Back in Europe we opted to explore a few countries considered Central Europe and former parts of the Hapsburg Empire.
For the transportation within cities, we used the metro system in both Vienna and Budapest which were simple to navigate. For the transportation between cities, we used Flixbus, for which the tickets ranged between $7 and $20. In Hungary, we rented an automatic car for around $30 per day. In Slovakia, we used Uber with prices ranging between $1 to $5 around the greater metro area.
Vienna, Austria
We arrived in Vienna after two weeks in the Caucus region. The Austrian capital was a little overwhelming because of its sheer volume of tourists. The city is a cultural and art capital of not only Europe but the world. After a quick 15-minute ride from the airport on the express train ($11), we checked into our hotel and left to explore the city.
We originally were planning on doing another city walking tour but the tours were all over packed with 30-40 people per guide, so instead, we created our own tour. In the old town section of Vienna, which is easily defined by the ring roads around the city center, the city is very walk-able and can be explored by foot.
Our walking tour included:
- The Albertina Museum
- The Opera House
- Karlskirche
- Burggarten
- St Augustine Church
- The Royal Palace
- St Stephen's Church
- St Peters Church
- The National Library
All of the sights are impressive in their own right but two stood out to us. Karlskirche or St Karls Church was built almost 300 years ago in a Baroque Style.
The church still maintains its past with masses and musical performances. My Aunt Sheila can attest to this as she had the chance to listen to the orchestra playing Mozart’s Requiem there one evening. Inside the Church are the two spheres suspended in mid-air, a new concept art that offers a new lighting and perspective on the Church’s amazing architecture.
Another highlight of the city was the National Library, which we wandered into as a break from walking the palace grounds. The library was a spectacular exhibit of over 12 million works of art. The library offered us an insight into the mind and life of Maximilian I, who was at the forefront of Cartography and Astrology in the 16th century. The library made us feel like kids again ready to learn. The library housed four globes from the 1500’s that still showed the Americas as an unexplored blank spot on the map.
At the end of our Austrian trip, we fare welled with aunt Sheila and bused over to Hungary.
Hungary
The land of water as we learned to call it. Budapest became our water escape. We spent our days and evenings in spas, saunas, Hungarian baths, the Danube river, and lake Balaton.
Budapest
Starting in the capital, we did a walking tour of the Pest side of the river (east), with the Buda (west) side right across the Danube river. The tour gave us a brief history of the country and the challenges it faced throughout the 20th Century with the rise of fascism and communism leading up to modern day democracy. We furthered our knowledge on the subject with a tour of the “House of Terror” museum that covers those subjects.
Having learned about the past, it was time to learn more about the current Hungarian life and move to the present. We wandered around the gorgeous Budapest Parliament, which has become one of our favorite buildings in the world.
The city is easily explore-able by foot but we also enjoyed our time on their historic trams and metros. One morning I went for a walk, then rode a bus, then a tram, then a metro just to try it all!
Our fondest memories of the city though are of the Szechenyi thermal baths. The baths include large outdoor pools (more like hot springs) and a variety of indoor saunas and steam rooms. We made sure to fully test each of these aqua-marvels, including a dry sauna with a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius! For $20 the day at the spa was well worth it.
Lake Balaton
We rented a car with a mind to explore the Hungarian countryside and nature. A trip to Hungary could not be complete without a visit to its largest lake and freshwater source lake Balaton. An easy 1.5 hour ride west of Budapest, the Lake opens up with a misty blue surface dotted with the white swans dancing around the lake. Tchaikovsky would be proud.
The lake is protected by the statues of the fishermen and the ferrymen. Overlooking the lake and the protectors is the Tihany monastery on the peninsula reaching out in the lake.
Danube
My father met us towards the end of our time in Hungary. Together we took our rented car north of Budapest and winded along the river stopping in a few small towns.
Just 30 minutes north of the capital is the town of Sentendre, which I must say is difficult to navigate by car. The roads and streets are narrow. But finding some parking in town was worth it, just to walk the cobblestone streets of the art village, where many painters go to relax and find inspiration along the river. For a quiet town, it was booming with life while we were there, as all the local schools had come for a day of festival taking to different activities on the waterfront.
Our next stop was the town of Visegrad. We winded up its hilltop overlooking the Danube and Slovakia on the northern shore. At the top was the Visegrad castle built to protect the town and Hungary in the old days from the people to the north. Now they are on better terms and it serves as a tourist attraction. Nearby the castle we found a summer bobsled course where we raced up and down the hill, while they only had two tracks they could give Cedar Point a run for their money in bang for your buck!
On our way down the hill, we passed an older couple walking down the roadside. Having remembered my own hitchhiking experience in Japan (Around the World Section 12) and realizing how far down the hill they had to walk, we offered them a ride. We could not communicate with them because they spoke Romanian but the good old body language helped! Eventually, we dropped them off at a bus stop and continued on our way.
Our final stop on the Danube was the town of Esztergom which you can see from miles away. As we approached the domed Basilica, the largest in Hungary, sitting majestically in the middle of town. We wandered in and around the Basilica and the surrounding grounds taking in the size and detail of this amazing church. As we watched the sunset over the river we looked onto our next destination, Slovakia.
Bratislava
We arrived in Bratislava not knowing much about the capital city or the country, except that it was once part of Czechoslovakia. We were not alone in our ignorance. Our free walking tour guide asked us of any stereotypes we might have of Slovakia. No one knew any. He said he gets this a lot and that he would be happy to show us his beloved country. The tour exceeded our expectations for Bratislava. But we still don’t know of any stereotypes:)
Similar to many European cities, Bratislava is very walk-able and it happens to also be on the Danube river, one of four capitals located on it (Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade). The old town has charm and our guide brought it to life with stories of old and new from their history with the Hapsburg Empire, Hungarians, and Czech Republic to their booming tech bubble right in Bratislava. The old town included some former communist buildings which the people decided to keep instead of destroy as they use them for art.
Highlights of the tour included:
- A walk on the Danube
- The Bratislava Castle
- Michael’s Gate
- Hviezdoslavovo Square
- and our favorite the Blue Church
With some recommendations from our guide we capped our evening with his favorite beer and local gins at Bukowski’s Bar.
Cheers to Central Europe and an amazing time in Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia!
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