4 Countries, 5 days

Last week, my study abroad program, USAC, embarked on a 5 day trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. This trip had been planned months before we even arrived in Europe. We paid about 400 dollars for the trip, which included staying in some pretty nice hotels (at least for our standards, since we all had been used to staying in "interesting" hostels on our travels), eating at some nice restaurants, and having a bus drive us from city to city. It was certainly nice to not have to worry about catching trains or starving due to our college student budget. This trip was certainly more comfortable than some of my other travels, but moved at a rapid pace, since we really only had about a day and half in each city.

Cesky Krumlov is about 2 hours away from Prague, if I remember right, and was a nice, quaint little city with its own castle and everything. The castle even had a moat, but not filled with water, but rather, BEARS! This is the best idea ever! Anyone can swim across a pathetic moat filled with water, but who wants to fight multiple bears to break into a castle? Not me. Sadly, all the bears were hiding from us, so we never actually got to see any, but the idea was still cool enough for me.

We also got to see one of the oldest, most well preserved baroque theaters in all of Europe. This theater has been around for hundreds of years and was only used a few times, which is why it is still around in good condition today. It only seats about 200 people, if that, and is a little spooky inside with natural candle light being the only source of illumination.

We stayed in Cesky Krumlov for one night in a fantastic hotel, complete with a huge breakfast the next morning. Honestly, this might have been the best breakfast I've had since I've been in Europe, which isn't saying a whole lot. To anyone back home, this would have seemed purely average, but to me, it was a feast. Europeans just don't really eat breakfasts like we do, except for random countries here and there. I'm really looking forward to getting some amazing pancakes that I keep hearing about in Amsterdam at the end of this month.

On our way to Vienna, I realized that bus rides, and traveling in Europe is so much better than back home in the states. Car rides, at least in California, can be extremely boring, and I can only imagine how bad they are in some other states (i.e. Montana, the Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.). But here, the countrysides are breathtaking! I wish I wasn't so tired whenever we were on the bus, because I could easily just sit there and listen to music and stare out the window the whole trip and be completely entertained. I say this often, but I'll say it again, it felt like being in one of those shots in a movie, where the character is shown sitting in a bus/car looking out the window contemplating life. European countrysides seem to have so much more history and stories to tell. Rolling hills, various kinds of trees, huge mountains in the background, bi-polar skies, they all make up for such a great scene to witness.

Anyways, on to Vienna. I had heard a lot about Vienna and was really expecting a great city. Vienna was a lot like Berlin. Very clean and tidy for the most part, and of course, they speak German there. The people were very nice to us, just like they were in Germany, so I certainly appreciated that little aspect. One of my favorite things to do in Vienna was tell people that I'm from California. This would immediately be greeted by some response like "Arnold!" or "The Govenator!" (This joke must still be funny to them, since it is extremely old to us Californians, haha). People seem to be fascinated in Austria that Arnold ended up being Governor. Come to think of it, I guess I still am too. I enjoyed some classic Wienerschnitzel, which was quite tasty and even some good wine. I'm still not a big wine drinker, I guess I just haven't acquired that taste yet, but I can still tell the difference between a good and a bad wine.

One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with an old camp friend. Katie, or as I know her better, "Wooga", is from Oregon/Washington and is now teaching in Vienna. She has been there since July and when I realized I was going to be in Vienna, I sent her a message via our good friend Facebook. This was a few weeks ago, and once I was in Vienna, I realized I didn't have her number or any means of meeting up with her. I used a friend's computer, send her a message and hoped she would get it within the next few hours, since I was only in Vienna for one night. Literally 20 seconds later, my phone rings and what would you have it, it was her on the other end! We met up, for the first time in 2 and a half years I might add, got dinner and then went out to a sweet Irish pub called Waxy's. I tried some great new drinks, one being Cider, which was basically just an alcohol version of Apple Cider. Good stuff. Katie knew a few friends in the bar, these Croatian guys, who were really cool. Apparently Croatians like showing off their wealth, and especially like to buy all (not just girls) people drinks. Since I was friends with Katie, this meant I was friends with them, and next thing I knew they were buying me Rum and Coke's, which I happen to like quite a lot. This turned into a great night of drinking (in moderation of course! Calm down people...!) and just overall good times. At one point in the night I realized that one of the Croatian guys was wearing a bracelet that had a real bullet on it. I thought this was pretty cool and told the guy I was diggin' his creative bracelet. He said he used the bullet as his stylus for his palm pilot. Later, after he had had a few more drinks, he ended up shoving the bracelet into my hand, telling me it was his gift to me. I tried to refuse, thinking this was probably a pretty special bracelet to him. He didn't give up, and said he had another one at home, so finally I accepted the gift and thanked him for it. This is probably my coolest souvenir from Europe thus far. I think it will join the collection of other items from around the world that are hanging from my rearview mirror in my car.

The next morning we had some time to kill before we left for Budapest, so some of us decided to go to some of the infamous museums in Vienna. This was probably the low point of my entire trip. Sadly, I chose to go to the Modern Art Museum which was probably one of the worst choices I have made recently. This was one of those Museums that had stuff in it that made you wonder who classified it as "art." I can't stand "art" that looks like something I could have created when I was 6. Why is a huge canvas with a screw glued to it a "masterpiece"? Please explain this to me, somebody, anybody! Also some of the stuff in this museum was some of the most grotesque, nasty things I have ever seen. Lets just say there was a warning that kids under 16 should not be allowed. I won't go into details, but I saw some things that I absolutely did NOT need to see. I want my money back. I wish I would have gone to the Fine Art museum or the Museum of Natural History. Oh well. You win some, you lose some I guess. Oh, some other random things I did in Vienna: visited St. Stephens Cathedral, got some more Gelato (which just doesn't feel the same outside of Italy) and had the best outdoor nap I've had in years. Just felt like I should include that little bit of info.

After another spectacular bus ride, we arrived at Budapest in the evening. As much as I liked Vienna, Budapest was my favorite city of the trip. Budapest feels a lot like Prague, with some great baroque architecture along a fabulous river. The Danube river is one of the widest rivers I have ever seen and easily makes a laughing-stock out of the Vltava river in Prague. As great as Budapest is, it still doesn't have a bridge nearly as cool as Prague's Charles Bridge. However, Budapest does have any amazing hill where you can sit and overlook the city. Man, I'll tell you, I've seen some amazing views in Europe, and I'm going to have a tough time choosing which one is my favorite once my time here is done. Right now my three favorites are from the top of the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica to be exact) in Rome, the top of the hill in Budapest, and St. Petrin Park in Prague. Something tells me I will have to add a place from Ireland to this list...but we'll see.

One of the main reasons why everyone was looking forward to Budapest in particular was because of the spa's that we got to go to. I'll post the pictures when I get a chance, but I'm telling you, these spa's were amazing. Just imagine a HUGE hot tub outside surrounded by elegant statues and fountains. Oh, and lots of old people floating around. Inside there were multiple sauna's, steam rooms, and various sized pools at different temperatures. It was crazy! I've never felt so relaxed. I also got my first massage, which was actually a little disappointing. I felt like the masseuse (who was a dude) easily could have put a little more elbow grease into the job. I probably should have told him, but I would have felt so spoiled turning around telling the guy who is massaging me: "Um excuse me! Sir! Can you do that a little harder? Thanks." I just can't say that without feeling like a pretentious a-word. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I can say I got a massage in Budapest.

By the way, if you ever go to Budapest, get the Goulash soup! It is cheap and absolutely amazing! I had this multiple times throughout the trip and am still craving it.

One of my favorite moments in Budapest came the last night of the trip, when two buddies and I decided to get some great Dominican cigars (I know, GASP! I smoke cigars!!! So sue me. Here's why I smoke cigars for all of you out there who wonder why people smoke them: They make great moments even better. I only smoke them when the time is right. When the fat lady sings. They aren't cigarettes. In my mind you don't just pop them off whenever you feel like it. This is why I only smoke them when it is clearly obvious that a cigar is right for the occasion. I.e. sitting on an enormous hill overlooking Budapest at midnight with two cool friends. I see nothing wrong with this. Oh, and I have a Cuban sitting in my room right now, waiting for the next "appropriate moment" to happen. :) ) Anyways, sitting up on that hill over looking the entire city with that Dominican was quite a memorable experience.

After my time in Budapest, I really felt like royalty. Great food, wine, cigars, a day at a spa and a massage? Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? Do you realize that we are some of the richest people to ever live? Geez. That's a lot of responsibility. It will be crazy to think back to these kinds of moments this summer when I'm in the middle of 115 degree heat in Uganda.

After Budapest, it seemed everyone in the group was ready to go home. But we still had one more city to see on our way home: Bratislava. Now, I had heard pretty bad things about Bratislava. Friends back in Prague told me you could see everything in about 2 hours. Luckily we weren't there for much longer than that. Most of my time there was spent in a restaurant, actually. Which really didn't bother me. Seriously though, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) still looks like it is stuck in the middle of Communism. Most of the buildings are big and blocky and horribly ugly. Not exactly picturesque. Really, there isn't even a whole lot to tell about my trip this city. We saw a cool castle on the outskirts of the city, which actually was the best part of the whole trip, and technically wasn't even in Bratislava. Ha!

I want to finish with this quote, because this sums up a lot of things that have been on my mind lately:

Is there then any terrestrial paradise where amidst the whispering of the olive leaves people can be with whom they like and have what they like and take their ease in shadows and in coolness, or are all men's lives...broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic lives, periods punctuated by screams, by imbeciles, by deaths, by agonies? - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier

Currently listening to: Oasis