get ready

I feel bad for not writing in so long. So now that it's Sunday and I have an exam tomorrow, another one Thursday, and an essay due Wednesday, I feel like writing in my blog.

I shall start with fall break (which was over a month ago)..

So the traveling to was pretty bad... local bus to the bus station, 5 hour bus to Madrid, metro from Madrid bus station to airport, get to the airport at 1 am and sleep until 6 or so to catch our morning flight. BUT... we got there!!

1st destination: Budapest

I can't name everything we did, partly because that'd be annoying but mainly because my brain feels like boiled eggs and I can't think of everything. Honestly, don't whole impressions matter more anyway?

Basically, this city made me nostalgic for something I can't even explain, because I don't know what it is. The decrepit buildings, the tiny streets, the Danube river splitting the city in half, the long bridges adorned with flags and statues stretching over water you can't see through, you can't swim in, you can only imagine what may be sunken to the bottom. We went to a museum called Terror Haza, a monument dedicated to the victims of the Communist regime in Hungary. It was located in the same building the party used to have it's headquarters, and in the basement still remained jail cells and torture chambers which were probably the hardest hitting rooms of the building. I honestly felt on the verge of tears walking through the exhibit. They did such an incredible job weaving together facts and images and videos and lighting and audio to just take you out of the modern world and into the weird phenomenon that is manipulation and death and extremes and complete loss of the laws and rights we take for granted. Needless to say.. it was one of my favorite things we did in Budapest.

Other things... wandering around aimlessly through Buda and Pest, adopting a Californian friend, seeing the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Opera House, basking in the luck we had for getting legit our own apartment within our hostel due to booking miscalculations, markets and parks and gorgeous views day and night..

We went to a Hungarian bathhouse one day and had.... an experience. We entered excited for hot tubs and massages and steam rooms... were greeted with lukewarm tubs filled with green water, too much skin on too many old people, slimy floor tiles that made us ponder our stupidity (and personal health) for not bringing flip flops. Outside (it was cold and raining) was a pool with really strong current where all the Hungarians would just let the water shoot them around and around and around in a continuous circle. I walked into one of the crowded saunas to find an old man in a speedo in a headstand sucking air out of a tube that connected to a big blow up ball. I swear I didn't do shrooms before going into this bathhouse.

Regardless of the absurdity (probably partially due to it) we actually ended up having a great time. And sure enough, after drying off, my skin and hair never felt smoother. I guess Hungarians know what they're doing.

So, conclusion. I loved Budapest. Loved it. Loved it in a way beyond a pretty city where you do pretty things. I felt a weird infatuation with it, pity and sadness mixed with mystery and a desire to discover it. It almost felt like everything there happened underground. You see things through glass, you need to crack it to be let in. To feel part of the secret. I'm aware my explanations probably make no sense whatsoever and I sound like I'm on drugs, so I'm just going to say that I want to go back.

2nd destination: Vienna

Vienna is beautiful. The buildings are pretty and the streets are pretty and the plazas and statues and palaces are pretty. But I was disappointed. Probably for various reasons that are not the fault of Vienna, but still, I'm irrational, and so it was my least favorite.

Reasons I did not like Vienna:

1. The weather was awful. Cold, freezing, raining. Snow one day...not the pretty kind, the icy devilish kind. Obviously hindered my ability to take constant photos due to the freezing of the hands, and also made me somewhat depressed in general.

2. Hostel sucked. If you're a backpacker and you're reading this and you're going to Vienna (I'm aware only my parents read this, but I'm writing this anyway)--don't stay at Labyrinth hostel. Erratic heating, dirty beds, creepy showers, it smelled. It was cold. It wasn't homey. Blah blah. It was helpful in how it kept us out and about because we didn't want to go back there, but also sucked because that meant we were out and about in the freezing rain most likely spending money to see tourist sights unworthy of my time which brings me to #3...

3. I felt like they made a tourist site out of everything, therefore charging a lot to see something most likely not worth your time. We paid money to climb to the top of this tower in this cathedral to get a good view of the city, and we arrive at a souvenir shop. The rest of the stairs up are closed. The windows are small and hard to see through. Really Vienna?

I feel bad doing all this hating though. I mean it kind of feels good, but it feels bad too, because we did do some awesome things as well. For example.... The Hofburg Imperial Palace and Schonbrunn Palace (Summer Palace) were BEAUTIFUL. It was totally cool learning about the Habsburg dynasty and Empress Sisi and seeing their rooms and way of living. Also, we went to the Viennese Opera which was definitely a cool experience, and only 3 euro for the nosebleed section!

So in general, Vienna is probably much more wonderful in the summer. I didn't feel any connection at all to the city, but Matt Costa sings a song about it so there must be something worthwhile.

3rd destination: Prague

This city is not real. It is too gorgeous to ever be where real people live. It's like Disney land. (This is all neglecting New Town because we barely spent any time there and that might be where the real people live and do work).

Our hostel was our own apartment. Our location was incredible. Old town is one of the prettiest areas I've ever meandered around in. The river is beautiful. Charles Bridge is beautiful. Letna Park has the most incredible views of the city. What more can I say?? My only complaint, which was a bummer, is the amount of tourists. The city was packed with tourists... I mean, rightfully so, it was gorgeous. But it made me feel less like it was my city to run around and discover (like Budapest).

I don't know what specifically to talk about. I felt like we were slightly more lazy about seeing all the tourist spots, and instead just did a lot of walking and observing. We did a bar crawl one night which almost killed us, or me, but we had a good time. We made dinner, continued our trend of eating one Milka chocolate bar a day, did handstands in the living room of our hostel apartment because it was just that spacious.

SOOOOO...fall break..... was wonderful. The food! The food in Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic was all delicious. Such good food.

I would put up photos but they're all on my facebook and I can't imagine anyone random (who's not my friend on facebook) reading this blog. If you want photos, tell me!

I'll write about Barcelona soon enough.

Mucho amor,

Connie