Croatia so far...!!

Wow!! I've been in Croatia for a week and this is the first time that I'm sitting and writing!  So much to say...

Well, I had a crazy train ride to Zagreb but it was almost fun given how stressful it was. Met lots of backpackers, crazy Brits, drunk business school students from the U.S., etc.  made it to my hostel alright too. Even though we arrived at 9:15 pm I still walked to my hostel from the train station because the city was so inviting. I also arrived during a week of celebration so there was lots of outdoor music and different cultural activities. My hostel was located in an awesome location, right off the main square and it had AIR CONDITIONING! A big deal in this hot, hot country.  Zagreb is a cool city. I had an upper and lower town. The upper town is more quiet, where the government buildings are and some of the older culture and the lower town is like any big city. Zagreb is known for their cafe culture and its awesome! Streets are lined with Cafes and everyone is outside drinking coffee all the time.  I got to know the city well in the day I spent walking around. I climbed up the tower in the upper town and had a gorgeous view of the city. I went to the Museum of Broken Relationships which was quite awesome and drank good coffee and ate pastries. Oooh, I also went to the outdoor market and bought some nectarines which were delicious!

My second day I did a trip out to Plitvice Lakes National Park with two Spanish people, a South African, Canadian, and Irish girl. It was gorgeous! Turquoise waters and beautiful scenery. I'm glad I got out there!  By the way, I later noticed how close the park is to Serbia. It basically sits on the border.

My next stop was Pula, a city on the Istrian coast.  The bus ride there was awesome, so easy, comfortable, a planned bathroom break. As soon as we came over the mountains the scenery was breathtaking!! You could see the sea and the mountains and even Italy in the distance.  Pula is a fishing town, right on the water and with lots of Roman history (if you saw the picture of the amphitheater on FB).  My first afternoon there consisted of getting to know the town. The second day I booked a day trip on a boat to Rovinj, the L fjord and the Red Island. It was an awesome adventure! I met a guy on the boat named Ian from Norway who was also traveling alone and we hung out the whole day.  The trip was gorgeous... The water is so clear and blue green. I went swimming and it was just awesome.  Rovinj also was an adorable town. Looked a lot like Venice (probably because of the actual Venetian influence considering Italy is so close) little windy streets, open stairwells to the water, artist shops, restaurants. Really gorgeous! A great place to vacation.

From Pula I headed by ferry to Zadar which is also on the coast but much farther down.  The trip was about 6 hours but that's because we had three

stops along the way at different islands. In Zadar I am staying in the old city- which is the hot spot.  A city with old fortification walls that still exist in some places and so many Roman ruins. It's pretty cool!  And absurdly hot.  In the 90's and doesn't cool at night.  This hostel has no A/C... Oh my god!!!

I spent yesterday on a boat to the Kornati islands and today was a simple beach day. It's so relaxing here. People are nice and most speak English which is cool. They are fashionable too.  It's hard for me to tell sometimes though if the people I'm seeing are Croatians or tourists? I rarely understand the language and they often sound the same.  The other day I confused what I thought was German for Danish. Oops!  What do I know?  I've heard Hebrew twice here.  Both times they were adult organized tour groups, but they always make me smile...

I have a week left here! Tomorrow I head to Split and then Dubrovnik and that is where this adventure ends. I can't believe I'm almost done with my travels and that summer is winding down.  Soon the mayhem will begin again. I'm glad I took this trip though... I've had a lot of time to journal and be with my own thoughts which has been awesome. I've also read a lot! Started my fifth book today.

Anyway, I'm sitting on the dock watching the sun set over the water and I wonder what could possibly be better? 

XOXO.

Pecs, Hungary

Wow, what a breath of fresh air it was to leave Budapest!  I was kind of surprised by how ready I was to leave the big city. So much that I got to the train station over an hour before my train! (If you know anything about trains in Europe they are very accurate on time- pull into the station just a little before and leave at the scheduled time- so there's no need to be early!!)

The train ride to Pecs (pronounced Pay-sh) was three hours. It was a nice ride through the countryside and I arrived around 1pm and got a little detoured in my way to the hostel. The map didn't quite have the train station on it so I took a wrong turn, but eventually made my way. It took about half an hour which is hard when you have the pack on your back. Also it was an uphill climb to the center and it was hot! It's been about mid 80's in the afternoons. Anyway, the hostel was great and I got a lot if good tips from the guy who worked there. I kinda roamed around and got to know Pecs on the first day. I went to see the synagogue in town which was really lovely. I spoke to the old guy who worked there and he told me that they still pray each Shabbat but its no longer in the synagogue itself because they only have 71 people left. They were 4,000 before the war.

The town of Pecs is really beautiful. The main square is stunning and it has a mosque inside from the time of the Turks which is nicely built and is now a church. It's bright and colorful and has such a good vibe.  

The first day I met my two roomies, Fabio from Portugal and Kian from Denmark. I hung out with them for an early evening coffee and conversation. Fabio and I went to the cultural center that night where they were screening a movie outdoors. It happened to be a French movie with Audrey Tatou and it was so fun to sit outside under the stars and watch a movie which you barely understand... You appreciate it in a different way, I think.  Pay attention to other pieces and not the words. I still found myself laughing and understanding.  It seems that I'll be missing most of the movies in the park this summer so this was a nice way of making up for it.

When we got back to the hostel the bar which is right below had Hungarian folk dancing. It was fun to watch people really into it, dancing their hearts out.

My second day in Pecs was very museum based. I saw several, they are all very small but I feel like it gave me more insight to the culture. Pecs was an excellent way to say goodbye to Hungary. It gave me the time and space to reflect on everything I've learned and seen so far and process a bit of the Hungarian people and culture. I'm glad I decided to go off track a little and explore the smaller areas away from Budapest because they give so much more than the big city does.  It would be really fascinating to come back to this country one day in at least 10 years from now. I think the country is still affected by the aftermath of its history and communism and is still struggling to ground itself in certain ways... I'm also curious what joining the EU will do for it in the long run.

Today was a slow morning. I finished my second book last night so I had to search for a new one and I sat at a bakery cafe with a latte and pastry while journaling this morning. Then I pretty much say with Kian and Fabio until I had to leave. My train travels to Zagreb are long today. I have a three hour train ride to bumblefuck and then I wait for 40 minutes and then change on to a different train for another 2+ hours. I'm sure I'll be exhausted  when I get to Zagreb. It's also REALLY hot today and the trains are not always air conditioned.

I guess that's all part of the journey though, right?

**Just a side note. This blog post was written earlier in the day.  I ended up getting to Zagreb at 9 pm because of the border control. It took almost an hour and a half for the police on both the Hungarian and Croatian sides to check everyone's passports. The train was stopped at a random station. It was awful. That and the fact that the train was totally overbooked and we were all squished in the aisles. It was like cattle cars.  Awful. I arrived at my hostel totally exhausted and disgustingly sweaty. But I have to say... So far Croatia is absurdly gorgeous!! It's gonna be a great two weeks!! And now I'm headed to bed in what seems to be a comfy one. 

Xoxo

Pecs' main square at night

Buda + pest

I think it'll take me a while to process my experience in Budapest. I'm not sure that I loved it but there is a lot of beauty and depth in the city.  There is no doubt in my mind that I love cities like Paris and Barcelona because they are striking and possess excitement and flair.  Budapest is very much an Eastern European.  The fact that it suffered for so long still shadows the city somehow.  It is rebuilding still and will continue to do so for a long while.  In fact, I wonder if I were to come back in ten years from now how much would I even recognize?  Its like the 10 year difference I noticed in Berlin.  Massive change.

Anyway, for those of you who have never been to Budapest it is basically two separate cities on either side of the river.  Buda on one side, mountainous and lush, Pest on the other side spanning out on great territory beginning the flat lands of this country.

I'll summarize by days since I did a lot during my stay here:

Day 1- I arrived to Budapest Keleti train station which was a shit show.  People everywhere!  I found my way to the underground train and got to my hostel fairly easily.  I got situated and headed out to explore the city!  I started on the Buda side by crossing the river on foot over the Chain Bridge. I took some kind of steep train type thing to save myself the trip of hiking up the mountain and followed a Rick Steves walking tour.  The castle hill area was fascinating.  In the middle were excavations of all kinds of Roman ruins.  The cathedral at the top is absolutely beautiful as well.  I went into one "museum" called Hospital in the Rock.  It was a hospital that was built into the underground caves of the mountain and was used during WWII and post WWII era.  Really cool.

Day 2- This was Pest sightseeing day.  I toured both Leopold Town as well as Central Pest and saw some great things and some really depressing and ugly areas.  At one point I got to a big town square and there was a Hare Krishna festival going on.  They were EVERYWHERE.  It was so bizarre.  There was a float and music.  Two days later I went back to the same square and there was nothing of that sorts going on.  I have no idea what it was in honor of.

Day 3- I took a day trip to the Danube Bend with a tour company.  I saw the towns of Esztergom, Visegrad, and Szentandre.  We took a boat trip back down the Danube.  It was awesome.  My favorite part was meeting this adorable Australian couple who are definitely older than my parents.  I spent the whole day with them and they were so fun!  I even saw them the next day on the street and it was like bumping into old friends!  This night I went out with two girls I met from the hostel which was fun as well.  One Canadian and one Australian.  I really haven't seen any Americans on this trip... at least not backpackers.

Day 4- This was the best day!  I started the day in the Jewish Quarter.  While I had gone to see all the sites on Day 2 in my walking tour it was Shabbat so all the Jewish sites were closed.  I did the most expensive of all the tours and got a tour of the Jewish quarter with tons of info and got to go into all three synagogues.  The tour guide was kind of annoying.  He was Israeli and was talking in Hebrew to these two Israeli couples that were in the group and telling them all these really dumb and offensive jokes, no one else in the group spoke Hebrew so I thought that was really weird and kinda rude.  None of that really mattered though once I stepped into the Dohany Street synagogue.  It is so incredibly breathtaking.  I've never seen anything quite like it, absolutely magnificent.  You may wonder how it survived WWI?  Which is definitely what I was wondering because it still stands as it did.  Well, the answer is that the Nazis (Adolf Eichmann specifically) had their headquarters inside of it once they took over Hungary which is how it is still standing.  Crazy.  And bittersweet.  Anyway, after the Jewish quarter I found my way to a neighborhood where ChefParade was located, the place where I was taking my cooking class.  It was AMAZING.  I signed up for a vegetarian menu, so mine included:
-Sour Cherry Soup (cold)
-Mushroom Paprika with dumplings
-Sour Cherry pie

YUM!  I walked back with such a full belly.

Day 5- I slept in and headed to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths.  I spent about three hours there and then headed back to the hostel to shower.  It was an interesting experience of moving around in different temperature thermal baths, saunas, and steam rooms.  There were outdoor pools too which had a jet in the middle part so you would get swept into this quick running stream that went in a circle.  It was fun.  In the evening I took a free boat ride on the river.  I got a free coupon when I did the Danube Bend day trip so I figured why not use it?

Anyway, I've met some people who just came from Croatia and everyone is RAVING about it!  The new Greece.  So I'm excited to head there soon.  I'm going to Pecs tomorrow morning for 2 days and then heading to Croatia on Friday.  Time is flying by!  It'll be nice to see another part of Hungary before I leave.  It seems like most travelers only come to Budapest... interesting.

Love to all!

Gyor, pronounced g-yeur, which is something I clearly can't say correctly.

I can't decide if my entry to Hungary through Gyor was the best way to start or not.  Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, however it was quite an experience especially after the more Westernized part of Europe.  In Gyor nobody speaks English.  And I mean nobody.  It was amazing.  I found my pension thanks to the handy dandy map of Lonely Planet and was greeted by a very nice older lady who was wearing a sack dress.  You know, those old Polish looking garbs.  She spoke not one word of English- well- maybe one or two words revolving around food.  So we spoke German.  Now ask me if I speak German?  Nope.  But Julie you will be so proud, I understood most of the basic words that she said to me.  Crazy...

Anyway, Gyor is a really cute little town.  Its colorful and has nice buildings and sits right at the merge of some river with the Danube.  It was ungodly hot on the day I arrived but I went out anyway to explore.  I found the old Synagogue that is no longer used (because I doubt that Gyor has even one Jewish person left) and I got to take a look inside because there is an art exhibit in there.  Also the music school uses the space for concerts and stuff so there was a girl playing piano when I was in there which made the experience so much cooler.  It was gorgeous.  Apparently it is the second largest synagogue in Hungary.  There were big Jewish communities along the Western side of Hungary.  Pre-Holocaust.

I enjoyed my day in Gyor and it was an interesting introduction to Hungary and Hungarians.  Keeping in mind that I couldn't really communicate with the people my sole introduction to them was based on observation. Not a smiley people. Terrible (and I mean terrible!) fashion trends. But people who enjoy being in the plazas and in the streets, sitting in outdoor Cafes, and enjoying summer.

Day 2- I took a day trip to Pannonhalma (surprisingly easier to pronounce than Gyor).  Lonely planet suggested this trip to see the 1000 year old Benedictine abbey, also a UNESCO world heritage site.  I took a normal bus out of Gyor and tried to pay attention as best I could to what seemed like the closest spot to the abbey (which was located atop a large hill so it was quite easy to spot)   My favorite part of the bus ride was when I pointed to the Abbey and then pointed down to the ground (meaning here), I was trying to communicate with a cute old Hungarian Grammy on whether I should get off the bus now?  She asked the driver a question and then shook her head no said a whole bunch of gibberish in Hungarian and then motioned to the hill. I understood that to mean "the bus will take you there"- luckily, I was right!!

It's quite incredible how not one word is decipherable in Hungarian!! Makes it a little complicated. I can normally learn some words quickly. Not here.

Anyway, back to the Abbey.  What a gorgeous place! See below:

The view from the top was quite pretty too, the Hungarian landscape being lush...

The coolest part of the Abbey was the library. It actually reminded me of the one I saw in Prague (which in my mind is still the most beautiful place in the world).  Funny to note that last summer when the Bachelorette aired with Emily Maynard she got to roll around with Jef Holm in that gorgeous library as they picnic-ed on its floor.  No fair, the closest I got was to take a picture from the doorway.  Anyway, here's a pic of the library:

The return to Gyor was quite interesting... I found a woman who spoke English (semi!) and she drew me a map of where to catch the bus. It was pretty accurate and after waiting an hour the bus finally came. I skipped dinner that night and ate this amazing monstrosity!!!

DELICIOUS!!

I probably ate about 1/6 of it but oh well. Leaving Gyor was fine. The pension owner gave me such a nice goodbye, she blessed me in some language and gave me a huge smile!  Apparently I was an easy guest.  Off to Budapest!!

Vienna.

Wow, the last two days have totally flown by!! Let me fill you in... I left Berlin bright and early and flew to Vienna on a cute little Air Berlin flight. Getting to my hostel was quite easy and I settled in quickly. Had to change of course because the weather was really nice and I was dressed for flight. The hostel is located near a shopping area and its a quick walk to the center or the ring as they call it here. I had a walking tour from one of Rick Steve's guidebooks and decided to follow it the first day. First of all it's important to note that Rick is funny and his tours are really good and easy to follow. At one point he directed the way by having us follow the direction a statues bare breast was pointing?!  Awesome.  The tour started at the Opera house and took me through the beauty that is Vienna.

Dina, if you're reading this know that I think of you constantly! Each place I pass brings up a memory of when we were here. Who knew that I even remembered half of this stuff!  I know that when we were here last (10 years ago) we were so sore from a hike we did outside of Salzburg that we were too tired to fully appreciate Vienna in all it's glory.

Anyway, I visited two museums while here- the Albertina and the Leopold. I walked and saw everything. Literally.

-Stephens cathedral

-Old Jewish quarter/synagogue

-Belvedere (only from the outside because I remembered the inside well)

-Kunst Haus

-Hofburg (the palace)

-Street markets

And I got to sample Viennese sandwiches, schnitzel, delicious pastries, and ice cream. Not bad, huh?

It's been really gorgeous the last few days, like 80's, and Vienna is super walkable so I've spent all day(s) outdoors. 

Tomorrow I head to Gyor which is in Western Hungary. It was kind of a hassle

to buy the train ticket because the first person who helped me messed it up but now it's all fixed and I leave at 9:48 a.m.  So that means its an early-ish morning.  

Well, I think the "real" part of my trip begins tomorrow, only in the sense that I've never been to either country before. I'm excited!

  The Belvedere

Kunst Haus

Me

Job well done on schnitzel

Delicious dinner

Berlin...

Hellllooooo world!  Regards from Berlin.  I can't believe that I have been travelling for almost a week now.  Its been so busy and so fun.  My adventure began leaving O'hare airport business lounge style.  No, I did not have a business class ticket, however I had a cool pass.  Although nothing too exciting to report from the United Lounge in Chicago.  A coffee and a diet coke and maybe some cheese but thats not too exciting.  My flight left on time and was relatively quick.  I watched two movies enroute (Admission and Beautiful Creatures) and slept a little too.  I had a loooooong layover in London.  Long only because it was boring and I was exhausted.  I grabbed a bite at Pret A Manger (my fave in London!) and finally after what felt like hours was called to my gate.  I had an emergency exit row seat on the flight to Berlin with no chair directly in front of me- amazing!  I slept the entire way.  Like the drowsy kind of sleep where you're probably drooling on yourself.  But the guy sitting next to me slept like that too so I didn't feel so bad.

I arrived in Berlin refreshed and excited to be getting on with my adventure.  My journey to Neukolln (the neighborhood where Julie lives) was quite easy and before I knew it we had reunited after 5 years!!!  So exciting!  We spent the first day walking around Neukolln and with Julie being the fantastic tour guide that she is I learned a lot!  We walked a ton on that first day which was great because I needed to do anything I could to stay awake!  That first evening I also managed to go out and see Jenni and Basti as well, my friends who I met when they came to Israel last March.

The last few days in Berlin have been quite refreshing, adventurous and super fun!  I saw lots of amazing things in the city - including an exploration of so many of Berlin's neighborhoods.  It is a very large city with LOTS to see and do and so many cool areas to walk around in.  My feet are incredibly sore, though.  I think I spent at least 6 hours a day walking around.  But it was well worth every minute.

Some of the more memorable things I saw:

-City Center and how it has changed in the 10 years since I have been here.
-Holocaust Memorial which didn't exist last time I was here (INCREDIBLE!)
-Stumbling stones (little plaques on the street that have the names of Berlin Jews who died in the Holocaust placed right in front of their old homes)
-Prenzlauerberg, an affluent neighborhood which had such great shops and beautiful buildings, and nice clean streets
-East Side Gallery- a long walk with the remainder of the Berlin wall.  20 years after the wall came down (in 2009), artists were asked to come and decorate sections of it.  An incredible artistic walking tour...
-Schoeneberg, Berlin's gay community with cutesy little cafes and shops - including the coolest grocery store I've ever seen!
-Potsdam, where the Hapsburg Family had their summer home.  It has the most beautiful gardens and park and also has a cute little town next to it.
-Gleis 17 (Track 17)- the track which deported Jews out of Berlin to camps like Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.  There is a really appropriate memorial that was created to remind all of what happened there.  The track itself is closed and doesn't work.

Anyway, its been a wonderful time here and I am sad to leave, but there is always a reason to come back!  Julie has been an amazing tour guide and I've loved every minute of being here.  Tomorrow I head off to Vienna.  I'm flying which is nice.  It'll give me almost 2 whole days there.  I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!

Berliner Dom

Cool art in an artist compound.  The art was actually created using explosives.

East Side Gallery

Julie and I on the train back from Potsdam