So, I haven't written a blog post in forever. And for that I apologize. I've been busy and, more than that, I've been lazy. That's how it goes I suppose. Classes are difficult and my time has filled up.
It's been almost two months since I last posted. Things not covered include: Debrecen, Bratislava, Prague, my family in Budapest, Vienna (the second time), spring break (featuring Brussels, Madrid, and Barcelona), the meteor shower from Gellért Hill, and Belgrade. I don't have enough time now and will have never have enough, I'm afraid, because I allowed myself to fall behind. So, in brief:
Debrecen
Nice city in Hungary, one of the largest, but not that exciting for a tourist. There's a university there and they're famous for their sausages and are close to the Tokaj wine region, but overall, there are more exciting places to go.
Bratislava
Capital of Slovakia, a really cool city. Very small, very walkable, with the entire downtown/old city being composed of pedestrian streets, and beautiful. Not as happening as some other cities, but there are nice, interesting bars and clubs, if that's your bag, and plenty of delicious food and stuff to see during the day. Also, fair amount of random statues scattered around the streets, which was nice.
Prague
Honestly, I was a little let down by Prague. I had heard so much about it, but it was incredibly touristy. Multiple tourist shops every block in the old town and I heard more English, German and French than Czech. That said, the city is gorgeous, with so many old, interesting buildings, that it's incredible. Nice cobble stoned streets, lots of pedestrian streets, and great squares. Not as walkable as Bratislava, but still doable. If I return, there's supposedly cool stuff to do outside of the old town and castle district that I'd like to see.
Brussels
Great beer, interesting city, awesome fries. Lots of statues of children or animals peeing, as well as an incredible amount of high-quality street art on buildings. Unfortunately expensive and not the greatest weather, but a nice city. As far as beer goes: the beer culture's awesome, there's good beer everywhere, and the beer itself is delicious. But it's definitely more expensive, and compared to American craft beer, not as diverse. America does good beer in every style, where it seems (and I'm sure I would find counter-examples if I had more time) that Belgian beers fall into a couple styles, in which they excel.
Bruges
Small town in Belgium, we went there for a day trip, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Beautiful, touristy in the center, but perfectly sized for walking around in a day, and less crowded in the outer parts.
Madrid
Much less expensive than I thought, we spent all our time in city center, very easy to walk around. Beautiful and tasty, with lots of interesting museums and parks. We stumbled across a procession of some kind for Holy Week Wednesday evening after watching a Real Madrid match in a bar, which was really surprising, interesting, and fun to watch.
Barcelona
More expensive than Madrid, but we ate better there, partly because we made more of an effort. Had some fantastic seafood. Smaller than Madrid, but we stayed farther away, so it felt larger. Walking around the old town is easy, but it's packed and very touristy. There's a beach as well, which was nice and relaxing, as it came at the end of our week of non-stop traveling. We rented bikes and went up to Park Guell, the only place in Barcelona to see Gaudi architecture for free, and got some great views of the city, though it was difficult ride uphill to reach it. Also saw the Sagrada Familia, a Gaudi-designed cathedral, which was quite interesting. I quite enjoyed Barcelona, and I'd definitely like to explore it more.
Belgrade
Former capital of Yugoslavia, present capital of Serbia, an awesome little city. Strange mix of Communist-era stereotypical (to my mind) Eastern European architecture and interesting 19th-century (perhaps? It looked similar to Budapest and Bratislava) architecture that's very easy to walk around. Also the first country I've gone to that has a primarily Orthodox population, so the style of the churches was very different, including the Cathedral of Sveti Sava, largest Orthodox church in the world. Many many parks and fountains and many more young children than other cities, or so it seemed. Also, best breakfast in Europe: Turkish coffee (small sized, strong and bitter), yogurt (liquidy, plain and a little sour) and burek (a pastry made from phyllo dough stuffed with cheese, spinach and cheese or meat, similar to spanakopita), very nice and filling.
That's an overview of the major destinations I've made.
And I will note that hostels in Western Europe (or at least Spain, as that's my only point of reference, as we stayed in an apartment in Belgium) seem to be more expensive and of lower quality than the ones in Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe, you can get good locations and sometimes breakfast included for under 20 bucks, while in Western Europe not only is that not possible, but you may have to rent towels and lockers with locks aren't always a guarantee. This is anecdotal evidence, 'tis true, but in general it seems that Eastern European hostels are better.
And I of course have a metric butt ton of photos, but it's not practical to upload all of them, so for that I apologize.
It's been almost two months since I last posted. Things not covered include: Debrecen, Bratislava, Prague, my family in Budapest, Vienna (the second time), spring break (featuring Brussels, Madrid, and Barcelona), the meteor shower from Gellért Hill, and Belgrade. I don't have enough time now and will have never have enough, I'm afraid, because I allowed myself to fall behind. So, in brief:
Debrecen
Nice city in Hungary, one of the largest, but not that exciting for a tourist. There's a university there and they're famous for their sausages and are close to the Tokaj wine region, but overall, there are more exciting places to go.
Bratislava
Capital of Slovakia, a really cool city. Very small, very walkable, with the entire downtown/old city being composed of pedestrian streets, and beautiful. Not as happening as some other cities, but there are nice, interesting bars and clubs, if that's your bag, and plenty of delicious food and stuff to see during the day. Also, fair amount of random statues scattered around the streets, which was nice.
Prague
Honestly, I was a little let down by Prague. I had heard so much about it, but it was incredibly touristy. Multiple tourist shops every block in the old town and I heard more English, German and French than Czech. That said, the city is gorgeous, with so many old, interesting buildings, that it's incredible. Nice cobble stoned streets, lots of pedestrian streets, and great squares. Not as walkable as Bratislava, but still doable. If I return, there's supposedly cool stuff to do outside of the old town and castle district that I'd like to see.
Brussels
Great beer, interesting city, awesome fries. Lots of statues of children or animals peeing, as well as an incredible amount of high-quality street art on buildings. Unfortunately expensive and not the greatest weather, but a nice city. As far as beer goes: the beer culture's awesome, there's good beer everywhere, and the beer itself is delicious. But it's definitely more expensive, and compared to American craft beer, not as diverse. America does good beer in every style, where it seems (and I'm sure I would find counter-examples if I had more time) that Belgian beers fall into a couple styles, in which they excel.
Bruges
Small town in Belgium, we went there for a day trip, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Beautiful, touristy in the center, but perfectly sized for walking around in a day, and less crowded in the outer parts.
Madrid
Much less expensive than I thought, we spent all our time in city center, very easy to walk around. Beautiful and tasty, with lots of interesting museums and parks. We stumbled across a procession of some kind for Holy Week Wednesday evening after watching a Real Madrid match in a bar, which was really surprising, interesting, and fun to watch.
Barcelona
More expensive than Madrid, but we ate better there, partly because we made more of an effort. Had some fantastic seafood. Smaller than Madrid, but we stayed farther away, so it felt larger. Walking around the old town is easy, but it's packed and very touristy. There's a beach as well, which was nice and relaxing, as it came at the end of our week of non-stop traveling. We rented bikes and went up to Park Guell, the only place in Barcelona to see Gaudi architecture for free, and got some great views of the city, though it was difficult ride uphill to reach it. Also saw the Sagrada Familia, a Gaudi-designed cathedral, which was quite interesting. I quite enjoyed Barcelona, and I'd definitely like to explore it more.
Belgrade
Former capital of Yugoslavia, present capital of Serbia, an awesome little city. Strange mix of Communist-era stereotypical (to my mind) Eastern European architecture and interesting 19th-century (perhaps? It looked similar to Budapest and Bratislava) architecture that's very easy to walk around. Also the first country I've gone to that has a primarily Orthodox population, so the style of the churches was very different, including the Cathedral of Sveti Sava, largest Orthodox church in the world. Many many parks and fountains and many more young children than other cities, or so it seemed. Also, best breakfast in Europe: Turkish coffee (small sized, strong and bitter), yogurt (liquidy, plain and a little sour) and burek (a pastry made from phyllo dough stuffed with cheese, spinach and cheese or meat, similar to spanakopita), very nice and filling.
That's an overview of the major destinations I've made.
And I will note that hostels in Western Europe (or at least Spain, as that's my only point of reference, as we stayed in an apartment in Belgium) seem to be more expensive and of lower quality than the ones in Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe, you can get good locations and sometimes breakfast included for under 20 bucks, while in Western Europe not only is that not possible, but you may have to rent towels and lockers with locks aren't always a guarantee. This is anecdotal evidence, 'tis true, but in general it seems that Eastern European hostels are better.
And I of course have a metric butt ton of photos, but it's not practical to upload all of them, so for that I apologize.
