Prague - Living up to its Hype for 1,100 Years

Over the last few years, and as I have visited more and more places, I have come to notice that there are two very different ways to go about seeing the sites.  The first option is to go on a 'big bus tour'.  The second option is to not go on a 'big bus tour'.

The gang on Charles Bridge
 (From left to right: Marcel, Florentia, George, Joris, Me, Julian)

By big bus tour I'm talking about those groups of 50 plus people that are chauffeured from city to city in those huge chartered buses and then are herded around like sheep to see the most famous sites.  I've seen them everywhere (they're pretty easy to pick out),  large groups of people ambling along after their guide who's almost always waving a big flag with the name of the tour company emblazoned on it, so that pick pockets and con artists have to do as little guess work as possible I assume.  Occasionally the guide stops to shout some facts into the crowd of generally uninterested tourists before shepherding them all back onto the bus in order to make it  to the hotel in time for their pre-paid lunch.

The main facade of the St. Vittus Cathedral. Located high above the city in the castle complex.

 Don't get me wrong, I can see why this would be attractive to some people.  It offers you the opportunity to meet MANY fellow travellers and the convenience is unparalleled.  Its just not for me.  That's why even I was surprised when I signed up for one of these trips myself. A University run weekend in Prague with a group of friends.

Rear view of St. Vittus Cathedral

Yes, I feel like I spent most of my time on the bus (its about a nine or ten hour drive from Ljubljana), and yes, everything we did had to be negotiated between the fifty or so people on the trip.  But all in all it was a good weekend, although I think that was mostly just because Prague is such an awesome city.  Its a place that I have heard lots about and have wanted to visit for some time.  My brother Jordan spent a couple of weeks there on a school trip when he was in high school and so I think my interest in the city stems from  his many stories and memories, in addition to those of many other friends of mine.  All of them had nothing bad to say about Prague.  In fact, most of them fell in love with the city.

Prague's very famous Astronomical Clock

There were many things that impressed me about Prague; the history, the architecture, the cheap beer, just to name a few.  But what surprised me the most was the scale of the city.  I had one full day in Budapest, and while I didn't see everything, I was able to get a good grasp of the city.  After two days in Prague, on the other hand, I still feel as though I only saw  a tiny fraction of even just the Old Town.  I guess I'll just have to go back, for longer next time.

It's crazy to think that in the past few weeks I've been in five different countries, even if just for a few hours in a couple of them.  Its even crazier to think that in the coming weeks I'll have been to who knows how many more.  I don't know exactly where or when, but that just makes it that much more exciting.

Thanks for reading.
Mitch

Clock tower looking over Old Town Square and just above the Astronomical Clock

  

Hitch Hiking to Budapest and Other Fun Weekend Activities

Well, as the title suggests, I spent last weekend in Budapest, Hungary, although this trip wasn't so much about the destination as it was the journey.  Hitch hiking is something I've always wanted to do but for obvious reasons never actually got around to doing it.  But last Wednesday as I listened to my German friend Julian tell me of how he hitch hiked around France a couple summers ago, I actually gave it some serious thought, if only for a split second.  Before I could stop myself and without any hesitation I said, "We should hitch hike somewhere.  How bout this weekend?"  We met Thursday afternoon to sketch out a rough plan and the next thing I knew It was Friday morning and I was standing on the side of the highway holding a cardboard sign with "Budapest" written across it and my thumb sticking out towards the traffic.

After waiting for a ride out of Budapest for two hours I was seriously questioning our decision hitch hike in the first place.

I could go into great detail and spend hours describing our foray into hitch hiking (by the way its now called Mitch hiking), but I'll save your time and just say that it was an adventure to say the least.  It was an ambitious undertaking; over 800km round trip, about 20 hours of travel/waiting time, seven different rides, three different countries, and most of the time we had no back up plan.  If we hadn't have found rides we likely would have been stuck in that deserted rest stop at the Hungarian border, or left standing in the pouring rain and hurricane force winds at that gas station outside of Zagreb (where we eventually got a ride into the city and opted to throw in the towel and take a train the last leg back to Ljubljana).  We met countless people along the way, some young, some old, some spoke great English some spoke none.  We even got a ride from a convicted criminal who was just awaiting his sentencing (thats another story in itself).  But through all of it, I met some of the nicest people I've ever met and what's even better, is that Julian and I both made it the whole way without being murdered or abducted.  Oh and except the train at the end it cost us nothing.

The Hungarian Parliament buildings sit prominently on the east bank of the Danube river and are modelled after the British Parliament.

Of course, the whole point of this crazy endeavour was to visit Budapest, which, in case you're wondering, is a pretty amazing place and one that I will certainly have to go back to in the not too distant future.  A day and a bit is not nearly enough time to see and do half the things there are to do in the city.  We walked around for hours and covered a ton of ground but only just scratched the surface.  Although, the main attraction in Budapest is the architecture, which includes basically every different style from every period.  I'm no expert on the subject, but I can appreciate a nice looking building.

Due to the grey, overcast weather that we had the city looked much better at night.  Most of the buildings are impressively lit as well.

We did take in one of Budapest's famous bath houses.  The mineral waters from natural springs around the city are said to have the power to cure any pains or ailments and after walking around literally all day we had some of those ourselves.  At first, all you can think about is how weird the whole thing is.  Inside the bath area its hot and muggy, smells terrible, and you can't help but notice all the half naked old people walking around.  But after you try out the different temperature pools, the saunas (one of which is 72 degrees celsius!), and the steam rooms, you're more comfortable than that 70 year old Hungarian guy walking around in his speedo.  Just to leave you with a nice image.
 
I've wanted to see Budapest ever since I first saw the movie I Spy with Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy when I was little.  The movie is set in the city and as I walked around quotes from the movie were stuck in my head.  It was hilarious and awful at the same time.

The spire of the Matthias Church lit up at night.  The sky had been grey and bleak all day but at sunset it was finally clear and blue.  Bad luck I guess.

Anyway, that's all for my impromptu Mitch hiking adventure to Budapest.  While it wasn't exactly a resounding success it was a trip I will never forget.  Things don't always go the way we plan, but then that's where the adventure really begins.

Thanks for reading,
Mitch