holidays, part 3

holidays, part 3

Budapest was the final stop on my whirlwind tour of my three countries. I didn’t really know what to expect there, but it was really beautiful and quite an enjoyable city. I took an early morning train from Vienna, so I arrived at about 9am, and made my way to the hostel. I had to take the metro and the tram, which I assumed had the same tickets, but there was a ticket checker on the tram and he said they weren’t. I have a feeling I could have gotten in trouble for it if there had not been the language barrier and if my stop hadn’t been the next one. Oh well, I was sure to have separate tickets for the rest of my journeys. After I checked into the hostel, my first day was spent walking around, and just appreciating the city. I went to the Great Market that sells tons of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and little knick knacky things. I made my way through part of the old town next on my way up to the castle. There is a tram that normally takes you up the mountain up the top where the castle is, but of course it was broken the day I went. Rather than come all the way back another day, I decided to walk up all the stairs to the top. It wasn’t a bad walk though; it was a beautiful area with lots of trees that were all these beautiful golden and amber tones. Once at he top, I walked around the castle area and enjoyed the views across the Danube to the Pest side of the city. Budapest is actually Buda (on the west of the Danube) and Pest (on the east side of the Danube). The castle is in Buda and most of the rest of the city is in Pest. After enjoying the castle and having lunch at the top, I walked back down and went to a park in the city, again very pretty with all the fall colors. I headed back to the hostel for a little rest, and after a bit of contemplation I went back out into the city and saw the Opera house, and walked back from there to get in some more of the city.

Saturday, I got up kind of early and made my way to Central Europe’s biggest flea market (it actually wasn’t that big). It was quite an adventure getting there. I took the tram to the bus, and while on the bus, there were no indications of what the stops’ names were, so I finally had to ask some other people who looked like Americans about it. Just as we started talking the bus stopped, and another passenger informed us that it was the market. Sure enough, there it was, thank goodness for friendly people… I was begging to wonder how it was all going to turn out seeing as that I was in the middle of some random, underdeveloped part of Budapest… Anyhow, I spent a bit of time there, then went back into town and made my way up to the City Park. It was really nice there as well. And the road to the park was just as lovely. It was lined with trees and all these mansions. At the park I sat down and made my sandwich for lunch and went to the Museum of Fine Arts. I went to one of the natural baths there because I wanted the massage, but it was only 15 min, so I decided against it. I really didn’t want to go swimming so I left, and only got back a portion of what I thought I was going to; so essentially I paid $10 to walk in and out of the bath!!! Very frustrating… I really didn’t spend that much money on anything else, except one dinner. For my last night, I went out to eat at this great vegetarian restaurant with two of the girls from my hostel. The next day before my flight, I was determined to get in a little more of the city, but it was raining and I really just felt like having a relaxing morning, so I stayed in an read my book before my vacation ended.

All in all it was a great trip. I would definitely recommend those cities to anyone who is interested. There was a bunch more to see in Vienna and Budapest, and had I planned more time I could have seen it all, but maybe I’ll just have to go back at some point…

holidays, part 2

I've finished up things in Vienna and have moved right along to Budapest... it's amazing how everyone has internet these days! Anyhow, Vienna was great and I really enjoyed it. The first day I got a really early start because I had taken the overnight train and gotten into the city aroung 6am, so by 7:30 I was walking around. I stopped in a traditional Vienese cafe for breakfast, and headed to the Nachmarket afterwards. It is this outdoor market with all fresh produce and home made foods, it was fun to look at everything. I went to the Belvedere Museum after that to see Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss". It was great to see it in person, so much personality with the gold paint and everything. I made my way into the central walking area of the city next and did some sight seeing, I took a tram around the main road ring to have a look at Parlament, and the Rathouse and some other bulidings. After lunch I took a break and went back to the hostel for a nap because I was pretty beat, but the rest was great because I was able to go back into the city to see a little more that evening. I went to another museum to see a Picasso exhibit from his last stage of work, pretty good. That night I met a couple of people in the kitchen while making a salad and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the night and having a drink together.

Day two started at the Leopod Museum, which has some more Klimt's, as well as a good German Expressionist exhibit and a photo exhibit about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, which was a nice precurser to my next city. After the museum I walked around town some more and went to another cafe for lunch. I wandered through the festival that was going on too. That day was 'Austrian National Holiday' for no other reason than to celebrate Austria, haha... we don't really have one of those back home. I spent the rest of my afternoon in the park and then went back to the hostel for dinner. I made friends with three of my new roommates for that night, three guys studing in Rome, who were there for holiday. So later that night we ended up going back into town, with one of their girl friend's who lives in Vienna. All in all an enjoyable night getting to know yet some more new people.

I'm enjoying all this traveling so far. I love seeing these traditional European towns, and Vienna was great because it's really a big city. I like having the freedom of being a solo traveler, and only having to worry about myself. It's MY vacation and I can do what I like :) yay. The only thing is, that sometimes you just want someone to share it with. To bounce ideas off of, or to be company at a cafe. It's also strange because all these people you meet at hostels, you are more than likely never going to see each other again. So you spend a night, or however long getting to know each other, sharing stories, etc, then when it comes time to leave, it's like, "Well, have a good life". Very strange how the world works, and how connections with people go. So I guess those are my reflections so far, cheers for reading these details. Budapest update to come upon my return home...

holidays, part 1

I have begun my fantastic vacation and am already on to my second city. I got into Vienna this morning and am starting to fomulate my game plan, but I was in Prague for two and a half days before this and it was great. The city is so classically European, and was really refreshing after being in Stuttgart/Ludwigsburg for so long. I arrived into the city on Sunday afternoon and walked around after getting situated at the hostel. I walked around a lot and saw some of the sights, and then went to a little performance in one of the older buildings. There are musical things all over the city, a little touristy, I know, but still fun. There was a 9 man string ensemble that played some Vivaldi and Motzart, very lovely. I went back the hostel and hung out for a bit that night, nothing too exciting. Monday I went to Prague Castle, and the Little Quarter on the other side of Charle Bridge. It was all very nice and great to see. I also went to an art exhibit in the old town square that was photography by a Czech artist and of Alfonds Mucha. Monday night, I hung out with some people at the hostel and we all went into Prague together to a couple of bars. It was great to meet some people to hang out with! Tuesday I just had a lazy day, and went to the Jewish Quarter of the city. I saw a bunch of Synagogues and it was very interesting. I went back to the hostel a little early to take a nap, and ended up staying there talking to people for quite a while. I spent my last 100 krown on a movie, which was a great way to kill the time until my night train at 11:30... I took off then and shared my sleeper cabin with two girls from NYU who are on vacation from studying abroad in Ghana. Ends up we are staying in the same hostel too, so we trekked here this morning together. And that about it :) I´m headed into the city today to see what there is to see, and I´ll update again when I get a chance... off to beautiful Vienna!

some pictures

I take off for my vacation on Sunday, I´m so excited!!! I thought it would be best to share some of the my photos from the last couple of weekends before I take off. They are available at:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077238&id=3206990&l=e65ac

Enjoy!

just when i was getting used to it...

Part 1: This weekend I went on a day trip with the Rotaract Club of Ludwigburg. There was a two district conference in a town that was about an hour away, Aalen, and I just joined them for the fun things on Sturday. We went to a museum, about the Limes wall, the old border between the Roman Emprire and the German Empire, and we went to some indoor swimming pools. They were so nice, very warm with lots of jets. I met a lot more people, and am feeling very motivated to speak more German because I don´t like being the odd man out.

Part 2: At play group last week I was talking to a woman about how moderm and industrial Stuttgart is. I also got to thinking about how I am living in such a suburban area. There are houses, and lots of agriculture around. Also, Ludwigsburg is very modern looking. There is the castle which is old, but for the most part, it is not your classic German town. So, from all this I was just starting to think how it actually isn´t that different from being back home, or how maybe I´m just taking my surroundings for granted.

So putting those two pieces together... last night when I was getting a ride home from Aalen I happened to look out out the window, and I saw this castle. It was all lit up from the outside so it just stuck out in the dark night. It was so beautiful, and all I coule think was, 'wow I really am in Germany'. Nowhere in the States would you just look out of your car and see a castle staring back at you. It was very special and just what I needed to get back into appreciating where I am.

When Internet and TV are taken away...

I knew before I came to Germany that I liked using the Internet and watching TV, but I didn’t know how much time it took up until I came here and had both of those distractions taken away. We have Internet here at the house, but it is dial up and I have to take the computer out, hook it up to the phone line, actually connect, and then wait for things to load. It really not that slow, but it’s no DSL, or wireless, aw, don’t ya love it? Now I’m not complaining, because to be able to use the Internet at the house is fantastic, but because of these different elements of use, I am not on the Internet all the time. I check my e-mail once a day if I’m lucky, and once every couple days if I’m busy. Before I would use it as something to do if I was bored, maybe at night when I didn’t want to go out, but wasn’t ready for bed. Now that is just not an option. There’s also the issue of TV. When I moved to Berkeley, I downsized from digital cable, to a 7-station antenna. Which, after a little while, I realized was fine. They have most of the good shows anyhow, and it just makes it all the more special to watch Food Network, when I go home to mom and dad’s. But here, I get CNN, MTV (on which only songs are in English), and the Euro Sport channel, which announces most of the sports in English. Needless to say, I am not thrilled to sit down and watch TV in the evenings like I was before. So with all this free time, what’s a girl to do? Well, sometimes I go out in the evenings… Pub Quiz on Tuesdays, Volleyball until 10 on Thursdays (I should try going to eat with the team after practice on Mondays and Thursdays too, but I have yet to venture out for that) And other than that I READ. I know many of you have discovered this jem a while ago, but it took being out of college and not being forced to read school books, for me to rediscover this great activity. Not only do I read at home, but the book is always there in my bag to make the s-bahn/bus/waiting time pass a little faster. So, in the time I’ve been here, 7 weeks, I have finished the following titles:

•The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night – eh, it was ok. Read it on the plane over, little weird
•Secret Celebrity – The $1 book Laura picked up for me while working at Barnes & Nobel. By no means fine literature, it was a fun little glimpse into LA lifestyle and culture
•Jane Eyre – It took me a little while in the old English, but definitely enjoyable, and a great story
•Saint Maybe – hmmm… easy read, especially after Jane Eyre, had some interesting concepts, but nothing too exciting
•The World According to Garp – I got a couple of good laughs out of this one, but for the length of the book, not nearly enough. It had some really weird characters and affairs.
•The God of Small Things – still working on this one, very disjointed writing, I feel like I’m not getting it, but I’ll have to see how the next 50 pgs go. May need to reread in a while…

So those are it. If you have any recommendations, send them my way, just the names, or the whole book if you like  There is an English library in Stuttgart, but I have not been to check it out. I’ve been reading the titles I brought, and some of the family’s.