Stick with the Hungarian Specialties...

Note: If you are interested in the highlights from South East Asia, we finally posted the Wrap-Up. Take a look.

Budapest, Hungary

September 14, 2007
N47°31.120
E019°04.900

After two fairly uneventful days in Bratislava we continued our journey east, towards Hungary. Even though our stay in Bratislava was brief, we were ready for a change. And Budapest, with its vast history, beautiful architecture, and the Danube River running through it, may be the recipe.

The Slovakia landscape quickly turned into a distant memory as our train zipped into Hungary. We commented how easy our travel days have become now that we’re in Europe. However, they don’t produce the infamous stories like our bus ride in Ecuador, or 27 people crammed in the bed of a pick-up truck and Hmong villagers puking up their rice lunch. Yes, we miss the stories, but we enjoy the clean, fast travel of the European rails.

A new country, a new city, a new currency and, of course, a new public transportation system were all in store for us upon arrival in Hungary. We quickly scoped out an ATM to grab some Hungarian Fornit, bought a week pass for public transportation and hunted-down our “home” for the next five nights. After checking in, we stowed our gear and headed out for an early dinner.

At dinner we quickly learned one important thing about Hungary, order the local specialties. We went to a restaurant in Lonely Planet that promoted its authentic Hungarian cuisine. I decided to order one of the restaurants pork dishes, crispy pork roast, to be exact. When the pork arrived it was far from crispy; instead it was more like a brick cut into four dry pieces. It was so hard I couldn’t even cut it… it should have been served with a hammer and chisel.

After sending the concrete pork roast back to the kitchen, I choose one of the Hungarian specialties—chicken with paprika sauce and dumplings. The chicken was nice and tender—I could even cut through it and the potato dumplings were yummy, especially with the paprika sauce.. At least we learned this important lesson on our first night in Budapest.

Tomorrow it’s time for a bath…

In The Shadow of Prague...

Bratislava, Slovakia

September 13, 2007
N48°08.619
E017°06.521

As the train crossed the border from Austria to Slovakia, we knew we were in a different country. The colorful buildings and lush landscape in Austria gave way to drab gray block buildings, typical of communist countries before the fall in November 1989. As we moved closer to the city center, the penitentiary gray high-rises surrounded us, all seemingly new, and uninspiring.

When Czechoslovakia peacefully became two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, on January 1, 1993, the two countries progressed at their own pace. Development and restoration in the Czech Republic happened more quickly then in Slovakia, and it is apparent today.

The unemployment rate in Slovakia hovers around 9%, even though it is supposed to be lower in Bratislava, we saw a lot of guys hanging out in the parks drinking, possibly homeless, and probably not included in the “official” unemployment numbers.

The city of Bratislava has done an excellent job restoring a 1 KM x 1 KM Centrum area where the majority of the tourist sites can be found, but as soon as you venture outside the tourist area many of the buildings are dilapidated and crumbling. It’s almost as if there isn’t any pride in the city when you see the massive amounts of graffiti, and you see it on every type of building—residential and commercial. The majority of graffiti doesn’t even have any artistic quality; scrawlings of obscenities and scribbles cover nearly everything. The courtyard surrounding the Presidential Palace had broken benches, weeds forcing their way up through the cobblestones and graffiti everywhere. It would be equivalent to broken benches and graffiti leading up to the Washington Memorial in D.C.

Standing at the top of the castle and looking upon the city skyline, we couldn’t help but compare the view to the view from the Prague Castle. Yes, we realize Slovakia is its own country and probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, but we had to do it. The difference is comparable to contrasting skylines of Manhattan and Newark; Manhattan with its hundreds of skyscrapers, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty… versus the Newark skyline of high-rise office and industrial buildings.

We don’t regret coming to Bratislava. We wanted to see the other half of Czechoslovakia and the relatively new country of Slovakia. It still has some growing up to do, but it simply cannot be compared to the splendor of Prague.

The Characters of Vienna...

Vienna, Austria

September 11, 2007
N48°12.245
E016°22.728

Four days in Vienna consisted of stumbling over miles of cobblestone streets, navigating yet another public transit system, witnessing spectacular architecture, people watching from the comfort of cafes as rain fell outside, and, of course, sampling the local beer and wine.

Vienna’s population is more diverse than many of the cities we’ve visited in our travels so far. Although the city is saturated with Catholic symbolism, people of many different religions and ethnicities stroll through the streets. A serious contingent of Punk Rock and Gothic teenage youth hang out in Metro stations and on sidewalks; all trying to make their “statement.” Women in full length mink coats, staying warm on a cold day, saunter by the Punks impervious to their “costumes.” Musicians and businessmen sit next to each other in pubs after a hard day, or night, at work. It became very apparent when seeing the cars, clothes, restaurants and culture there’s massive wealth in the city; at the same time there’s a working-class artistic vibe.

I enjoy making up stories, or simple observations, about each of the people that pass the window as we sit in our café or wander the streets. Maybe the Punk Rock kid was disinherited by his parents for doing drugs and lost access to his trust fund. This requires him to live on the streets with his dog, begging for money for his next fix, or at least another beer. Probably not a far fetched story, but I don’t know about the trust fund!

Or, maybe the lady sitting in the pavilion, with her arms firmly crossed, wearing a pout on her face, a mink coat, and red fedora, is upset with her lover. The boyfriend, who bought her the coat, tells her he doesn’t love her anymore… it’s not you, it’s me. The hat and sunglasses cover her eyes; hiding her tears as she hears the harsh words from his lips. She’s better off without him.

A young Spanish tourist snaps pictures of herself in the garden with a big smile and a peace sign; holding the camera as far from her face as her arm can reach. She takes another, apparently not happy with the first, but leaves out the peace sign this time—only a big smile. I’m sure she’ll be sending the snapshots home, letting her mom know she’s having a wonderful time touring Vienna by herself.

A man in his early 30s is relaxing on a park bench in the sun, reading a book. He started digging deep for a big one up his left nostril. He excavates a nice crunchy boog and without hesitation pops it into his mouth, smiling with pride—I kid you not. Marc swears he heard the crunch as the guy munched his prize! Marc turned to me and started to say, “Did you see…” I quickly responded, “Yes” trying to hold back my laughter as we passed.

As our time in Vienna comes to a close, we’re sitting in our apartment trying to decide where we’re headed tomorrow. No, we do not have a solid plan. The only thing we know is we’re going east—towards Hungary.

We’ll smile as we say goodbye to Vienna and the characters who reside in this lovely city.

Vienna Waits for You...

Vienna, Austria

September 9, 2007
N48°12.245
E016°22.728

The sunshine finally made it through the scattered clouds and provided enough warmth for us to shed our raincoats. As we strolled through the green parks, weaving our way back and forth across the Danube Canal, thousands of people filled the streets, some carrying flags in celebration of the Pope’s Mass, and others simply enjoying the sun on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Our goal was to walk through the Outer Ring streets of Vienna until we were exhausted, then jump on the metro for a short break, and come back to the surface in a different neighborhood to discover something new. We walked the entire Outer Ring, staying away from the Pope, but still witnessing some dramatic sites such as Stadtpark, Beethoven Plaza, the war memorial at Schwarzenberg Garden (we need at least half a day for the garden itself!) and Berg Garden.

It was beautiful yesterday, but with the sun shining, Vienna was even more spectacular than our initial impression.

When our feet couldn’t handle anymore time in our new shoes, we headed back to the Happy Hostel where we kicked back on the couch and watched a little NFL football (Colts vs. Saints). Too bad we already knew the outcome, but, hey, at least we were able to watch our first NFL game and enjoy a Sunday evening at home.

BTW… Payton is looking very sharp; definitely worth the number one pick in any Fantasy League.