Well.. unlike Prague, we didnt not enjoy Budapest as much! We found the people to either be very rude or very nice (nothing in between!). When we first arrived in Budapest it was close to 11pm and we were having trouble finding an ATM that worked with our bank cards or even an money exchange place. So, we ventured into the underground metro area and were stopped by 4 of these 'ticket checkers' who rudely asked to see our tickets. Of course, we didnt not have tickets as we didnt even know that we were in the actual underground area. The 'train trolls' ... as we called them.. were very rude and intimidating and tried to fine us 6000 forinths (about 25€) as we did not have tickets. We tried to explain to them that we were not even aware we were in the underground system but they wouldnt hear it and kept telling us that they were calling the police and we would be in huge trouble! Thankfully, as we were waiting for the 'police' we were approached by 3 girls who were from Seattle that currently live in Budapest and they told us that the train trolls were notorious for picking on tourists and scaring them into paying the fee (but in reality, if you havent actually rode the underground yet, they cant ticket you). The girls instructed us to just take our bags and leave as the train trolls would only try to stop us by standing in front of us and they couldnt actually physically stop us. However, by this time, Tessa and Corey had been escorted by one of the train trolls up to use an ATM to get money so we could pay our fine. THANKFULLY our ATM cards did not work at the ATM they went to and in the end, the train trolls just let us go. Definitely not a first good impression!
We also found that a lot of the service people would act like they were inconvienced to help us even in the resturants.
The only super great thing we did while in Budapest was a cave tour. Theyre are a lot of caves underneath the city of Budapest and wow it was so amazing. We thought we were just going through a walk of the caves but we were extremely surprised that we were actually crawling through small spaces and climbing up sides of the caves. There were some spaces that you had to oddly contort yourself to make it to the other side. It was defintely very fun!
Overall, the things to see in Budapest were awesome but we felt like we were an inconvience to the service staff pretty much everytime we ate out and the metro system is definitely not traveler friendly. I probably wouldnt go back to Budapest anytime soon!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Prague
Well! I am a little behind in the blogs but I will try to get caught up today.
We definitely love Prague a lot. It is a very clean city and our hostel was awesome.
We spent most of our time hanging out in the hostel (during the evenings) and during the day we took the trams to the 'old square' and saw some very cool castles and churches.
We met a lot of people in our hostel from many different parts of the world. In particular, two Australian guys that all four of us seemed to get a long with really well. We were going to try and meet up with them again in Budapest but that didnt work out as they went to Austria from Prague and that is where we had just come from.
It is super cheap to eat in Prague. You could have an appitizer, a main course plus a few beers for less than 8€. We found this Vegitarian resturant where we ate at twice because it was so good! I never thought that I would enjoy Vegitarian cusine but its actually quite good.
Overall, I would definitely recommend for anyone to come visit Prague. I felt safe the whole time and we never ran into any issues!
We definitely love Prague a lot. It is a very clean city and our hostel was awesome.
We spent most of our time hanging out in the hostel (during the evenings) and during the day we took the trams to the 'old square' and saw some very cool castles and churches.
We met a lot of people in our hostel from many different parts of the world. In particular, two Australian guys that all four of us seemed to get a long with really well. We were going to try and meet up with them again in Budapest but that didnt work out as they went to Austria from Prague and that is where we had just come from.
It is super cheap to eat in Prague. You could have an appitizer, a main course plus a few beers for less than 8€. We found this Vegitarian resturant where we ate at twice because it was so good! I never thought that I would enjoy Vegitarian cusine but its actually quite good.
Overall, I would definitely recommend for anyone to come visit Prague. I felt safe the whole time and we never ran into any issues!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Vienna
So, we finally made it to Vienna!
The night train wasnt that great of an experience, it is very hard to sleep when the train is stopping and starting so many times! We all felt like we hardly slept at all but none the less, we made it!
First off, I am so excited to be back in Vienna! Taking the tram yesterday, I had so many memories that would come back to me just by looking at a few different streets and sites that I can remember.
I met up with the Vienna family that I was an Au Pair for yesterday. I had lunch with them and their 15th Au Pair (I believe I was their 5th or 6th). Lisa is exactly the way I remember her personality wise. She also hasnt changed much in looks, maybe grew a little bit in the past 3 years but surprisingly mostly the same! Barbara on the other hand is SO different. She was 18 months when I was there and is now almost 5. She talks a mile a minute (and speaks very good english I might add) and doesnt seem to be as bratty or spoiled acting as Lisa is. It was definitely very cool to have the opportunity to see them again! When it was time for me to go, Lisa clung onto me and wouldnt stop giving me a hug! She even started to cry..asking me why I had to leave her! It was very cute but again, thats just what I remember being her like..kind of seizing opportunities for attention.
We were supposed to leave today for Prague but we decided that we would stay and extra night here!
This afternoon we went to see the Hundertwasser Haus (which I saw when I was here 3 years ago) and I still think its amazing! Definitely one of my favorite things to visit in Vienna I believe.
Anyways, I should be going. I am not too sure what we are up to tonight!
Will write again soon!
The night train wasnt that great of an experience, it is very hard to sleep when the train is stopping and starting so many times! We all felt like we hardly slept at all but none the less, we made it!
First off, I am so excited to be back in Vienna! Taking the tram yesterday, I had so many memories that would come back to me just by looking at a few different streets and sites that I can remember.
I met up with the Vienna family that I was an Au Pair for yesterday. I had lunch with them and their 15th Au Pair (I believe I was their 5th or 6th). Lisa is exactly the way I remember her personality wise. She also hasnt changed much in looks, maybe grew a little bit in the past 3 years but surprisingly mostly the same! Barbara on the other hand is SO different. She was 18 months when I was there and is now almost 5. She talks a mile a minute (and speaks very good english I might add) and doesnt seem to be as bratty or spoiled acting as Lisa is. It was definitely very cool to have the opportunity to see them again! When it was time for me to go, Lisa clung onto me and wouldnt stop giving me a hug! She even started to cry..asking me why I had to leave her! It was very cute but again, thats just what I remember being her like..kind of seizing opportunities for attention.
We were supposed to leave today for Prague but we decided that we would stay and extra night here!
This afternoon we went to see the Hundertwasser Haus (which I saw when I was here 3 years ago) and I still think its amazing! Definitely one of my favorite things to visit in Vienna I believe.
Anyways, I should be going. I am not too sure what we are up to tonight!
Will write again soon!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Rome
Hello all,
I just have a few minutes to write an update so here we go..
Weve been in Rome for about 5 days now and have seen some amazing stuff!
We have been to the Collesium as well as things like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and have toured Vatican City! We were also able to go across the street from the Collesium and walk through Ancient Rome! I think that was definitely my favourite part of everything that we have done so far. It was so neat to hear about all the stories about people such as Julius Ceasar and pretty much walk on the same ground that he, amongst other greats, did.
We are staying in an apartment that is about a 5 minute walk away from the Vatican so we are the Popes neighbours! We have been taking a few days to just rest and they have been very much needed. I think all of us are needing a break from constantly being busy so today is one of our days off.
Rome is a pretty dirty city, the airports and transit system are quite yucky. Its kind of the start of our culture shock experience I guess since London isnt TOO different from home.
Anyways, I gotta go! Ill be sure to update when I am able to use the internet again.
I just have a few minutes to write an update so here we go..
Weve been in Rome for about 5 days now and have seen some amazing stuff!
We have been to the Collesium as well as things like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and have toured Vatican City! We were also able to go across the street from the Collesium and walk through Ancient Rome! I think that was definitely my favourite part of everything that we have done so far. It was so neat to hear about all the stories about people such as Julius Ceasar and pretty much walk on the same ground that he, amongst other greats, did.
We are staying in an apartment that is about a 5 minute walk away from the Vatican so we are the Popes neighbours! We have been taking a few days to just rest and they have been very much needed. I think all of us are needing a break from constantly being busy so today is one of our days off.
Rome is a pretty dirty city, the airports and transit system are quite yucky. Its kind of the start of our culture shock experience I guess since London isnt TOO different from home.
Anyways, I gotta go! Ill be sure to update when I am able to use the internet again.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I LOVE LONDON!
I just got back from a very delicious dinner with my Mom and Dad. My dad just flew in from Jo'berg (as they call it!) this morning so we spent the day together walking around the hotel area that he is staying in.
As you can see from the title of this post, I loooooove London!
I think my absolute favorite thing about London is that there is so much history!
We leave tomorrow (which makes me sad) but we've really seen a lot.
In no particular order, we went to see Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Kensington Palace, Picadilly Cirucus, the London Dungeons plus many HUGE shopping malls (including Harrods).
My favorite place that we visited would have to be Wesminister Abbey.. mainly because there is SO much history in that place. I never really knew much about it but was amazed to know that parts of the building date back to the 1000's (although much of it has been rebuilt and expanded since then). It was also super cool .. and kind of creepy... to find out that a lot of famous poets, writers and scientists have been buried there. Charles Darwin, Sir Issac Newton plus several famous writers such as Robbie Burns and Lewis Carroll are all buried at the Abbey. The Abbey is also host to many memorials for people such as William Shakespere. Royalty such as Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots are also buried there.
I remember being amazed in Vienna about how far the history dates back in almost all European countries. It's so incrediably amazing to be shopping in a "new" strip mall or set of stores and come upon a church that's been there since the 17th century.
One thing that I've definitely noticed about London is they have an awesome transportation system. I really don't know why anyone requires a car here! You can get pretty much anywhere at all on a bus or the "tube" in a resonable amount of time. Saying that, if I ever moved here, I think I would be a very LARGE road hazard if I were to drive! Even crossing the street I can't figure out if I should be looking left or right for oncoming traffic, nevermind driving on the road! It's funny because many of the street crossings will have "look left" or "look right" painted on the road so you know exactly what direction to look (so I am assuming I'm not the only one that has a problem with this!).
Anyways! I need to finish my laundry as we are leaving tomorrow (our plane leaves at 4:30pm for Rome). I'll write another blog entry soon!
As you can see from the title of this post, I loooooove London!
I think my absolute favorite thing about London is that there is so much history!
We leave tomorrow (which makes me sad) but we've really seen a lot.
In no particular order, we went to see Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Kensington Palace, Picadilly Cirucus, the London Dungeons plus many HUGE shopping malls (including Harrods).
My favorite place that we visited would have to be Wesminister Abbey.. mainly because there is SO much history in that place. I never really knew much about it but was amazed to know that parts of the building date back to the 1000's (although much of it has been rebuilt and expanded since then). It was also super cool .. and kind of creepy... to find out that a lot of famous poets, writers and scientists have been buried there. Charles Darwin, Sir Issac Newton plus several famous writers such as Robbie Burns and Lewis Carroll are all buried at the Abbey. The Abbey is also host to many memorials for people such as William Shakespere. Royalty such as Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots are also buried there.
I remember being amazed in Vienna about how far the history dates back in almost all European countries. It's so incrediably amazing to be shopping in a "new" strip mall or set of stores and come upon a church that's been there since the 17th century.
One thing that I've definitely noticed about London is they have an awesome transportation system. I really don't know why anyone requires a car here! You can get pretty much anywhere at all on a bus or the "tube" in a resonable amount of time. Saying that, if I ever moved here, I think I would be a very LARGE road hazard if I were to drive! Even crossing the street I can't figure out if I should be looking left or right for oncoming traffic, nevermind driving on the road! It's funny because many of the street crossings will have "look left" or "look right" painted on the road so you know exactly what direction to look (so I am assuming I'm not the only one that has a problem with this!).
Anyways! I need to finish my laundry as we are leaving tomorrow (our plane leaves at 4:30pm for Rome). I'll write another blog entry soon!
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