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Published: August 7th 2007
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Budapest
Jewish tree of Rememberance It was November 2006, so what better place to visit that Eastern Europe! We took a week off and decided to make our way through Budapest (Hungary), Bratislava (Slovakia), Krakov & Warsaw (Poland). Unfortunately Baz was Movembering so you'll have to excuse his handlebars.
First stop Budapest...a relatively small city with an old town on one side of the river Danube and the new town (industrial town) on the other side of the river. The old town is what interests the tourists and it is quite a pretty place. Lots of pretty, old buildings with not much international significance but plenty of significance to the city. The highlight was definitely the baths...they have several natural heated baths that are definitely worth a visit. It was pretty cold when we visited and the outside temperature was around 3-4deg C, but the outdoor bath was up around 38deg C - mmmm, toastie. The indoor baths weren't quite as warm, but they didn't really need to be as it was inside. The only slightly off putting feature was the fact that we were two of about 10 people under the age of 60.
One of the strangest things we found (while trying
Budapest
Fisherman's Bastion to find some caves which we later visited but were pretty unremarkable) was a labyrinth museum. It was all underground and as it's name says, was a labyrinth. Each section of the museum had a different theme but the weirdest part was, there didn't seem to be a point. But it was still quite interesting. The strangest section was the "lovers trail" where every so often (once a week or something) couples book to walk the trail. It's pitch black, no light whatsoever, and the girl and boy start at either end. There is a string that each have to hold onto and follow until they meet in the middle. Sweet, I guess.
Next stop Bratislava, it was only a couple of hours away by train so that was pretty handy. Bratislava is also on the Danube and also pretty small. Only there's less to see. There's a big castle on a hill...yup. The most exciting thing to do here was shoot semi-automatics. But try as we might, it was all too hush hush and we couldn't arrange anything for the couple of days that we were staying for. Seems you have to arrange these things before you go.
Budapest
Budapest Parliament Possibly the highlight of Bratislava was the food, HUGE chunks of roasted meat served up with cabbage - Mmmmm meat.
So we thought we'd just catch the train to Krakow, without bothering to research at all how long it was going to take. Nine hours, 2 train changes and a bus replacement ride later we arrived in Krakow. Thankfully all the locals on the train thought it was hilarious that we couldn't understand a word of Slovak and did their best to mime what we needed to do. Perhaps the only scary part was when one of our trains stopped in the middle of nowhere (it was pitch black outside, no lights) for no apparent reason (there was no announcement, even though we wouldn't have been able to understand it, it would have been a comfort to hear a voice) and we were the only people in our carriage and the ones either side of ours (that we could see). A little freaky after about 30mins of not moving and wondering if we were going to star in our own horror movie, but then we saw a hard hat wander past our window and relaxed a bit.
So
Budapest
Budapest Palace Krakow, what a vibrant city. There is SO much to do there. The first night we had a little wander for a late dinner and discovered that there are probably just as many restaurants, bars and clubs in the centre as Piccadilly Circus. The first day we took an excursion to the salt mines and what an amazing day out. Since the miners were very religions, superstitious and spent most of their time down there, many of them became very artistic. There are statues and scenes carved into the salt all through the caves. There are whole chapels carved into the salt. Probably the most impressive carving is a HUGE chapel that's as big as a banquet hall. 4 storey high ceiling with salt carved chandeliers that hang from it. They've even carved hexagonal tiles into the salt floor.
The second day we took a day trip to Auschwitz & Birekenau. Auschwitz was the first and smaller site. Birekenau was where the most and worst atrocities took place. We knew it was going to be a sobering experience but I don't think anything could have prepared us for just how affected we would be. We went on a tour
Budapest
Bridge over the Danube and on the bus ride there they showed us a 50min documentary that was shot by one of the USSR soldiers when they liberated Auschwitz. The footage that is often shown of jubilant people being liberated was taken some months later with those who were brave enough to return. The footage was heartbreaking. And once we arrived, what we saw was unbelievable. It's impossible to understand the mentality of the people who were involved, impossible to understand that kind of cruelty and hatred. And the lies that were told were sickening. What was most chilling, was that you only have to look at the state of the world today to realise that we haven't really learnt.
After a super depressing day, we found a very cool little jazz club, a great place for dinner with live traditional dancing and then did a mini club hop from the restaurant to our hotel. One things for sure Krakow loves to party.
Our last day in Krakow was spent wandering the city and checking out the Remembrance Day parade and celebrations. On our last night we discovered this great beer hall just across the road from out hotel, each table has
Budapest
Wine fountain inside the labyrinth a tap and you just order a cylinder of beer (in varying sizes) that they bring to your table and you serve yourself!
Last stop Warsaw, Poland's capital. Not as big as Krakow but very cute. We figured the best way to see the place would be in a horse & carriage (of course!). Nothing too remarkable, but worth a visit. Our highlight was lunch in a restaurant where everything on the table was gold! The tablecloth, candles, cutlery and plates - and here we were in ratty jeans and smelly t-shirts!
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