Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Oh My!

Bonjour everyone!

Last week was the kids vacation, which meant I had vacation as well. So off I went with some other au pair friends to Eastern Europe!

It was a bus trip for international students/au pairs/any one wanting to travel on a budget/etc. We left Monday night about 20h00 and we headed for Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Baden-Baden (Germany). It was a 6 day/ 6 night trip (with two nights we slept on the bus….not fun).

The first night we slept on the bus and arrived in Prague by morning. The weather couldn’t have been better. Our hotel was a bit of a walk from the city center and on top of a hill. Prague is located at the bottom of a huge hill, so walking to and from the hotel was certainly a work out, but I was able to indulge in some sweet bread and local cuisine/beer sans guilt. WOO!

The first day we headed into town, visited gorgeous buildings, walked along cobble streets that tore up my feet, saw the John Lennon graffiti wall where a man sang Beatles song with his Bob Dylan-esq voice, visited the astrological clock strike on the hour in a coo-coo-clock manner, and then visited one of the most beautiful synagogs in the world. When dusk fell, we all bought beer for ONE EURO and walked around town laughing, talking, and people watching. It was perfect, until it was time to walk back to the hotel….up the never ending hill of doom. Needless to say, my calves were shredded by morning.

The next day we had until about 4pm to play in Prague until we left for Vienna, so we just wandered around to take it all in one last time.

We left for Vienna, but had to stay over night in a hotel in between Prague and Vienna, so the second evening was uneventful. By morning, we left early and headed to Vienna. We arrived 3 hours later and once again, PERFECT weather. Our hotel was once again a bit far from the city center, so we decided to figure out the public transport. Once we made it into town we visited the grande palace of Sisi which was like a miniature Versailles. Gorgeous, with tons of statues, fountains, and a long walk through the gardens to the beautiful palace. There were street performers playing instruments in the gardens as well.

After the Palace, we wandered through parks, past huge fountains near some of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, and people constantly stopping me to ask for directions. Me, being the only blonde girl in a group of girls from Mexico, I guess I looked pretty local or something, but that’s anyone's guess. My most favorite area was the Museum Quarter. It looked like a University campus quad, but with more trees, and the buildings surrounding the park were mammoth, rococo style structures. I could have stayed there the rest of the day and been perfectly happy. We ended our day by going to a music festival that made me feel like I was back in Chicago! Beer tents (one promoting Jack Daniels by flying American and Confederate flags whilst playing Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash in the background...pretty funny), loud music, drunken fools, and the smell of smoked meats. The band playing though was not the best, but definitely a treat to watch. 3 middle aged men (probably Dads) were singing their Austrian hearts out to Italian classics like “Mambo Italiano”, “Bona Sera”, and other classic hits. They singers were SO. INTO. IT. It was absolutely hilarious to see, but everyone loved it (including this drunk Italian guy that kept singing to me. How authentic). After the festival we stopped to get more ONE EURO BEERS and sit in the middle of town to people watch.

The next morning we had until about 4pm again to wander through Vienna, so my good  friend and I went to the famous concert hall for an inside tour. It was amazing! We saw two of the concert halls, including the most famous where television shows have been filmed and the famous/prestigious New Years concert takes place. After we were feeling oh so musical and cultured, so we went to the Mozart Museum. Then, we were off to Budapest!

We arrived in Budapest about 7pm and our hotel was about a 20minute metro ride to the city center, so the girls and freshened up and went into town for a night out. We had dinner at this Hungarian restaurant and had Hungarian beer and big meat dishes with the best potatoes ever. Plus, it was all under 10 euros! Everything in Budapest is so inexpensive it was insane! After our amazing meal, we went out to a trendy bar just around the corner and had a wonderful time.

The next day we only had until about 4pm to sight see, so we bought tickets for a Hop on Hop off bus tour around the city. It was perfect! We say gorgeous buildings, markets, the beautiful Parliament building, different squares with huge monuments, and even a Castle that was replicated after Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. By the end of the day we were all exhausted. However, when we arrived back at the hotel to wait for our bus to take us to Germany, there was an issue with the bus and we ended up staying in the hotel lobby for two hours until the bus was fixed.


Eventually the bus was fixed and we were on our way. Since it was our last night we had to sleep on the bus. We arrived in Baden-Baden by morning and it was beautiful. It was like I was walking through the set of The Sound of Music. Gorgeous mountains, beautiful buildings, a lovely river that flowed through the town, and the whole place was filled with flowers. It was Sunday morning when we arrived so the town was dead, but we all found a nice cafe to have breakfast and then spent the day hiking through the mountains, walking about town, and enjoying a lazy Sunday. We left about 4pm and headed back to Lille and arrived about 10pm. I had such a wonderful time. Budapest was certainly my favorite city of the trip, but all the cities were special in their own unique way.

I don't have much more time left in France, but I know before I leave I have a few more trips up my sleeve. Until then, back to watching the kids and being a chauffeur.

Bisous!

Claire



p.s. I'll post pictures soon. I am having technical difficulties. Sorry!