and the traveling continues... Roma!

I left Christine and her friend Rachel in Budapest on Friday, November 4th for a flight to Rome... to meet up with mom and dad! With all her fears of traveling to Europe, mom was facing them to visit me and I couldn't have been happier to spend sometime with family.  Budapest Airport was a breeze to get to, these Europeans understand the concept of simplicity, a 1euro bus ticket dropped you right off at the airport. After arriving to the small airport, significantly early (i guess its better safe than sorry) I ventured around and found that the Budapest airport had a "viewing deck" in which you can sit and watch planes take off and land. I picked up my trusty piccell - i will get around to posting a picture of the phone that I've been using for the past 3 months, cera 1995 material - called my parents who should have landed in Rome that morning, unfortunately their flight had been significantly delayed and had just arrived in Rome. ( their trip was not getting off to the best start and i hoped to change that in a few short hours! ) To my dismay my flight was also delayed another hour, so I wouldn't be arriving in Rome until around 10pm sometime. 

Budapest Airport viewing deck 

my flight was smooth sailing, I arrived in Rome around 10pm, and the joy of only traveling with a backpack - no waiting for luggage! I spotted the driver with my name and we were off to the hotel. Conversation in the car quickly led to the fact that I am spending the semester studying in Florence, from that moment on I was requested to only speak in Italian, which was rusty after being in other countries for the past week! I met mom and dad in their hotel room, even though jet lag was setting in I dragged them out, explaining Europeans eat and stay out late! After being great sports, we turned in for the night.. to rest up for a day around Rome and Vatican City.

our hotel in Rome

Our first day together started with breakfast at an outdoor cafe near our hotel. Yes outdoor! the weather couldn't have been more perfect while my parents were visiting Italy. Following breakfast we walked around and did some sight seeing.... 

la colozione (breakfast)

Spanish Steps

Budapest

okay so now back to blogging about fall break! I wanted to try and get up to date before my next trip, this was a lofty goal that will NOT be happening... but it was worth the try. The fact that I have not had time to blog is just a another sign of what a great time I am having in Florence. (If I haven't made it clear how much I am enjoying myself).. 

Budapest, capital of Hungary was our final stop as a group of girls traveling throughout Europe... Budapest is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, economic center.  

Budapest is actually divided into two regions by the Danube River that enters the city from the north. The river separates the city into Buda and Pest. Pest lies on the flat terrain of the Great Plain while Buda is rather hilly.  Our friend Bhavna from Bentley is studying in Budapest for the semester, so in our travels we had the opportunity to visit a friendly face! We arrived  in Budapest on Wednesday night, found our way from the bus stop to the metro and looked for a stop with the that resembled Kalvin... Hungarian is not the easiest language to read,speak or attempt to spell. We met our friend Bhavna at the metro stop and she walked us to our hostel which conveniently planned was right down the street from her dorm. Since it was our only night to go out with her ( she was spending the weekend in Denmark) we checked into the hostel and got ready to explore Budapest! 

Thursday morning came (quickly might I add) Christine Kiley and I were off to see as much of Budapest as possible before we all went separate ways.  We snagged a map from the hostel that listed some of the major sights to see in Budapest - then needed breakfast and a strong cappuccino. We walked by the famous and busy market place, the Hungarian National Museum and met up with Bhavna on Vaci Utca (Vaci Street) which is one of the main shopping streets in Budapest. Bhavna brought us for a walk along the Danube River all the way to the famous Parliament building. Next was to cross the Danube over the famous Szechenyl Chain Bridge and reach the Buda side of Budapest where Buda Castle is located.

The tram to the top of the hill, where the castle is located wasn't running - which meant we had a long hike up Castle Hill to reach Buda Castle.  The former Royal Palace is one of the main symbols of Hungary. Now it houses to museums and the National Szechenyi Library.  Fun Fact: It was also home to the set of Katy Perry's firework music video! (i've watched the video several times since then- really cool to say I've been there/ know where that is) We walked around the castle grounds and got lunch at a cafe boasting some incredible views of the Pest side of town.  

After lunch Bhavna had to leave to catch her plane and we ventured to the nearby over 700 year old Matthias Church and the Fishermans Bastion which looks like a castle wall, and opens out a panoramic view of the entire city and some incredible views of Parliament. The neo-Gothic Parliament building, is considered to be one of Budapest jewels and there isn't a question why when you look at the building from the Buda side of the river.

Matthias Church

Parliament

view from Fishermans Bastion

At Buda Castle we also had the opportunity to learn to play the violin!

almost caught up!

 I have been trying to update and blog about my fall break but its just to difficult to sit in and write when there's so much to do and see! I'm going to step away from my (almost three weeks) traveling posts to write about a few of the things that have been going on around Florence.

WEATHER - although its been absolutely beautiful and rather warm everyone walks around Florence bundled up as if its about to snow! European fashion is surprisingly more functional then just style - they just know how to do it right.  Over the past few weeks, the mornings and evenings have been cool but the day's still embrace early fall sun and warmth! How to dress for weather like this? - one word. LAYERS and lot's of 'em. If you watch people walk down the street (I've become quite the people watcher) you noticed that everyone is dressed in numerous layers. Women in dresses, tights, socks, boots then scarves and sweaters and coats. After being stared at for still not wearing a coat some days, I think I've learned some tricks. 1. Its November - which to the people of Florence means, its winter and its cold. So if you are going outside, wear a jacket. 2. Wear a scarf! Women, Men, Children dogs, everyone wears them. Fashionable yet very practical. Even the Bentley boys have begun to purchase the scarves and layer up to fit in with the locals. There seems to be one factor that can make your appearance seem much more European here and that's layers. When leaving the house, I get dressed as I normally would gauging the temperature then always add an additional layer. At night, with my coat and scarf one, I'll add gloves! simple but effective.

Christmas - In Italy, even in Florence where there are SO many tourist and Americans, there is no Thanksgiving. This means the lines are blurred when it is socially acceptable to start listening to Christmas music. Although I have not started listening to Christmas music, tempted this weekend with all the decorations and lights emerging around Florence - I will be having a mini thanksgiving with friends in Dublin, afterwards its all jolly Christmas music for the last few weeks! Did you catch that I said decorations and lights have been emerging this past weekend? Italy hasn't commercialized Christmas to the extent the States have. As of the past week shops have begun to decorate and its beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

Soccer - This past weekend I went to my first European Soccer game - Calcio in Italian is a loved sport here and we snagged some tickets to one of the most competitive games of the season! Fiorentina (Florence) vs. AC Milan - AC Milan was heavily favored to win and who doesn't want to see an underdog come out on top. I have NEVER in all the sporting events I've attended been to a game with so much excitement! The crowd was insane with the amount of yelling and cheering that occurred the entire game felt like a bottom of the 9th Sox down by one with a runner on third scenario! 

girls with their purple

definition of jam packed stadium

giant flags

National Day - Vienna

backtrack to October 26 - otherwise known as our second day in Vienna.  Christine and I wanted to show Kiley all throughout the heart of Vienna (tracing our steps from the walk with John) before going to the Hofburg Palace. Little did we know it was Vienna's National Day, which meant some free admission and people everywhere. National Day in Vienna commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation when the last WWII troops left Austria.  

Hofburg Palace is complex, confusing and imposing. The first Habsburg residence grew with the family empire from the 13th century until 1913 when the last "new" wing was opened.  Six hundred years of Habsburgs lived in the palace which started as a 13th century medieval castle and now is 240,000-square meter complex.This was the winter residence of the Habsburg rulers until 1918 and now is home to the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boy's Choir, the Austrian presidents office, 5,000 government workers and several important museums.  We went into the Palace to see the Imperial Apartments (also known as Kaiserappartments) lavish, Versailles type royal rooms.  The Palace is divided up into three main sections: a porcelain and silver collection, a museum dedicated to Empress Sisi and the Imperial Apartments.

We started in the porcelain and silver collection... some pictures to show the CRAZY amounts of porcelain, silver and tableware. Fun Fact: napkin folding is a very important technique for the royal dining experience. Some folds were only known to 2 -3 people with the instructions being passed down by word or mouth.

Then onto the Sisi Museum which is dedicated to Empress Elisabeth who was said to be mysterious, beautiful and narcissistic.  The museum traces her fabulous but tragic life. Clothing from her personal wardrobe is on display and you can admire her excessively thin waist ( 20in at age 16, 21in at age 50 after giving birth to four children)  The museum explains her obsession with beauty and exercise.  Her life began a tragic spiral after her son committed suicide, she would dress head to toe in black. In 1898 she was murdered by an Italian anarchist.

The Imperial Apartments, otherwise known as the Emperors Rooms.  Some of the rooms were went through included the waiting room for the Audience Room, the Audience Room, conference room, Franz Josef's study, his bedroom, the Large Salon and the Small Salon - then the Empress' Rooms. I was especially intrigued by her exercise/ dressing room where servants worked for hours a day on her famous hair, while she passed the time reading and learning languages. The thought that the Hofburg Palace is the small winter residence blew my mind as we were walking through the various rooms and waiting rooms.

After touring the Palace we went out to the Palace gardens were the majority of the National Day festivities were being held.  There were exhibits of all the military vehicles and forms of transportation on display with many men dressed in uniform. There were also food stands set up everywhere selling sausages, beer, pretzels, candy. Sticking with our rule we stopped by a tent and ordered what the majority of the locals were eating sausages and spicy mustard... our day in Vienna was coming to an end and we had to catch a 7pm bus to Budapest so we walked back to the hostel to grab our things.... not without stopping for a famous Austrian Apple Strudel. 

sausage & spicy mustard

just munching on some apple strudel

Vienna

Third city - Vienna, Austria. Vienna is the capital of Austria, the "cradle of classical music," home to the Habsburg dynasty and is considered one of Europe's most livable cities. The city center is sky-scraper free, pedestrian friendly, dotted with quiet parks and gardens.  Many of the buildings reflect 18th and 19th century elegance. Although Austria is no longer the grand empire it once was, the city is the sum of its illustrious past.  There is classical music everywhere, people enjoy nursing a apple strudel pastry and coffee tucked away in a cafe, and it home to some world class museums.

 A friend from Bentley is spending the semester in Vienna so we met up with him after settling down into our beautiful hostel. Christine and I were begining to look to the Rick Steeves book as our bible for the trip -it was our go to for what sights to see, how to get there and how to jam as much into one day as possible! So I'm sure you noticed that I left out how we got from Prague to Vienna. We were able to take a bus! For only 10euro we were able to jump on a bus that offered movies, comfortable seats and free hot drinks from Prague to Vienna. A 7am departure and we were in Vienna by noon! On the bus ride we noticed that there was a recommended self guided walk throughout Vienna. Without knowing it, John took us on this walk and we were able to see some of the major sights.

Since Vienna is the world capital of classical music, so it is no surprise that the Opera is huge in Vienna and the building is absolutely beautiful. We passed the Opera and continued toward the famous Cafe Sacher.  This cafe is home to the world's classiest chocolate cake: the Sacher torte: two layers of cake separated by apricot jam and covered in dark chocolate icing served with whipped cream.  This cake was invented back in 1832 by Franz Sacher - today the cake served at this cafe is said to be dry and overpriced.  Our walk continued to Karntner Strasse, a grand mall like street (traffic free) is a people watching delight and is filled with shoppers, street musicians and tourist.

Opera

Continuing down Karntner Strasse, we came to Neur Market  in the center stands the Four Rivers Fountain symbolizing the rivers that flow into the Danube.  The most impressive structure is Stephansplatz, located at the center of Vienna, the Gothic Church is known for its 450ft south tower, colorful roof and size. When the church was built (cera 1300-1450) it was a giant church built for a small town and placed Vienna on the map.   The view surrounding the church in incredible in the sense that there are buildings featuring centuries of different architectural styles.

Living in Europe (yes living!) means seeing numerous churches especially spending the majority of my time in Italy where churches can be found on every street corner. St. Peters Church in Vienna was so incredibly beautiful and it was built as a thank-you for surviving the 1679 plague.  From there we walked down Kohmarket, Vienna's most elegant and unaffordable shopping area - right of my ally - Tiffany, Cartier, Armani and the Hofburg Palace at the end. 

Hofburg Palace

After walking all around Vienna, John had to get to class and Christine and I decided to head back to the hostel to wait for our friend Kiley to get there. Sticking with our plan to try local food we were recommended to try some Wiener Schnitzel... which is a veal cutlet pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs fried and served with french fries.. 

Prague Castle

For the afternoon tour of Prague Castle, we met in the Old Town square.. then walked to Charles Bridge, a famous and historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river.  The construction of the bridge began in 1357, under King Charles and was the only means for crossing the river until 1841.  It was considered the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town.  We took tram #22 up to the Prague Castle - the palace is considered one of the biggest in the world including St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St. George, Courtyard and "the Golden Lane."  

St. Vitus Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and is said to symbolizes the Czech spirit, containing tombs and relics of the most important saints and kings.  The Cathedral Facade deserves some devoted time to notice the men dressed in 1920s business suits.  The building of this cathedral began in 1344, construction was stalled by wars and plagues.  Fueled by 19th century Czech nationalism, the church was finished in 1929.  For 400 years a temporary wall sealed off the functional and operational cathedral.  

torture towers

St. Vitus Cathedral

1920s businessmen 

The sights of Prague Castle were incredible, unfortunately it was freezing and windy when we were on our tour. I  spent the afternoon doing more picture taking than listening. So without copying some descriptions from a history book I'll let my pictures do the talking :) 

castle guards 

another view of St. Vitus Cathedral

view from the castle

After the Castle tour Christine and I were concentrated on two things: getting warm and getting something to for dinner. Before leaving Italy we set out some goals for the trip, one including trying traditional foods from whatever country we were in. In France we had madame croquet's, Prague we tried goulash soup in a bread bowl and some Czech beer.

next stop: Vienna!