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Published: November 24th 2006
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Széchenyi Chain Bridge
our tour guide played a game with us: What are the four Lions on the bridge missing? I guessed ears, but apprently I was wrong, since as I was told " no, the ears are in their fur, you just can not see them..." right.
Katie won: she guessed tongues. Szervusztok from Hungary!!
I recently got back from a trip to Eastern Europe. A good thing about the frenchies is that they take a lot of vacations and time off!!
Teachers work an average of 18 hours a week and usually have three day weekends
If the grueling work week is too much to handle the government gladly
secures several national holidays in which everything is closed down;
this includes all public forms of transportation!! I have had some
trying experiences recently; it is a story that will be told at a later date, when the steam is burned off!
I took advantage of the generous amount of time off and took a trip to the capitals of Hungary and the Czech Republic with Katie and Kelly.
We thought we were so savvy in securing a cheap-o deal to the cities via Paris. Oh were we in for a ride of our lives!! In total we spent 52 stomach churning hours on the Autocar, which we naively thought would be a small train....
Autocar experience: 22 hours form Paris to Budapest, 12 from Budapest to Prague, and then 20 back from Prague to Paris. 52 hours
The Parliament
Second biggest in the world, to London of course...
Unfortunately we were unable to visit it because of the "peaceful riots/ demonstations" which took place for about 2 weeks outside the doors. The demonstrations were marking the 50th anniversarry of the "end" of the communist regimes in Hungary. in a bus there is just no possible way to
sugarcoat this; It was pure hell! I used to think that hell would be being stuck on the Paris metro with no air ventilation, packed like sardines with the other foul smelling frenchies Nay, folks, hell is found on autocar #4587 en route to Budapest via Paris somwhere between
hour 18 and 22. To pass the time we gorged on chocolate, pringles, and other such unneccessary junk foods, laughed until we cried while reading David Sedaris's « Holidays on Ice », and made some rather amusing short films sur la autocar. I wont give the plot away but
just know that this artfully consructed series follows three American girls trials and tribulations and the obstacles they encounter as they fight with all their might to survive the deathly grips of the lowest form of Eurotransport.
Once we finally arrived in Budapest, the three disoriented, tired, tense and dehydrated americans flopped out of the autocar and into the city where barely anyone speaks english.
I quickly found that I missed France and a familiar alphabet, accent and langauge.
At least in France I can ask how to find a
toilet among many other helpful phrases but in Hungary I was dumbfounded by the difficulty of communicating. We relied on hand signals and of course, our stunningly good looks, what else? I like to think that my sherade skills have
improved immensely post-budapest and Prague and I welcome any of you to challenge me on this upon my return to the States.
After finding our way to our hotel, which was located in the Budapest boonies, we regrouped. This regrouping was interuppted because Kizz misplaced her camera; but do not fret she did get it back!
So that is Buda, but where is the Pest??
Acutally a two sided city, Buda, is the more historical and hilly area and Pest , is the commercial district separated by the Danube River. They call Budapest the "Paris of the East" because of the numerous awesome cafes (true, the food is outstanding and cheap!!) , art and culture, and the bright lights that twinkle all over the city at night. I would agree to all of this but I found it is hard to draw a comparison, Budapest is just so unique!
The general consenus among the group is
Yours truly
and the "Pest" skyline in the background. that Budapest is a very clean and beautiful city, since the city is new in the EU (entered into the union in 2004) and the economy is still lacking, the tourism draw is rather small. I think of the city as a little gem that has not been discovered just yet. The city is very manageable and not crowded, which is a for sure plus! I found Paris and Prague to be very overwhelming with the huge mobs of people on the streets and the metros.
Also, Hungary has not switched to the Euro yet and the Fornit is not very strong; so that makes for cheap travel!
Some highlights from the trip:
The first night in Budapest we attended a traditional Hungarian folk
music and dance show in an adorable little theater. The costumes are
reminiscent to the Sound of Music ( I am sure that is just the ignorance
of an american girl, but maybe it has to do with the old austro-hungarian
empire?? ) and the dancing reminded me of contra dancing in the NC
mountains (yeah Jules, Grace, and Timmy!!) mixed with intense and almost militia like tap dancing. The show was great
Swing yo' partner!
Hungarian dance show!
I really could get into the costumes, maybe that is an idea for halloween 2007? and I would recommend seeing one if you ever travel to
Hungary.
We followed the dance show with a relaxing river boat ride on the
Danube. I was a litte hesitant at first after experiencing a very
crowded noisy and cheesy ride on the Seinne in Paris but much to my
surprise the Danube ride was rather delightful. We sipped champagne and
ate chocolate sundaes by candelight as the boat floated pass the
illuminated sites of the city. The people who shared our table were
from Chicago and taking a tour of Europe.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Walking Tour. Our group
was mosty young backpackers and our guide Blanca showed us around the
city and gave us a historical and political background on the country. I suggest looking up the history, it is very long, complicated and interesting! Hungarians have a lot to look back on.
On the walking tour we visited the many districts of the city including the Jeiwsh Quarter. Budapest has the highest Jewish population in Europe. It also has the world's second biggest Jewish synagogue. Whan the tour guide asked where the biggest is, I guessed Boca Raton,
Big Spender
If only this was in dollars... then I would be Miss Money Pants!! which in my opinion is a fabulous assumption.
I was wrong.
It is in NYC.
Something that drew my attention is that Budapest is the city of Spas
Due to its regional location there are a lot of thermal springs and
hot baths in the city many hungarians flock to the spas for healing
purposes. We went to the Széchenyi Gyógyfürdő medicinal baths which is said to be the hottest thermal spa in Europe there were three pools located outside
That night, after becoming fully pruned post-spa experience, we headed to dinner. We met up with some interesting travelin' folk and dined on traditional Hungarian food at a cool restaurant called Paprika. The spice is one of Hungary's most well-known products. For dinner I had the Goloush soup, which was yummy; sans the beef chunks; and the couragous
Kelly ate the ...Wild Boar... !
We ended our trip with a visit to the top of Capital Hill for a
stunning nighttime view of the city skyline. I will definately make a
point to return to budapest in the future, and hope next time I can
explore the countryside and another Hungarian town.
Viszontlátásra!!
Danube River Boat Extravaganza
I noticed how I always call things an "extravaganza", to make it appear even more exciting than it could ever possibly be. à bientot, Shelly
P.s Czech out Prague in the next blog!!
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Rachelbeth
RBA
soon...
we'll be together again in our travels sooooooo excited!!! the countdown is on, Luv Ya