Egészségére! Na zdravie! Prost!

With yet another easy schedule for last week, I was able to travel again! This seems to be a recurring theme for this trip...

Anyway, me and a few of my American pals decide to embark on a little adventure to some of the lesser known/lesser travels countries in Europe. Seeing as I've already been to some of the biggest cities here like London, Paris and Florence, I thought it would be cool to check out some of the smaller cities. Austria sits right in the middle of Europe so this made it pretty easy for me to accomplish that. In fact, I didn't even have to travel very far at all.

On a dreary Sunday morning, Jacob, Adam, Spencer and I headed out on our next journey. First stop: Budapest, Hungary. The train took only about 4 hours or so and we were all pretty tired, so the ride went by in a flash. This took us right to the heart of Budapest (a pretty sweet train station too, I might add) to an equally dreary day. The weather didn't bring us down though, as we are American travelers on a mission to have some fun! We ventured on to the tram system to find our hostel. It was a bit tough finding our way because even though Hungarian uses the same alphabet, it is a COMPLETELY different language. We found our way though, and checked into our hostel, a nice little place called Good Morning Budapest. This actually turned out to be one of the nicer hostels I'd stayed in up to this point. After checking in, we ventured out to poke around a bit. We hadn't eaten all day and we were running on the beer from the night before still, so we were all a bit delirious and we NEEDED food. We found a nice restaurant and got a nice big dinner to settle our stomachs. After walking around a bit more, we decided to call it a night because we were all beyond exhausted.

My first view of Budapest

IT MAKES NO SENSE

A beautiful synagogue

Some of the typical architecture

Chillin by the Danube

After catching a good nights sleep, we woke up the next day well rested and eager to check out Budapest. The wonderful thing about a lot of the cities in Europe is that a lot of them have free city tours, which are perfect for students and travelers with lower budgets (us, in this case). So we decided it would be interesting to check out the Communist tour, seeing as Hungary has a rich history of it. Our tour guide was extremely friendly, spoke English very well and of course was very well versed in Hungarian history. I found that all the buildings here had a very unique style, unlike any I had seen yet. The buildings were taller and darker and certainly felt more imposing. The tour lasted about 2 and a half hours and we were able to see a lot of the sights of Hungary and learn loads of stuff. Afterwards, we hung out at a cool pub for a bit before grabbing some food. Then we did a little bar hopping (to get a taste of the local culture, of course) before turning in for the night.

One of the largest and oldest churches in Budapest

Our tour guide, by a Communist landmark

Standing next to the man who freed Hungary

Budapest at night

Shenanigans, of course

The next day was another travel day. We spent the afternoon in Budapest and walked around a bit more before taking off again. This time we took another short train up to Bratislava, Slovakia. We had heard mixed reviews about Bratislava so we weren't really sure what to expect. However, once our train dropped us off and we had a chance to check out the city a bit, all our fears were put to rest. Bratislava was just as beautiful and safe as any other city we'd been to, plus we found that it had a lot more to offer than just the typical sights. After checking into our next hostel (also very nice) we decided to do what we do best as American travelers: drink beer and eat food. We happen to stumble upon the perfect place about a half mile from our hostel. It looked like a quaint little restaurant on the outside but turned out to be a multi-level, renaissance themed brew house that was packed with people our age. Good choice. The food was incredible and the beer was (cheap) some of the best I've had yet.

Off we go...

One of the coolest restaurants I've been to

Kickin' it

Bearded.

The next day we had another chance to check out one of the free tours. The tour took us around most of the city (it's not too big) and we got a good taste of the culture and history. For whatever reason, whether it was the nice weather, small home-town feel of Bratislava or I was just having a generally good day, Bratislava just made me happy. I was in a great mood and the "vibes" I got from the city were amazing. I really enjoyed walking around and despite some the negative reviews I'd heard, I loved Bratislava. The old town area was simply beautiful and the bigger city area had plenty to offer as well. After the tour, we checked out some of the local shops and got some nice Slovakia schwag ( for those who don't know, schwag= souvenirs, apparel, etc). We dropped by our hostel to drop off our goodies and then we headed out for another night on the town (and what a night it was). We grabbed a few drinks at a nearby bar and then headed back to the same restaurant as the night before (it was that good). After drinking far too much beer and eating an absurd amount of food, it was time for.... bar hopping! It really is the best way to assimilate into a new city, I swear. The night took many unexpected turns, including some new bartender friends, absurdly full stomachs, broken/stolen bottles, being harrassed in the streets by prostitutes (don't worry, we managed to resist their charm), kebap from the smallest building in Europe, among other things that need not be mentioned in a public forum.

What's not to love about this?

Some of the old town area

Our tour guide

The Blue Cathedral

The gang

Our new friends

Eating kebab from the smallest building in Europe

Following our routine, the next day was a traveling day. We grabbed a little pick me up in the form of sushi (my first in Europe. It wasn't too bad) and we were on our way. The trip from Bratislava to Vienna is extremely short, so we figured we'd end our excursion back in Austria. While I had already been to Vienna, I had really liked it the first time around and was more than willing to make another trip. Another short train and another short tram ride later and we were yet again checked into a nice hostel. Because the Austrians are such versed drinkers, both the hostels we stayed in here were equipped with bars. Simply wonderful. The night of arrival, we were in the mood for some good Italian food (forgivable eating Italian food while traveling in Austria, considering we live here.) Good Italian food is what we got. We devoured a full course meal and checked out some of the stores on the main street. Vienna is one of the bigger, more modern cities around so there are plenty of good stores. We all ended up buying sweet new jackets and headed in for the night after another slow but successful evening. 

Plenty of these in Vienna-never gets old...

Gotta love Vienna

St. Stephens

1.5 Liters each (a great idea, I know)

Last image of the night... fitting.

Friday was our last full day, so we tried to make the most of it. We wandered around the city more and saw some of the big sites. The buildings have a bit more of a modern feel, though true to European style, all contain years of history. There are countless (literally) towering cathedrals, plenty of nice parks and tons of historic sites and buildings. We did our best to see as many as possible, but honestly, walking around with good friends on a great day in beautiful city in Europe is more than enough for me. Shortly later, we met up with some friends of Spencer's who had been living in the city. They showed us a few of the little coffee shops and we ducked into one of them to grab a coffee and of course, some beer. We then headed back to our hostel where we felt it was necessary to each drink 1.5 liters of beer (in the same glass, mind you) before heading out to a club. After defeating these beasts, it was time to check out the club scene in Austria. Turns out the club we went to was having some sort of rock night (lame) so, not wanting to spend more money, we went to kick it at the hostel bar again. No complaints here.

Finally, after about a week or so of heavy travelling/drinking/eating, it was time to head back home to Graz. Our trip certainly treated us well, and we all came back with big smiles on our face. It's a pretty amazing experience to be able to seamlessly and easily hop from country to country with no plans or problems. Each city has such an entirely different and uniquely wonderful feel to it. Traveling with good friends who have similar interests certainly helps to make the travel more fun, but just moving from place to place and trying all the different foods and beers and seeing all the sites is a truly inexplicably incredible experience. It's been unlike anything I've ever done and the first part of my European adventure has been simply amazing. It's hard to believe I've been here for over two months. I have seven weeks left and while I am getting a bit homesick, I plan on savoring my last bit of time here and getting as much from this trip as possible. 

Yours truly,

Eric. 

Italia

Greetings from Austria! As I mentioned in my last post, my first week of class was cut short so I had the opportunity to travel over to Italy for a few days. I had never really been to Italy before but I've heard only good things so I was very excited for my journey.

Tuesday morning, Adam, Jacob (my friends from Cal Poly) and I set out to Italy. Our first travels included two bus rides and about 6 hours worth of driving(not bad at all, especially in comparison to what it would be from back home in the States). The drive over was rather nice, as I got a chance to see the Austrian country side and all the beauty along the way. It really is very different and certainly had a peaceful, tranquil aspect to it. Driving through here was a breeze and the bus was comfortable enough, so the 6 hours went by in a heartbeat. Before we knew it, we were dropped off in the heart of Venice, Italy.

Our rainy departure

Our sunny arrival in Venice

Now I'm assuming mostly everybody knows about Venice, but for those who don't, a quick overview: Venice is a city that sits on an island on the Adriatic Sea in North-Eastern Italy, and is over a dozen centuries old. The city is purely canal based, making it so that there are no cars in the streets and the only mode of transportation (outside of walking) is to travel by boat in the canals. After our bus dropped us off and we dropped our bags off at our hostel, we headed to the island to walk around for a bit. Now I had known beforehand that city was beautiful from the canals, etc., but I had no idea just how beautiful it was.The entire time we stayed in Venice, I simply could not get over the canals. There was seemingly a picture perfect moment at every bridge, and I could certainly understand why it's been described as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". The people were welcoming (it's a huge tourist city), the city was pretty clean and of course, there is tradition and history everywhere.

My first view of Venice

The City of Canals

While there were plenty museums and tourist attractions to see, we were perfectly content just to walk around the island and check out the buildings, canals, shops and of course, restaurants. We grabbed a late lunch before walking around, and my introduction to Italian food was splendid. After a nice little plate of Spaghetti Carbonara, we explored the city. As I said before, the sites around Venice were breathtaking. We found ourselves stopping at almost every bridge to snap a few picture and gaze at the canals. After walking around for a few hours and checking out a lot of the sites (Venice is pretty small and can be explored fairly quickly), it was time for another Italian meal, of course! This time we decided to wander off the main path to find a more authentic, less commercialized place. Turned out to be an excellent idea, as we stumbled upon a really nice little pizza joint. I got an amazing pizza and no less than 1 liter of beer (in a boot-shaped glass, naturally.) We had a wonderful time in Venice and headed to sleep for the night.

Incredibly beautiful!

The canals

See why it's already one of my favorite cities?

Chillin by the canals

Das boot and an amazing pizza

On Wednesday, we decided to make our way over to Florence. After one more good Venetian meal and a few more photos of the canals, we caught a train over to Florence. I had a friend from Cal Poly studying in Florence so I was able to crash at her place for the few days we were there. Upon our mid-day arrival in Florence, we trekked across the city trying to find a place for my friends to stay, while checking out as much as we could along the way. Just before we got to the hostel, we ran into the Duomo of Florence. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw it. It is far and away one of the most impressive and captivating structures I've seen to date. First, it's god damn enormous. Second, it's beautiful. Third, even if you don't care much for architecture, you can still appreciate the enormous slabs of marble that cover the entire outside of the cathedral and the incredibly ornate detailing. After gazing at the building for a few minutes, I caught up to my friends and we checked them into their hostel. We grabbed a quick pick-me-up in the form of liquid gold (a pint of beer, of course) since we were finally done sprinting around the city with our bags. My friend Lanie met up with us and showed us one of her favorite local restaurants. Unsurprisingly, I got pasta and even more unsurprisingly, it was delicious. We were pretty tired from travelling around so we got some gelato (amazing) and headed in for the evening.

The Duomo at night

Chillin with Dante at the Santa Croce

The Duomo...is really big.

Thursday was some more tourist stuff. We headed back over to the Duomo and checked out the inside. It's much more bare than it used to be, as most of the items from the inside have been preserved in a museum (considering the building is over 700 years old). We took the trip up to the top of the Dome, which towers over every building in the city. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous. It offered a 360 degree view of all of Florence and the sites from up there were simply indescribable. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining strong, making for a pretty incredible experience 375 feet above the streets of Florence. So we headed down and grabbed another amazing lunch (more pasta, if I remember correctly) and checked out the leather market of Florence, a huge market they have every day with a bunch of local vendors are artists coming out to con us tourists into buying goods we don't need (just jokin', it was really cool). I'm proud to say I didn't buy anything, though I was close to buying a sweet pair of loafers. We continued our tourist ways and walked around the city more. Another one of the main sites of Florence is the Ponte Vecchio, which is literally over a thousand years old. It's supposedly the oldest bridge of it's kind in all of Europe. The bridge is decorated with a few dozen shops (which used to be occupied by butchers and vendors back in Medieval time) and offers a great view of the Arno River. We went over to the bridge next to the Ponte Vecchio and hopped over the wall onto the columns to get a better view. Amazing, of course. Afterwards we grabbed some dinner (surprise! It was awesome) with one of Jacob's friends  and headed out to a club for the rest of the night. Shenanigans ensued, of course.

The Duomo

Inside

The Fresca on the ceiling...

The view from the top

Oh what up, Florence?

The Ponte Vecchio

Looking at the Ponte Vecchio

Florence at sunset

Florence at night

Friday was our last day in Florence so we made the most of it. We made a quick little hike up to San Miniato al Monte, a basilica which sits on one of the highest points in the city of Florence. According to the good people at Wikipedia, it "has been described as the finest Romanesque structure in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches in Italy". They weren't joking, this place was impressive. Nearly every inch of the place was decorated with something and the craftsmanship was absolutely unbelievable. Adam and I sat on one the pews and gazed around, trying to figure out how the heck they could have built something so beautiful. We toured the inside and hung outside for a while, looking at the amazing view the church offers. After more walking/eating/being tourists etc., we went to a local trattoria and grabbed our last Italian meal. It. Was. Good. Enough said. We all gathered round at Lanie's apartment and then headed out for a night on the town. Shenanigans ensued again, and let's just say we had a great last evening in Florence.

San Miniato al Monte

The inside was gorgeous

Like really gorgeous

Firenze, Italia

After about an hour and a half of sleep, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and head over to the train station. After a few days of good fun, we departed Italia with high spirits, full bellies, empty wallets, hangovers and great experiences. It was a wonderful trip and Italy was absolutely beautiful. The cities of Venice and Florence certainly rank in the top cities I've visited this far. The architecture and natural beauty were awe-inspiring and I had a magnificent time checking out some of the oldest and most historical sites in Europe. Our trip to Italy was another perfect excursion, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip.

Stay tuned until next time, America (and whoever else is reading this)

Yours,

Eric