Prague posted

Positive Impressions: Great authentic pastries and beer

Negative Impressions: So many tourists, Bouncers are overly aggressive

Visiting Prague was a great experience. To see my sisters home country hit deep and made me think about how similar she looks to the natives here. Eggshell colored skin, dark blue eyes and brown hair. The men are far different, blond and curly haired were the most common characteristics for Czech men.. I think the most surprising thing about Prague was the quality of the beer. Every beer on the street was authentic and homemade, this gave them a bitterness, but also a very nice aftertaste. Chimneys were the city's main delicacy, a circular donut with chocolate inside, but the Czech dumplings were probably my favorite dish so far in Europe. The dumplings came in any flavor from pistachio to strawberry. The insides gushed and spread across the plate when they were opened. While the presentation was good, the taste was even better. The mixture of sauce and pastry was perfected and stayed with me for the rest of the day.

I made sure to see unusual things in Prague. I didn't want to visit the normal tourist attractions, like the astronomical clock or the castle district. I went to odd museums and walked around random parts of the city to really get a feeling of Czech life. The club scene in Prague was really cool. The club had 6 floors each with a different genre of music. From rap to 80's music it was really cool to see what types of music people enjoyed and how they reacted to American music. It's so prevalent throughout Europe. Everywhere I go I'm followed by Miley Cyrus or Bruno Mars, WITH OUT FAIL.

Bunker hostel was organized and a great way to meet people, however, I think staying in a hotel would have been a better experience. As a student you make due with what you have, but Prague is such an elegant city that a hotel nice view over the river would have served nicely for most people 25+.

Recommendations

Illusions Museum (fun and different), Knedlin (dumpling cafe), Bunker Youth Hostel, Klub Manz (a 6 floor night club)

My Budapest blog

Best Impressions: Vast and Beautiful, Rich Culture, Stunning River Separates the City

Poor Impressions: Locals are Quiet and Reserved, Windy and Cold

Budapest was absolutely beautiful. Despite the harsh cold and constant wind it was great to walk along the Pest-side waterline. Seeing the shoes left behind by Jews as they were shot by Nazi Soldiers in the 1940s was a haunting but memorable experience. Having some Ashkenazi blood leaves me in awe of the brutality by Nazi's during WWII, but also interested in the history and information from that time period. Hungary was one of the last countries to be targeted by SS officers and deported to concentration camps, nonetheless, in 1944 440,000 jews were sent to Auschwitz leaving Budapest the only Jewish community in Hungary after WWII.

The parliament building offered the greatest architecture I've seen so far in Europe. Sharp tower tops and dome shaped roofs truly made this building the city's gem. The somewhat medieval theme really stood out to me. Like Prague, Budapest had a lot of dark gray shades along it's older buildings. The streets were full of cobblestone and there were dozens of various art pieces and historic facts around city corners and on walls.

Huge shout out to Dorina and Ibolya for showing me the city and allowing me to stay with them. Dori showed me a small glimpse of the Hungarian youth when she brought me to a

classmates house party in Buda. I couldn't catch a word of Hungarian but most people spoke English and were interested to learn about my Californian lifestyle. I even showed some of

the girls how to play beerpong. Ibolya cooked every meal for me and despite my hesitancy to accept her great hospitality, went to great lengths to make sure I was well fed and happy during my 2 day stay. Both showed me the best city sights and took a day to walk me through everything from the great castle district to the parliament and synagogue buildings. I wish there was a way to show my appreciation more, it was a great experience. Huge thank you to them!

Recommendations:

Rudas Baths (great views), perfect for cold weather, Danube River Tour (great to see the city from the river), Castle District (the perfect mix of architecture, history, museum's and church's)

Ibolya's Hungarian Meals:

Vienna

Best First Impressions: Easy Transportation, Beautiful Museums

Worst First impressions: Zero Diversity, Reserved People

I only had a few days to enjoy Vienna. One wouldn't expect the city to be cold or rainy, especially in April, but the average temperature was about 2 C. When I think of these countries and cities in the middle of Eastern Europe, I think barren and dark. Vienna, however, was opulent and thriving. Markets littered the various streets, large monuments and phenomenal buildings surrounded the city center, and most importantly prices were low.

I spent the first day exploring., visiting everything I could see within a 20 kilometer radius of my youth hostel. The Parliment building, St. Stephen's cathedral, Schonbruun Castle and Cafe Landtmann, where I met a group of French girls preparing for a court simulation. I hope they haven't read my blog. It's been very easy to make friends while solo traveling, being so vulnerable puts you into situations where you need to be outgoing and even gives you a great excuse to start a conversation.

I met all sorts of interesting people in my first day in Vienna. My hostelmate David, who works as a pr coordinator in Mexico City but wanted to experience the lifestyle of Eastern Europe. Natalia, a Spaniard from Girona who decided to go on a spontaneous weekend trip to Vienna with her friends. Lizzy, an Austrian backpacker who just finished a backpacking trip in Southern Italy. Nhedira, an Algerian studying law in Marseille, who was kind enough to pay for my coffee when I didn't have any cash on me. While there are many pros and cons of solo traveling, I think you can learn a lot from it. It really teaches you the importance of independence and the value of being open to new experiences.

My last day in Vienna was short and sweet. I scheduled a tour of the Leopoldt Museum where I saw hundreds of brilliant words of art painted by the most famous modern art

painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Artists who stuck out to me were Egon Schiele and Ernst Klimt for their creativity and expressionist style of painting. It's mesmerizing to see the different styles and techniques used by these artists and inspiring to see that they could remain so consistently inventive.

Overall, Vienna was marvelous and I hope to return for longer stay in the future.

Oddities

No restaurants accepted card

There were dozens of Asian markets and shops

Huge Mole rats come out at night

Traffic lights turn yellow before they turn green

Recommendations

The Wombat Hostel (great area, very cheap, nice bar scene), The Leopold Museum (portrays Austrian art and it's history), Reinthaler's Beisl (provided a great indoor setting and great weiner schnitzel)