Day 1 - December 16, 2012 - Sunday
Prague
I left Abu Dhabi at 12:30 at night, dropped off pearl ( our beloved car), stopped in at Istanbul, and made it to the hostel in Prague around 12:30am. That means 15 hours of travel and maybe 2-3 broken hours of sleep in there, so tired!
Thankfully, Prague is beautiful and cold so that keeps me moving. The Mosaic Inn is pretty cool so far ( only $10 for 2 nights!). Today I wondered down to the river. I saw the Emaizy Monastery and Vysehrad ( big church, cemetery and viewpoint).
There was a little Christmas market at Vysehrad, complete with nativity scene. I tried some hot apple cider and Klobasa. Yum! They like the meat and potatoes here. Then I wandered up to the National Mueseum and Wencelas Square where I enjoyed a Christmas concert by a string quartet before returning back to the hostel for an early bedtime to rest up for a full day of travel for tomorrow!
Day 1 Highlights - Wow! Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen! Teh builsings are incredible and clearly well taken care of.
Day 2 - December 17, 2012 - Monday
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is so beautiful and I wish I could stay here longer. I would definately come back here. My day today looked like this:
- breakfast at the bagel place down the street
- Walking tour (free) 10:20 - went to old town and saw an old gate then some churches and the cool astronocial clock that hsa the 12 disciples on the hour. We saw the Jewish quarters, the best preserved in Europe because Hitler wanted to save it as a museum. We saw the Jewish graveyard where they were forced to bury people on top of each other. We also saw signs from communism and learned about how they used to throw people out windoes. Czech is 60% agnostic but there was still an awesome Christmas market in the old town square. From there we saw Charles Bridge.
- I went for lunch at Flint (mmm, goulash).
- Then I briefly saw Praque castle before it closed at 4:00. I did not have time to do a tour or go inside but I did see some guard changing- cool!
- I explored the Christmas market and got my 2 souvenirs (earrings and magnet) and tried some yummy food.
- I walked around, lsot my map, saw the state Opera House and watch an Opera show at the cloud level in the National Theatre for only $6! I kept falling asleep and the girl beside me seemed afraid, lol.
Frankfurt, Germany
Tuesday
I travelled to Frankfurt by bus.train with DB Bahn and made the close connection to sit on the hotel bed where I could see the sidewalk and Lisa approaching. She showed up a bit late, but in one piece and the dun began.
Wednesday
We spent 8 hours at the awesome Frankfurt Christmas market. We saw the My Ziel mall, with Europe's longest free-standing escalator, we climbed the stairs up to the top of the Dom (the church that was one of the only buildings left after they Ally bombings). We ventured around the Christmas market for hours seeing lights and crafts, toys and foos. We tried some bratwurst, paprikawurst, apple wine, and long candies. We also ate a giant pretzel covered in chocolate. Yum! The market really came alive at night when the lights were all on and the band played from one of the balconies above. yay Christmas!
Day 5 - December 20 - Thursday
Nuremberg, Germany
Earlu in the morning we got up to take the train to Nuremberg from Frankfurt (2 hrs). We arrived early ( "oh my goodness you are early") and used the free computers at the hotel to try and plan the next leg of the trip. After a few hours of searching and no luck we decided to venture out. We went to the train station, bus station, travel agent, and tourist info to find out how we could get to Bratislava or Lviv. No Luck.So, like all good North Americans, we went to Starbucks for some comfort and relaxation. We enjoyed the expensive drinks and free internet and decided to head to Budapest now rather than later. With tickets bought we could finally relax and take in the Christmas market of Nuremberg.
We bgean with a self-directed walking tour. It turns out there is a lot to see in Nuremberg and white it was a Nazi rally site, it was also the place of the Nuremberg trials (shocking, I know). We also hiked up our second German tour to get a great view of the city and warm up.
We enjoyed the Christmas markets for a few hours, with gluwein, gingerbread, special thin Nuremberg bratwursts and kitchen witches. It was much colder then the previous night but we stayed out until 7 (crazy!). It turns out that walking all day in the freezing cold can really take it out of you. Yay Nuremberg!
Day 6 - December 21 - Friday
Travel to Budapest
We got up at 5:30 and left Nuremberg to head to Budapest on our overly expensive train ride (170 Euros each!). We were to switch trains in LInz, Austria but we got off one stop too early in Wells! So sad! I guess we were both just too comfortable with travelling and did not take any precautions. We waited there and then caught the next train to Linz where we had 2 hours to wait instead of 10 min. This turned out to be wuite the blessing in disguise because I finally got to see a little bit of Austria. I ran outside and down the street down to the Christmas market where I got some salty corn dog things (Knapperwurst). Then we were on our way to Budapest.
Finally we got to Budapest where we were met by a Dad and his 2 sons who showed us around their Air BnB place. Success!
Day 7 - December 22 - Saturday
Budapest, Hungary
We spent the first morning in our apartment planning the rest of our trip so that we could avoid the chaos that was our last few days. It turns out that it is just way too busy and hard to get around Eastern Europe, especially during Christmas. We ended up booking flights and trains randomly around Eastern Europe to save time and money. Budapest - fly - Kiev - train - Lviv - fly - Venice - fly - Cluj Napoca - train - Budapest. It took many hours to get it all sorted out but it was nice to have it done so we could relax and enjoy our surroundings.
We went out to explore the town a bit afterwards. We tried to buy some OPera tickets but they were all sold out and we looked around the city a bit but ended up hanging out at the awesome Christmas Market for a few hours. It is not too different than the ones we saw in germany but the things to buy were a bit fancier and really good quality handicrafts. There were porcelains, leathers, furs, felted hats, baking, and loads of good food. We enjoyed some saudage and potatoes before heading home.
Day 8 - December 23 - Sunday
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest was a special destination for my because my great Grandma and Grandpa Kozma came from Hungary. We wanted to start the day with a walking tour but my sad boots saoked through in the slushy snow so we had to turn back to change. We went down to the market again to decide what souvenirs we would get that evening. We then went for some goulash soup for lunch near St. Stephen's. We met a sweet old couple there that were on a cruise. After lunch we grabbed a hot drink and met at 2:30 for our walking tour.
Sarah started at St.Stephen's and we moved past some old buildings and the University of Science to the Buda side of the city. We crossed Elisabeth bride (rebuilt) and waked up the hill towards the fisherman's bastion. It was such a magical place, especially with the snow falling on it. It looked like a Disney castle with Matthais Church in the background all lit up. We could see the Pest side of the city across the river, the amazing Parliament building, and the Elisabeth Bridge all lit up.
Our walking tour ended at the Holiday Inn and we walked arounf the area a bit more to take in the view and take some pictures. From there we walked back to St. Stephen's and the Christmas market where we bought souvenirs for our families and ourselves. I got leather for me and Michelle, pictures for me and Derek and a magnet and keychain for Santoush at school. What an awesome day in beauitful Budapest!
Day 9 - December 24 - Monday
Budapest, Hungary
We started Christmas Eve by planning our day and it included LIsa buying tickets for us to see the Nutcracker at the State Opera house on Christmas! Such a nice gift!
Then we went to the train station to get tickets from Cluj-Napoca back to Budapest. Afterwards we got groceries for the Christmas dinner and went to an internet cafe to print boarding passes for our upcoming flights. After errands were done we had almost 2 hours to go back to the Christmas market and get those last minute souvenirs, like ceramic earrings, delicious Hungarian pizza sandwiches (Lepeny?). It was possibly the tastiest thing I have ever eaten. We went back to St.Stephen's Basilica and decided to go inside. The Church was amazing and I had a full heart moment (as Mackenzie would say) as I saw the nativity scene and the figure of Jesus standing at the front all lit up. Wow!
We also went int othe back where we could see the mumified right hand of St.Stephen (a little weird). We headed back to the apartment where we met Hadley (our BnB host) and her family on their way out to family Christmas celebrations.
It took a while to light the gas stove and oven but we managed to have some very juicy chicken and veggies for supper. We also had poppyseed cake a Kozma gingerbread for dessert! Along with It's a Wonderful Life it was a pretty perfect Christmas Eve in Hungary.
Day 10 - December 25 - Christmas Day - Tuesday
Budapest, Hungary
Merry Christmas!
What a blessing to celebrate the birth of my saviour in Budapest! I gave Lisa her Arabic name necklace in the morning and then we headed off to see the Nutcracker. Despite some snobby ushers, the performance and the venue were superb! The building was beautiful, made of different colours of marble and covered in gold. The sats and costumes in the Nutcrackers were so elaborate. I have never seen anything quite like it. So fantastically Christmassy! Yay!
Afterwards we wanted to go skating so we walked up the main street to the city park. We were very hungry, though, so we stopped for lunch at a nasty, microwaved-food roadside stand. Mmm. Apparently not much is open in Budapest on Christmas day. It turned out that skating was closed until 4:00 so we just ended up walking around some of the sweet old buildings in the park and taking pictures. Then we headed home to get in some Skype time with our families. A highlight for me was receiving a picture of my family around the Christmas tree in BC with a sign that sais "we love and miss you". It was also awesome to see Mom open her gift from us kids, a trip to Vegas. Merry Christmas!
Day 11 - December 26 - Wednesday
Budapest - Kiev
We got up early and began the 2 hour trek to the airport. We flew with Wizz Air to Kiev for about $60. yay! Wizz Air is a bit crazy with their weird bag allowances and first-come first served seating, but we made it to Kiev around 1pm. Then we had the fun task of finding our hostel. We met a Japanese guy named T____ and it turned out he was going to the same place. We pooled our resources and after about 2 hours we made it to the Art Lounge Hostel. When we got there, the guy working the hostel offered to show us all a cheap place to eat supper. We headed off with him, the Japanese guy, and a couple (teachers working in Odessa). The meal cost 53 UA and it was a 3 course meal with salad, soup, chicken, and fruit salad. Yum! The most expensive thing was the tea!After days of travelling alone it was good to meet and talk to some new people (teachers too!). We headed back to the hostel quickly before carrying on to see some of the town while it was still warm (freak warm spell that turned all of the snow to a giant slushy mess).
We walked down the big main street past Independence Square all the way to the big rainbow and back. Fun Day!
Day 12 - December 27 - Thursday
Kiev, Ukraine
Our original plans did not include Kiev but I am glad we went because we saw some interesting and beautiful things. After sleeping in until 10:30 we tried to cram 2 days of walking tour into 1 day. We had some McDs lunch and then headed up past the UNiversity, a pretty church, and piece of the Berlin Wall, the Golden Gate (first gate into Kiev), the OPera House, the St. Sophia Cathedral (which we couldn't go in on Thursdays), St, Michael's, the deepest metro in the world (as of a year ago), the Jewish memorial fire, and the big monastery. INside there we saw some caves with mumified monks in them. The people were praying to the dead bodies and pictures on the walls and kissing them. We had to wear skirts on top of our pants and cover our hear to go in and the whole experience was quite strange - seeing Lisa in a babushka and Hawaiian skirt while we walk through a tunnel of dead bodies....weird!I am so thankful that I can just pray to my God whenever and wherever I want and that I do not feel the need to praise dead bodies and monks, although I can still respect other people's beliefs.
We also saw the museum of microminiatures which was super cool! We ate a delicious buffet at Puzata Kapa (my new favourite restaurant) before heading to a concert by the Philharmonic complete with Barb (childhood hairdresser look alike) the pianist in a fancy blue dress.Jam packed day!
Day 13 - December 28 - Friday
Kiev, Ukraine
Lastnight we headed with the couple to the big supermarket where we bought food for our long train journey ahead. All of that slush had turned to ice and the roads and sidewalks were super slippery and skecthy. There were taped off areas where giant icicles were trying to fall and kill people. It was like nothing I have ever seen. Intense winter in the Ukraine.
We got up early and walked our way through the underground Russian markets to the confusing metro which led us to the confusing train station. Eastern Ukrain is very soviet and hard to get around.We managed to find our train and board it just in time for the 8 hour journey to Lviv.
The train ride was actually enjoyable with a cute kid and nice lady sharing our car. We got to Lviv and it took almost 2 hours to find the Lviv Euro Hostel. Apparently we can't follow directions. Thankfully, many nice people (7 in all) stopped to help us out and we found our way. We were amazed by the helpful people and beautiful city with modern ammenities. It was a whole new world compared to Kiev.
We went out and walked around the town that night where we saw that there was still a Christmas marhet going on (Christmas is on Jan 7 there) and there were many awesome souvenirs to be had. We also went for dinner to Puzata again and it did not disappoint! Yay for the second Christmas in Ukraine!
Day 14 - December 29 - Saturday
Lviv, Ukraine
We woke and went out for breakfast at a place near the main square. It was cheap and delicious! Then we ran over to the Opera house to get a free walking tour. It turns out the guide didn't show up but we did our own walking tour, led by Lonely Planet on Lisa's iPad. It was cool to see all of the old churches, forts, and the lookout from "castle hill" (no castle). Even here there were Jews terrorized in WWII and it is crazy to see just how far the Holocaust spread.
After our tour we ate some lunch at the Grand Hotel where I discovered a love for real Hot Chocoalte and sour cherry perogies. Yum!
Next we decided to do a bit of shopping. We went quickly through the craft market before it closed and I was able to get some more socks for Michelle as well as a magnet. Then we headed to our Opera Show - The Haunted Manor. The Opera was four acts and lasted from 6pm-10pm, and it was in Ukrainian, with no subtitles! At each intermission we thought it might be over. It was fairly entertaining, although probably the most random show I've seen. We definately got our money's worth before heading back to the hostel from some well deserved zzzzzz's.
Day 15 - December 30 - Sunday
Lviv, Ukraine
Day of random awesomeness in Lviv!
We went for Breakfast at Bianca Rosso where we discovered delicious cottage cheese pancakes. We then headed to get last minute tickets to the ballet. We stood in the long line and within minutes a man was speaking Ukrainian to me. I told him sorry but I only spoke English and then he told us to follow him to get seats because he worked there....RANDOM! We followed him upstairs, he got the key from an usher lady and we paid 50UA to have our own box. sweet! The LIttle Prince was a pretty random and colourful ballet set to the soundtrack of the Never Ending Story (or so it sounded). Afterwards we wandered around the craft market again, this time getting a beaded necklace, magnets, awesome ceramic earrings, postcards, bookmarks for my kids (oh, and real psyanky!). It was a good day of souvenir buying, lol.
We headed for lunch to my favourite Puzata Kapa where some random Danish girls let us eat with them in the busy restaurant. Then we went out for coffee and filled out our postcards to send home. It was a good day that ended early at the hostel for some journaling and resting before our New Year's trip. Italy tomorrow!
Lviv to Venice
Thanks to the crazy partiers that arrived at the hostel, I was awake until 3am and then got up early to head to the airport. We took a crazy taxi, driven by a Ukrainian who clearly had no regard for the traffic rules and drove on the wrong side of the road. Fun!We boarded our crazy Wizz air flight which turned out to be much more civil than the last one (minus all the pushing).
Treviso was nice and warm when we arrived (+10) and we were feeling energized. We showered and cleaned up before heading to explore Treviso by foot. Lisa even wore sandals which was clearly shocking to the locals who stopped to stare like crazy. We wandered down to the square where New Years would be and most of the shops and restaurants were closed! The town is beautiful, and much like Venice with the canals, but it was a bit smelly and the only place we could find to eat some lunch was McDonalds. Tear!
We decided that since eveything was closed we would head back to the hotel and take a nap. After a good nap and some chat time we spontaneously decided to take the train to Venice. We went to the train station and it turns out it was only about 2 E each way. The train returning to Treviso would not be until 3:40 am but we decided to go for it. The train ride was about 40 minutes and we met some white flash-mobbers on the way there. It turns out we never did see their flash mob in the square, but it was exciting anyways. Venice was bustling with activity when we got there. It was as beauitful as I remembered it, the water in the canals lit up by the lights reflecting off beautiful and colourful buildings. The moon was big and bright and added to the magical atmosphere. We followed the crowds through the maze-like streets for about an hour before getting to San Marco square. We also stopped for some pizza along the way. 
The streets were very busy with people randomly setting off little fireworks and big bangers. The restaurants and souvenir shops were open and enticing. Many people in the crowd were wearing traditional Venecian masks to bring in the new year and we decided to join in the festivities by stopping and grabbing some of our own.
With our masks on we headed into the square to enjoy the concert and await 2013. There were many people but it was not too terribly crowded until after the countdown when there was a life-threatening mob pushing to get out. We enjoyed the fireworks, though, and stopped for some gelato before resting on the train and going back. And, i only got mildly groped in the crowd. Success! Happy New Year!
Day 17 - January 1, 2013 - Tuesday
Venice to Cluj Napoca
We slept until 11:00, seeing as we didn't get back to the hotel until about 4:30 am. From there we headed into Treviso again but there was still nowhere to eat but McDonalds, which is relaly unfortunate in a place as delicious as Italy! Our hotel, the Hotel Carlton, was close to everything and it made it easy to walk around and head to the bus stop for the airport. We sate there for nearly an hour before panic set in and we decided to take a taxi to the airport. We made it onto the Wizz Air flight to Cluj-Napoca and it was much calmer and smoother than our previous 2 flights. Thanks God!
We got to Cluj and had an awkward encounter with an old Romanian man who insisted on talking to us and touching me even though we clearly had no idea what he was saying. Needless to say, after about 10 min of that we decided to take a taxi. This was not a good day for public transportation.
When we got to the Transylvania Hostel there were a lot of people there and we headed out for supper to a cute restaurant under the mall where they had awesome pottery. I had pork and beans with fresh bread! Yum! What a great meal!
Cluj Napoca, Romania
We headed back to Cluj on the bus with relaive ease and we were wadnering around back in Cluj trying to find somewhere to eat lunch when we discovered that almost everything was closed. The souvenir shops weren't even open. We had some pasta and cheesacake at a cafe. Then we took pictures of churches and theatres as well as a dance party ice rink. We headed back to the hostel where we warmed up with some hot tea before heading to the only open place - Julius Mall - where we watched Anna Karenina (weird movie, with English accent Russians). It is too bad that we didn't have better timing in Romania because it wouldn't been really cool to enjoy more food and go on a dracula castle tour.
Day 19 - January 3 - Thursday
Cluj-Budapest
We woke up early (seeing a trend yet) to head to the train station. It was sad to leave Cluj so soon because everything was closed and we did not get to see the dracula castles. HOwever, Budapest and the flight home awaited.
We got to Budapest and had the fun ask of buying a stamp so I could send a postcard. The lady was very unhappy that I spoke English and when I was 15 forints short she nearly ripped my head off! The Hungarian people were ruled for too long under the Soviets, it seems.
We finally made our way back to the air bnb place and we were about half an hour late but the lady was very nice. We got ourselces sorted out and then headed out.
First stop, Hungarian Pizza. We stopped at the metro for some Langos (which was huge) then headed to the Opera to get tickets. Following the trend, however, the tickets for the next week were all sold out! Now, though, we had plenty of time to relax at the Hungarian bath. It was pretty crazy, with steamy outdoor pools, fountains, jets, and even a whirlpool! Pretty fun! It was not the cleanest place and a deposit to rent a towel cost a small fortune, but it was definately a worthwhile experience.
That night we wandered up to see the Parliament building. It was under construction and we couldn't get up fron to take a close pic, but it was nice to be down by the river to see the fisherman's bastion across the water and the Elizabeth bridge.
That night I enjoyed some cherry Coke and Lisa and I got souvenirs ready and did some picture trading. It was a great day to end an awesome and blessed trip with a great, old friend!
Lessons Learned
Travelling is so awesome because it is the best way to learn more about other cultures, and in turn more about myself. These are a few things I learned in Eastern Europe:
- My life in Abu Dhabi is pretty posh. Everyone speaks English, I have all the services I need, and my job is fantastic. Not to mention my community. I am super blessed!
- Eastern Europe was much more affected by WWII than I realized. It was very sad to be reminded of the terrible genocide that took place.
- Comunism really shaped Eastern Europe and had an awful hold on those countries for much longer then I had ever realized.
- It is great to have a history and be blessed enough to see some of it (Hungary).
- Being busy and travelling everyday makes me remember how much I need my down time to just be quiet and still.
Really enjoyed reading about your adventures in eastern Europe! I too would be rather stunned at the relics of WW2 still prevalent.
ReplyDeleteSure makes one appreciate what we have in a Western society.
Thanks Laura!
Love Mam