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)

Florence

Best Attributes: White Architecture, Short Walking Distances, Local Food

Worst Attributes: Heavy Tourism, Claustrophobic Streets

Florence is a beautiful city. From the stunning white gold architecture to the ambient pizza kitchens, it's the best of both worlds. The food was classically Italian and there wasn't a fast food chain in sight. Restaurants like Gustapizza and Zaza's served local food and did a great job creating an environment that both tourists and natives could enjoy. While prices were steep in some restaurants, it wasn't too difficult to find a nice cheap meal here and there. To find a nice bar, restaurant or club (depending on the night), everything was a 5-15 minute walk away. Not only were these walks short, but they also showed Florence in all it's glory. Beautiful bridges, leather shops, and Italian music could keep you entertained at all times. There were also supermarket pop-ups in various places throughout the weekend, which gave me the opportunity to buy second handle leather apparel and wrist wear at a relatively low price.

While Florence was glorious, the tourism is definitely a major problem. I know, difficult to

complain about when you're a tourist yourself, but every area of the city was full of visitors from Germany, France and U.S often ruining the atmosphere and environment. The fact that the city is so small surely emphasizes this problem as the narrow streets cramp you between pedestrians, cars and the typical stone wall. Not to mention that Italians absolutely hate tourists. Nights out were accompanied by jeers and laughter from various groups of Italians, graffiti littered tourist destinations and bus stops with Italian phrases like "Get out" or "Leave".

Special shoutout to Madrey for letting me intrude on her and her roommates for the weekend. Certainly saved me some high demand dough and allowed me to experience a classic Italian villa. She was a great tour guide, showing me great restaurants, viewpoints and the Florenzi nightlife. Overall, I definitely recommend visiting to Florence. It's not known as a top 3 Italian destination, but I think it's criminally underrated and in need of some props.

Recommendations: Zaza's restaurant (classic Italian cuisine), Piazzale Michelangelo (a scenic hike and viewpoint), Leather Shops (highly touted industry in the Tuscany region)

Things that were weird:

Streets are so narrow that most cars aren't allowed in certain areas

One of the most renowned dishes is a form of raw meat (Florentine steak)

Alcohol was not served in supermarkets after 9pm