Vienna Day 2

After eating an egg mcmuffin from the always reliable Mcdonald's, we headed to Schonbrunn Palace. This palace was the summer residence of the Hapsburg's. The interior of the palace looked almost the same as the palace we saw yesterday. However, the grounds and views of this palace were extraordinary.

We took the train back to the center of the city to eat lunch at Zum Weisser Rauchfangkehrer, a restaurant that came highly recommended from my mother-in-law. We split our first Weiner schnitzel, a lightly fried piece of veal. We really enjoyed it but both agreed it tasted like chicken fried steak! After lunch we headed for Cafe Sacher. This cafe is home to the famous Sacher torte, their signature chocolate cake. Not only did we order the Sacher torte, but we also ordered apple strudel which is another delicacy of Vienna. The Sacher torte was forgettable but it is one of those things you have to try when visiting here.

We spent the rest of our afternoon at the Vienna Masters, one of the legs of the world equestrian competition circuit. This competition attracts Olympian horse riders as well as riders from all over the world. You could not beat the backdrop for this competition either.

By the time we finally left, it was time for dinner. We went to a fun, trendy Indian restaurant, Nam Nam. I found this place from a fellow food blogger who lives in Vienna. This place was packed to the brim and we were lucky to get in without reservations. We had to sit outside where the temperature was a chill 50 degrees fahrenheit, but we were dressed accordingly so it was not bad.

Pictures:
1. Global Champions Tour
2. View of Schonbrunn Palace from the top of a hill.
3. Nam Nam Indian restaurant
4. Fountain on the grounds of Schonbrunn Palace that reminded me of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
5. Schonbrunn Palace
6. Apple strudel at Cafe Sacher
7. First weiner schnitzel at Zum Weisser Rauchfangkehrer.

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Vienna Day 1

Where do I begin?! We started our day on the wrong note. Google maps led us astray for breakfast. Since we were not able to find the place I wanted to go for breakfast, we ended up stumbling upon Naschmarket, an open air market where all the local chefs buy their meat and produce. There also happens to be a few restaurants in the market as well. I had the most amazing egg white omelet with crusty bread at this restaurant called Naschmarket Deli!

Afterwards, we walked to Hofsburg's Palace, residence of the Hapsburg's. This palace is so big that you really have to choose which areas you want to see. We saw the treasury department, which included the Hapsburg's collection of precious jewels. Within this collection was the worlds's largest emerald, weighing in at 2,680 carats. That is not a typo either! Before taking a tour of the actual rooms in the palace, we walked thru an exhibit featuring the royalty's fine china and dinnerware collections. A few of their china patterns reminded me of mine!!!

We had a light lunch of open-faced sandwiches at Trzesniewski.

After lunch, we took an audio tour of St. Stephen's Cathedral. I have never been to a cathedral quite like this one. Every corner and cranny had a story behind it. Mozart actually got married in this cathedral.

At this point, Adam was toured out so we went to the Prater, Vienna's amusement park with the infamous ferris wheel. No guidebook told us to go here nor even to think about riding the rides but we did both! We decided to ride the swings and see the city from sky high. This experience was nerve-wracking, exhilarating and fun all at the same time!

I found this pizza place, Pizza Mari, in one of the local neighborhoods. Although it looked closer to the Prater than it really was, it was worth the trek getting here. We took the subway home and we will start all over again tomorrow.

Pictures:
1. Breakfast in the Naschmarket
2. Buckling up for the swings at The Prater
3. Largest emerald in the world
4. Outside St. Stephens Cathedral
5. Pizza Mari
6. Trezsniewski sandwiches with a mini beer
7. Inside St. Stephen's Cathedral

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Off to Vienna

I took my first train from one country to another! I underestimated the train system here in Europe. Although I bought my tickets ahead of time, finding which train to get on was very easy.

We arrived to Vienna midday to our hotel which was conveniently located across from the train station. Finding a hotel in Vienna for less than $100/night was a challenge. Thankfully, I found Hotel Leonardo which just recently opened so they were offering great introductory rates. Although the reviews on Trip Advisor have been very critical, we love our hotel!

We took a downloaded audio tour by our new friend, Rick Steves, which circled the Ringstrasse, a street circling Vienna's old city. Our tour happened to finish by Vienna's famous opera house. After being hoarded by shady ticket brokers who told us the only way to get in was to fork up some serious Euros, we happened to see a long line for standing room only tickets. Not having much to lose since the show was starting in 45 minutes, we decided to join the crowd. We got 2 tickets to Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet for 6 euros! (There was no opera last night.) These may have not been the best seats in the house but we got to see the opera house in its full glory!

Pictures (again, I have no idea why I can't post these photos in order):
1. Opera House in Vienna
2. My first country to country train ride!
3.Modern room at Hotel Leonardo
4. Bathroom at hotel

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Budapest Day 3

Budapest is known for their thermal baths. Today we went for an early morning swim at the Szechenyi Baths. Let me set the scene for you. Picture overweight men in speedos, playing chess and women unfit for bikinis, wearing shower caps. This pretty much sums up everyone we saw at the baths. There were numerous pools inside the complex with three large pools outside. The indoor pools grossed me out because it was hot and muggy inside and smelled of sulfur. All in all, this was an interesting experience to say the least and lots of fun!

Near the baths is Heroes' Square where some of Hungary's most famous statues stand.

We then walked along Andrassy Utica, Budapest's "Fifth Avenue," to the museum, House of Terror. This was a fascinating museum about when the Soviets took control of Hungary after the Nazis. The building housed the actual offices of the Nazi SS and then the Hungarian communist secret police where thousands of Hungarians were tortured and killed in the basement. Once again, it is crazy to think a country like this (and Eastern Europe) was under Communist rule until 1989.

Our last tour in Budapest was at the lavish Opera House. You would not believe how much gold decorates this place.

Finally, we had an incredible dinner at Klassz. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Budapest. We got 2 glasses of wine, 2 beers, one appetizer, 2 entrees and a dessert for $70. Keep in mind this place in considered one of Budapest's nicer restaurants! Well, tomorrow we are off to Vienna.
Pictures:
1. Best appetizer ever! Foie gras with pumpkin purée at Klassz.
2. Heroes' Square
3. Pretending to lift weights at the Szchenyi Baths.
4. Inside the Opera House.
5. Another glimpse at the Szchenyi Baths.

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Budapest Day 2

After our exhausting day yesterday, we decided to sleep in. We walked from our hotel to Vaci Utca, Budapest's main shopping street. Adam informed me that I went into my 7th and 8th H&M of our trip today. I just wanted to make sure I did not miss anything!

We walked to Parliament which is an extraordinary building from the outside. Unfortunately Parliament was in session so we did not get to take a tour inside. Outside of Parliament along the Danube, lies 50 pairs of bronze shoes. This pays tribute to Budapest's Jews that were lined up and shot by the Nazis so they would fall in the river and be swept away downstream.

We followed the path along the river for about twenty minutes until we reached Great Market Hall. This marketplace is filled with fresh produce, meat, fish, etc. where most of the locals shop. On the top floor which attracts mostly tourists for the cheesy souvenirs, you will also find a few food stalls. This is where we tried our first Hungarian specialty, goulash!

After reading countless magazines and travel blogs, we headed to New York Cafe, known to many as "the most beautiful cafe in the world." I haven't been to Paris so I standby their claim. I got an iced coffee infused with chocolate torte and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was to die for delicious!

We ate dinner at Taverna Dionysos, a Greek restaurant located on the river on the Pest side. My chicken kebabs and Adam's whole grilled sea bass were a great way to end the day.

I promise my post tomorrow will not be as long! I'm doing my best to try and make these posts as short and concise as possible but it's hard because our days are so busy!

Pictures:
1. Holocaust monument
2. I forgot to post this picture yesterday. This is the Tree of Life. Each of the metal leaves is engraved with a Holocaust victim's name.
3. My iced coffee with ice cream at the beautiful New York Cafe.
4. Another view inside New York Cafe
5. Grilled sea bass at Taverna Dionysos

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Budapest Day 1

We arrived to Budapest around midnight on Saturday. Our hotel, Brody House, far exceeded my expectations. I feel like I am staying at the Soho House in New York!

We started our day by taking a tour of Dohany Street Synagogue, the Tree of Life and Memorial Garden. Dohany Street Synagogue is the second largest synagogue in the world after Temple Emanuel-El in New York. The interior of the synagogue looks more like a cathedral.

We walked to WAMP which is a street fair that features local artisans and designers. It was neat to see the trends in fashion here in Budapest but I did not find anything!

Next, we decided to be the ultimate tourists and take the "hop on and hop off" bus tour. Instead of getting off at various stops, we stayed on it for two straight hours to get oriented to this large city! The Danube River actually divides the city into two parts, the Buda side and Pest side. We decided to get off the bus on the Buda side in the Castle District. Here we took an incredible tour of "Hospital in the Rock". It is exactly what the name implies. This secret military hospital which contains over 25,000 square feet of space underground was not discovered until 2002. This was because Budapest was under Communist rule until 1989.

We finished our day at the Budapest Wine Festival which occurs only once a year. This festival attracts wine sommeliers from all over the world! The festival was held in the courtyards of the castle which overlook the Pest side of Budapest. The views were incredible and one to be remembered!

Pictures:
1. View to the Pest side of Budapest at sunset.
2. Inside the Castle courtyard during the wine festival.
3. Nighttime view of the Parliament building from the wine festival. This cheese plate (wish we zoomed in on it) was the best I have ever had. Caroline, you would have died and gone to heaven with this cheese plate!
4. Panoramic view of Budapest from the Citadella.
5. Our room at the Brody House!
6. Bathroom (I love how they made a wooden ladder the towel rack!)

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Last Day in Krakow

I wanted to give Auschwitz and Birkenau it's own post but we did do a few things worth noting afterwards regarding Krakow.

First, we headed to Szambelan, a small shop in the old town area which makes their own flavored vodkas! Some of their homemade vodka flavors included chocolate cream, caramel, honey pepper, and coffee to name a few. In order to taste the vodkas you have to buy a shot! We tried a lot of flavors but honestly we could never finish a "shot!"

We ate dinner at Bar Mleczny (milk bar). A milk bar is an inexpensive cafeteria that serves traditional Polish cuisine. One of the things we had was "schabowy" which is a breaded pork chop. We got enough food for two of us for only $7!

On our last day, we toured the Wieliczka Salt Mines where you will find an abundance of pure salt sculptures and rooms deep beneath the ground. I thought the 2.5 tour was too long! Besides the amazing church that still holds services today, this really is a tourist trap!

We spent our last few hours in Krakow eating and walking around Old Town. We visited an area called Wawel where a huge Royal Palace stands as well as the Main Market Square. The Main Market Square was very charming with its cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, and musicians playing everywhere!

We took the infamous airline, Ryan Air to Budapest tonight. This airline is a joke and I would never recommend it to anyone! They nickel and dime you for everything and if you don't know ahead of time their baggage policy, your cheap airline ticket may turn into the most expensive ticket of your life!

Pictures:
1. "Milk" Bar
2. Vodka tasting
3. Old Town
4. Apple Fritter dessert at Miod Malina
5. Chapel inside the mine (note everything is made out of salt including the chandelier)
6 & 7. Our "late" night, 8pm, snack was kielbasa or Polish sausage. These two grumpy old men have been serving this sausage out of their blue van for years.

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