Warsaw, Poland:
Sadly, I didn't see a lot in Poland. We mainly just used it to commute through to get to the other destinations, but I will return in 2 weeks and will spend more time there!
P.S. A lot of these photos were taken on my iPod, so that is why they are sooo fuzzy and awful. I apologize!
This lovely rainbow lit building in the center of town.
So much more modern than the rest of the cities I've traveled to.
Let the back aches begin! Actually, in this photo my backpack looks so small, but I promise you, it was 30 pounds or more! My back was killing me!
We didn't see much outside because since our backs hurt so badly, we sat in the mall all day and rested until we were to catch our bus that night. The mall was really nice though and I was happy to eat Subway for lunch there!
Prague, Czech Republic:
I think Prague was my favorite out of this backpacking trip. It had the best old town and such great views of the city! Lovely palaces, GOOD FOOD, and nice people! Here is a list of things that caught my eye in Prague:
-There are pretzel appetizers on every table that you see in the restaurant windows.
-The beggars are interesting. Instead of sitting and holding their cup out to you begging you for money, they kneel down and rest their heads and hands on the ground and just set their cups out in front of them, sort of like they are praying. It showed me that, even though they had nothing and were begging for things, they were still humble.
-They sell Absinth everywhere. It's a VERY strong alcoholic drink, usually filled with bugs or lizards in the bottles (EWWW)
-They sell marijuana flavored lollipops?
-There are SO many American tourists.
-They have the best granola (Musli) I've ever had!
Charles Bridge
Shorty's Burger, from a little fast food stop. Boy was it good. It might have even been better than the GIANT burger from Street Burgers in Latvia that I blogged about before. I want another.
Joni, Jenna, Hayden, Kelby & I.
St. Vitus' Cathedral.
The street our hostel was on. It was probably the best street in Prague. Although here it is empty.
The Astronomical clock.
A Bagpipe band! This was the coolest thing ever!
The John Lennon Wall.
We met some really nice boys in our hostel. One from India named Irfan and one from Iraq named Sham! They were SO awesome and I talked with them for a while. They invited me out to the Charles Bridge with them and their group to just enjoy the night view, but of course I couldn't leave because I can't go anywhere alone -____-
We took a nice ferry tour on the river and our tour guide was super cool and knowledgeable. It was 45 minutes long and he shared lots of facts and stories about Prague with us. Before we got on the ferry, we were in this little mall thing, and I was getting money out of an ATM and Kelby was a little distance away from me and she was standing behind this man and she noticed him taking pictures of me and some of the other girls. Like, literally snapping pictures on his phone of us. So she came up to us and told us and we got a little freaked out. We walked past him and then noticed he was talking on the phone now. At first, I got a little scared like "What if he was photographing my pin number when I was getting money out of the ATM." But then realized that's highly impossible because he was pretty far away. Then we looked back and he was taking more pictures of us. It was really scary. We got on the boat and were worried that he'd corner us or something when we got off, but nothing happened. It was really strange though.
I will return to Prague some day. That is a definite must!
Budapest, Hungary:
Budapest was a lot different than anywhere in Europe I've seen yet. Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Prague were pretty similar with their red roofs, pastry cafes, and Old Towns. Budapest reminded me more of..Greece maybe? It's hard to explain but it was definitely a lot different. So amazing though! The Parliament building was one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. So bright and enchanting! There was also the St. Stephen's Basilica that was SO beautiful inside and the panoramic view at the top showed all of Budapest! Panoramas are my favourite.
We went to a Jazz club and saw this amazing concert.
The Szechenyi Thermal Baths.
These were so cool! It was like a hot tub, but pool-sized! And there were different pools with different temperatures. And they had a sauna there that was pretty much like sitting in Hell. I couldn't open my eyes or breathe openly. I had to cover my nose and mouth to breathe. And then when I tried to walk out, the Hellish air was completely scorching my lungs. It was crazy! But then there is an ice cold mini-pool waiting for you outside of it and you hop in there and it's very refreshing!
Inside St. Stephen's Basilica.
Just a palace on the hill side :)
Found a play ground!
Boy, aren't I cute? -___-
St. Stephen's Basilica.
Panoramic view off the top!
The Parliament building! I wish my camera did it justice, but it just doesn't. You can tell how regal it is though, can't you? <3
We sat down at this little cafe for a while, and one of the girls left her phone there, we realized a few hours later. We were about 2 miles away when she realized it so we had to walk back there, thinking it would probably be closed since it was late by then. But thankfully it was still open and we walked in and they could tell by our anxious faces that we came looking for the phone. So that was really nice that we got it back! That would have sucked to lose it here. I also got this really incredible Kebab on the streets in Budapest. It was this shredded chicken in a pita, with tomatoes, lettuce, garlic and this really hot chipotle sauce. It. Was. HEAVEN. I gobbled it and seriously wanted another one. AND wanted one for the rest of my time there. Every meal I think. But I ended up only eating it once :/ BUT we did have this thai food at Buddha Express :) That was really good, too. I just got some honey chicken and rice with veggies. And then they brought us free sodas for no reason! It was lovely! That was a really good night. We met some cool people in our hostel there. A guy named Mark who had biked there from London. Yes, biked. And he had been biking Europe since April. Pitching tents in random spots in the forest, and bathing in rivers, cooking over the fire. I thought that was the coolest thing I've ever heard. If you know me, you know my heart resides in the forest and mountains. I would love to live this way. That's why Into The Wild is one of my favorite movies. Living off the land I just think would be so invigorating and humbling. If only I were fit enough to bike across a whole continent ;)
Vienna, Austria:
Vienna was BEAUTIFUL! I just felt so fancy when I was there. We stayed in a huge hostel, it was called the Wombat City Hostel @ Naschmarkt. Naschmarkt is this big, outdoor market. It was so fun to walk through it and see all the vendors selling schnitzel and pickled vegetables. Also many goods like jewelry, clothing, and pottery. We only toured if for a little bit, but planned to come back the next day. We later regretted that after we found out that there was a national holiday in Austria that next day and EVERYTHING would be closed. Goodness. That was a real bummer. All of the supermarkets and souvenir shops were closed. But at least, the sights were still open. Like the operas and that palaces. We tried to go to an Opera, but it was 49 Euros for the CHEAPEST seat. So that definitely wasn't happening. I found some really good chocolate in Vienna, but that's a given. I bought a bit for the fam, but I wish I could have bought more. We had our go at Kasekrainer, which is a type of sausage. We knew that coming to the land of sausage, we had to try it somewhere. We had zillions of options. On ever other corner, there was a street vendor selling brotwurst, schnitzel, vienna sausages, you name it. We picked one, and it was perfect. The man explained what each sausage was like (spicy, cheesey, smoked, etc.) I went with the kasekrainer, which was a sausage with cheese inside. Not like the gross kind that you get at the grocery store in America. It was completely infused with cheese, but it wasn't overwhelming, you feel? He put it in a bun and threw in some sweet mustard and ketchup. Oh boy. I wish everyone could try it from that very shop. I was in wiener heaven. I could have had another, but I need to be more frugal with my money :p Haha. But just know I've dreamt of it a time or two since then. We then went off to get some delicious gelato and see more sights. We found a beautiful park with ponds and trees that is sitting right on this palace looking building! I wish I knew its name, but I didn't. We climbed a tree and took photos, and then sat in the grass and just soaked in the sun. Austria was sunny the whole time we were there! They also had Christmas shops which was Siiiiick! I actually understood a lot of words, but not enough to actually speak to anyone in German. I wish I could get back to Austria some day. I could easily live there.
Naschmarkt.
Gelato love <3
One of the most beautiful cathedrals I've been in yet!
Not sure what this building is called but it sure was lovely.
The names here are just insane. I loved it! And also, i love the U-bahn/Metro whatever.
Beautiful parks all around!
Hi.
Okay this is hilarious: We wanted to get pictures of us throwing leaves up in the air because, duh, it's fall and who doesn't do that? So we pick a spot and Kelby goes first and she's throwing these leaves and all of a sudden this little group of Asians come up and start photographing her as well. And then that little group turned into huge group of Asians and they just kept saying "again, again!" And so we all got up there and started throwing leaves for these Asian photographers. I felt famous for a minute! Hahahaha. I'll never forget that. Maybe we'll end up on a billboard in Korea or something :)
Here is a nice Sun-bather.
Rose garden.
Mouth-watering bread.
St. Stephen's cathedral. Look at that design! That roof.
Eating my Kasekrainer!!
Accidental photo but I liked it!
Relaxing after a long day, in front of this palace.
The coziest book store I've ever seen and it was in Austria. Life complete.
I'll be going to Lithuania next fall with ILP. And this blog has really been helping, what would you say would be the most important thing to bring, and to prepare for?
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