I’m still here I promise!

Buda Castle from across the Danube in Pest

After a long delay I’m back with a new entry to cover the past 2 weeks of my time here in Austria.  The past few weeks have been crazy busy with travel and then school work really kicking in so I apologize for the laziness here.  But anyway, on to the fun stuff.  Two weekends ago we did our first trip outside of Austria (not including Munich), we went to Budapest, Hungary.  A place I had no intention of going when I decided to study abroad but now I am so happy to have been able to have experienced it.  Budapest has a unique beauty to it that is really just so tough to describe.

First I want to apologize in advance, I am going to use the english translation of most of the places we went in Hungary because the Hungarian language really threw me for a loop… I was constantly speaking german or english and could never get it right…  Anyway, Friday morning we woke up bright and early to catch a train from Salzburg headed straight east to Budapest.  It was the smoothest ride I’ve ever been on, every stop was on time and we arrived just ahead of schedule around noon.  From there we headed to the nearest atm to withdraw some Hungarian Forints.  I had heard the exchange rate was wild but wasn’t sure what to expect.  I figured I would need about 140 euros for the weekend so I did the math and had to double and triple check my numbers.  Apparently 140 euros equals about 40,000 Hungarian Forints…. So, with my new found riches burning a hole in my pocket I was ready to tackle all that Budapest could throw at me.  We headed for our airbnb for the weekend not sure what to expect but was blown away with our little condo, a 3 minute walk from St. Stephen’s Basilica and Parliament.

We got settled and stopped by the grocery store to buy some beer and get ready for the night.  We had heard about these bars in Budapest called “ruin bars” and we were excited to hear what the fuss was all about.  Apparently ruin bars are bars and clubs built into some of the older buildings falling into disrepair in the old city.  Instead of tearing them down they’ve been converted and stuffed with old furniture and crazy decorations to make a really unique experience.  One ruin bar we went in actually had 2 real trees growing up right in the middle of the building… My favorite bar was called Szimpla kert, it had a garden, courtyard, multiple stories, live music, projection screen on a 2 story brick wall, and literally anything else they could stuff into the place.  We were lucky enough to snag a table and enough chairs for the group to sit at and just people watch for most of the night.

In the projection theater area of Szimpla

After leaving Szimpla at around 1 we headed home but made sure to stop and grab some kebabs and stumbled into a barcade… After some intense games of guitar hero and air hockey we realized how late it was and that if we wanted to wake up before noon the following day we needed to get back.  Although our friend Serge did try his best to drag us into a karaoke bar, we resisted and made it home without much incident.

Szechenyi Thermal Bath

We woke up not feeling so hot the next morning and the only solution to a Hungarian hangover is one of their thermal baths.  One of Europe’s biggest bath complexes was only a sketchy subway ride away.  Only 5,000 Forints got us a locker and entrance all of the rooms of the bath.  We didn’t take advantage of it though as just laying in the warm water was incredible.  Who would have thought I’d be swimming in March in Hungary… There were 3 large pools outside, one for swimming laps, one that was a stationary pool and another was a whirlpool that had angled jets to create a Hungarian lazy river that was anything but lazy.  You could really pick up some speed along the outside wall.

(right to left) Connor D, Serge, Connor F, Haley, Mitch and myself.

We left the baths feeling like new men (and woman) and were ready to see some of the city.  We wanted to stop by Parliament, St. Stephens Basilica, and Hero’s Square.  Since Hero’s Square was right around the corner we headed there first.  Hero’s Square is a statue complex with statues of the 7 chieftains of the Magyars among others and Hungary’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Problem was, we were on one side of a river/pond/reservoir and we weren’t sure how to get across except for a small wall… Oh well, we figured it out..

Made it safe and dry

Hero’s Square

We stayed here for a while relaxing on the edge of the monuments really doing our best to take in how massive everything was here.

From there we headed back towards our little condo to see Parliament and St. Peters before  it got too dark.  This is when our friend Connor’s most unlucky 24 hours of his life began.  We went to buy tickets for the subway to take us home and as the tickets were only about 300 Forints and most of us only had huge 20,000 Forint bills (the locals aren’t thrilled about making change for that) Connor Fahey decided to just hop on as there wasn’t anyone monitoring and no turnstiles to walk through.  At first it seemed smart but we grabbed tickets anyway, at our next stop a burly Hungarian woman steps on, flashes a badge and asks us for our tickets.  We all had them except Connor, and he was given an 8,000 Forint fine.. Not too bad, just 25 euros but still not fun.  More on his awful luck to come.  We got back to our stop and hopped off and headed straight to St. Steve’s to get a view of the city.  We payed and started the hike up to the top.

Spiral stairs to the top, the crew, Parliament from the top

We had heard of a memorial down by the river called “Shoes on the Danube” so we headed there next.  There are about 60 pairs of shoes cast in iron facing the water on the very spot that Jewish victims were executed and dumped in the Danube River in 1945.  An old lady told me it was a sign of solidarity to place a pebble on a shoe as if to say “we were here, we remember you.”  It was pretty solemn and shut us all up, as the realization of some of the atrocities committed here and throughout Europe 70 years ago aren’t just articles in a history book anymore.

Shoes on the Danube

We needed something to lighten the mood so we got Mexican food in Hungary and had a few margaritas.  We headed back out to the bars again that night and just made the most of our last night in this beautiful, crazy city.  The next day our friend Connor’s horrible 24 hours picked right back up.  As we’re all getting ready to go to Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion he’s getting nervous looking for his wallet.. fast forward 20 minutes of all 6 of us searching and we can’t find it.  Luckily he has some money on him still so it’s all good, not really though.  He thinks he must have lost it the night before at the bars.  Anyway we head across the river to explore the Castle and Bastion.

 

Connor on the far right seems in good spirits for now…

Parliament from Fisherman’s Bastion

Dancing to random European electric music

On the way back we had to cross the Danube on a huge bridge and I guess because it’s so long sometimes the dogs getting walked don’t always make it to the other side before having to do their “numbers” and our fun-loving friend Connor had the luck to step in dog poo not once but TWICE on the same bridge within about 50 yards from each other… Kid can’t catch a break.. Anyway, we’re about to leave Budapest and he figures how much worse can his day get.  Much worse Connor, much worse.  We’re finally on the train and headed back to Salzburg.  The people that work for the train are checking our tickets and Connor who has purchased a ticket has the ticket digitally on his phone thinking that would suffice.  It didn’t… He is fined 30 euros which again is lucky because they claimed that wasn’t his ticket and we thought they were going to just kick him off the train at the next stop (which would have been his luck at this point) but he somehow made it back to Salzburg…

Connor, a defeated man.

Fast forward a week and we are headed to Vienna now!  Our wonderful program planned us a trip to the capital of Austria to see the city and explore the history and culture that Vienna has to offer.  We took a walking tour of the city and finished beneath St. Stephen’s Cathedral (yes, another St. Stephens) and we’re set free to enjoy the city.

St. Stephens

Not much happened that first night except we found a fun bar for all 30 of us to crash and enjoy, but most of us were tired and didn’t stay out late.  The next day a few of us headed to the naschmarkt, which is a huge outdoor market in the heart of Vienna.  We got food, explored, people watched, found Mozart and just enjoyed our day.  We planned a nice dinner at an old restaurant called Zwölf Apostelkeller (12 Apostles) and enjoyed a traditional Viennese dinner in a cellar build in 1339.  It was fantastic and again, I took it easy that night and just looked forward to Sunday when we got to tour Schönbrunn Palace and Stift Melk Abbey.

Zwölf Apostellkeller

Mozart

The boys watching the ducks

Wakey, wakey bright and early Sunday morning for our bus to Schönbrunn Palace where we were going on a guided tour and get some free time on the grounds.  I was lucky enough to come here with my family 6 years ago, but my memory didn’t do the palace justice.  The size and beauty doesn’t translate to pictures.  Even though we were told numerous times that it’s ten times more amazing in the spring we were still amazed.

Schönbrunn Palace

The palace used to be the Hunting lodge and Summer home of Franz Josef and the Hapsburg family.  The tour was wonderful and even though the gardens weren’t in bloom our hike up to the Gloriette still provided us with a great view of the palace and city in the background.

The Gloriette in the gardens

Schönbrunn from the Gloriette

From there we headed out of Vienna to Stift Melk before Salzburg.  Again I was lucky enough to have been able to see the abbey 6 years ago but I remember being very fond of it and was excited to go back.  The abbey was originally a castle build in 1089.  Since, it has been remodeled numerous times and the Benedictine Monastery we see today was build in the early 1700’s.  The Abbey still houses monks today and holds the remains of many of Austria’s first ruling dynasty, the Babenburgs.  Also the library inside houses books from the medieval era…  But the chapel stole the show. It was unbelievably beautiful and was a great way to end a great weekend.

Stift Melk

Next weekend starts our spring break where we will be exploring much of Eastern Europe.  I can’t wait to get back and tell you all as much as I can.  I can’t guarantee an internet connection though so who knows when my next post will be.  If all goes to plan I hope to post next Tuesday but we shall see.  Happy early St. Patrick’s day and auf wiedersehen!