removed from the capital city.

We spent our only night there on Margaret Island. Groups of friends and even families with children wandered along the banks until midnight. Yelp led us to a strange beer garden called WNDRLND where resident independent artists took turns designing the interior of the space. When we happened to visit, the entryway was an arch made of bicycle frames and parts of crash-test dummies fanned out around the central light post.

Our next and final day there was just as hot as the day before. The heat didn't mix well with our antics from the night before and our 9 a.m. check out time, so we continued our casual sight-seeing from the day prior. Even though I often lament how little time I had to spend in such a beautiful city, our discovery of the trdelník, a traditional Hungarian pastry, made the entire weekend worthwhile. They can be found in Slovakia and the Czech lands too, but none were as good as the one pictured here.

We took another night train and arrived back in Prague just as the sun began to rise. All of the beds were sold out and so I spent a long eight hours trying to make myself comfortable in an upright seat. I don't think I could ever take a night train again. I also didn't visit the baths, as we had decided to avoid the massive EDM party that was occurring that weekend - another student was there and came home with an infected leg cut, so I'm sure it was for the best. Budapest was fleeting, extremely hot, but more than anything, rather beautiful. I'm sure I'll see it again.

Roman Holiday: Part II

Ah, my beautiful Rome. I promised you I would unearth the embarrassing touristy pictures before long. Despite how boiling hot it was on this particular weekend, I can't help but recall how joyously stress-free this trip was. I think it was pure luck, having chosen the perfect location to stay in and effectively planning our days where we even accounted for about an hour of nap time to rejuvenate ourselves before dinner. 

Being in the Colosseum was almost unnerving, considering its age and current state of disarray. I was a bit afraid that the stone would crumble away beneath my feet with each step I took. Of course, that fear wasn't great enough to keep me from (illegally!) posing on the remnants of an Ionic column capital. 

I was dutifully informed by my friend Sam that the best gelato in all of Rome was to be found in a shop just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain. For some reason, I found myself incredibly addicted to pistachio ice cream this summer, so I indulged myself in a scoop of the aforementioned flavor. Our friend, who sent us a massively helpful email prior to our trip, told us to look out for pistachio gelato that was lime green in color, because that is a tell-tale sign that it's made with artificial ingredients.

One thing that struck me the most about Rome is how closely everything was set together. The only prior exposure I had to the city was through movies (Roman Holiday, The Lizzie McGuire Movie) and so I assumed everything was spread out, for some reason. Little did I know, the Trevi Fountain is not even a free-stranding structure but the back end of a building.

On our was to the airport early Sunday morning, we took the scenic route and bid our little Italian retreat farewell with a stop on the Spanish Steps.

d&mAbroad: The Art of Packing

Click through to read this week's post on d&mAbroad where I show you how I managed to fit almost 3 months of clothing into a single suitcasoe and manage to stay under the baggage weight limit!