Budapest: Goulash, the Rubik's Cube and Katy Perry

March 6 and 7

Szia from Budapest, Hungary!  This just might be my new favorite city in the world!

I liked Hungary immediately. The drive from neighboring Croatia to Hungary was gorgeous. I stayed at The Hotel President in Budapest on Hold street. I was tickled pink checking in to see that the "President" part is true... heads of state from all of the world have stayed here (no U.S. Presidents).  In the lobby, there is a display of the bulletproof glass in the Presidential Suite (complete with a bullet non-hole for proof!) and a map directing you to the helicopter pad, should you need it. I shan't be using my helicopter on this trip, nor my yacht.

I wasn't all that excited until I saw that Olivia Newton-John and Fat Joe have stayed in this hotel.  Any hotel good enough for ONJ is good enough for me!

As I unpacked, I noticed there were mirrors on the ceiling and rope lighting around the bed. Okay, so I'm in "sexy-fun-time" room...!  I bet they didn't put Olivia Newton-John in the porn star suite! ONJ wouldn't stand for this type of tomfoolery!

A quick stop at the ATM and I felt rich. Hungarian currency is called the Forint and 223 Forint= $1. So this 25,000 Forint is only about $112. Ha!

For dinner, I had to try goulash!  This was my first time trying it and I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it was a soup, so I ordered goulash and a sandwich. Rookie move. Goulash is more like a hearty stew than a soup.  It was delicious...chunks of very tender meat, a thick base and no vegetables to speak of (there may have been onions).  I was so full after my meal I almost rolled up to my room.

The next morning, I was ready for a busy day of sightseeing!

Quick side note... if you're going to travel the world, be prepared for some strange meals. It's part of the fun. I found most places in Europe cannot cook an egg properly. The scrambled eggs are completely liquid.  A few had hard boiled eggs, which got me through!  But in Hungary and Austria, there were some very strange items served at breakfast. So I started my day with a donut, cucumbers, red peppers and black olives.  And coffee, obviously!

Travel without a plan!  I was on my way to buy a Big Red Bus pass when I noticed big groups of people gathered in front of St. Stephen's Bascilica. It turns out it was a free 3-hour walking tour of Budapest in English.  Hooray! I snapped a quick photo of myself as the gorgeous sunrise lit up St. Stephen's Basilica behind me.

First a bit of a history lesson.  Quick, I promise!   Budapest is incredibly old.  The Celts were here first, then the Romans settled here and called it Aquinicum in 106 A.D.  (That's 2,000 years ago, folks! Mind. Blown) Then (like most countries in Europe) there is a long, complicated history of the area being ruled by various peoples and in 1541, the area was actually split into 3 parts, the Hungarian area, the Turkish area and the Hapsburg area.  After 150 years, the Hungarians drove the Turks out.  At one point during the Austria-Hungarian empire, Hungary was 3 times as big as it is today!  In 1873, the 3 cities Buda, Pest and Obuda were combined into one to make Budapest.  After World War I and the breakup of the Austria-Hungarian empire, Hungary was reduced to it's present size.

Today, there are almost 2 million people living in Budapest. It's a gorgeous city full of amazing architecture, fascinating history and wonderful people.  Much like the Seine runs through the heart of Paris creating the Left and Right banks, the Danube runs through the heart of Budapest, with the old Buda on one side and the more modern Pest on the other.

My tour started out on the Pest side at the gorgeous St. Stephen's Basilica.
It's the biggest Catholic church in Hungary...96 meters high, to be exact.  That height was selected as a reminder of the date of the Hungarian conquest of 896. The Basilica was built by 3 different architects, all of whom died during their work on the church.  Over the door is written in Latin: "ego sum via veritas et vita", or the bible passage "I am the way, the truth and life."

Next, we passed by the "Uncle Charles" statue. Uncle Charles was a Hungarian police officer in the early 1900s.  Children loved him and would run up to him and rub his belly. When a pretty girl walked by, he would twist the ends of his mustache in compliment. People still come here and rub his belly or twist his mustache for good luck. Our guide also told us that in Hungary, a woman who walks on a mans left side is a prostitute, while a woman on his right is a respectable woman. You'll notice I'm on his right, thank you very much!

Our guide took us to Elizabeth Square next, named after Empress Elizabeth of Austria, wife of Franz Josef.  Nowadays, it's where Budapest's youth comes to hang out and drink beer and enjoy lazy afternoons in the sun. They also come to leave locks on every available surface as a declaration of their love.

I learned that there are 132 thermal baths and 70 spas in Budapest... that's an incredibly number! Spas are a big deal in Hungary. I wish I'd had time to visit one on my trip, but I didn't get around to it. It's supposed to be good for the skin, the immune system and a host of other things.

It turns out, Hungarians have invented a whole bunch of things that I wasn't aware of. Some of them, the country would like to forget, like the hydrogen and atomic bombs. Apparently, there were a lot of Hungarians working on the Manhattan project.    But they also invented awesome things... like the helicopter, binoculars and the Rubik's cube!

Did you know the current world record for solving a Rubik's cube is just 5.5 SECONDS? Ready to have your mind melted?

Watch the video here.  

I apologize in advance if you get sucked into a You Tube vortex watching Rubik's cube videos.

Next we saw the chain bridge... a Budapest institution! Selfie required!

Next, we walked across the bridge and explored the more historic Buda side of the city.

I loved getting to the top of the Buda side and looking down at the Chain bridge we just crossed and seeing St. Stephen's Basilica in the background. Just gorgeous!

Budapest Chain Bridge with St. Stephen's Basilica in the background

And a bit further down the Danube, the gorgeous Hungarian Parliament Building.  Interestingly, it is also 96 meters high...the same height as St. Peter's Basilica, symbolically showing that religion and politics are always equal.  There's also a law in Budapest that no other buildings can be taller than 96 meters. 

The Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest

We continued our walking tour on Buda Castle hill (the castle has now been turned into an art gallery and library), but our guide was talking about what was under our feet.  There are over 6 miles of caves below our feet.  The prison there once held a very famous prisoner...Count Dracula!  Plus, there was a hospital used to treat patients during WWII.  I later toured the hospital and found it fascinating. You can read more about it here:  Hospital In The Rock.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Budapest shopping for some travel items for my nieces and nephews, where I ran into a Packers fan. Isn't that amazing... a fellow Pack Backer, half a world away. NOTE: This IS his "excited" face.

And finally, I checked off a delicious item from my 1,000 Places To See Before You Die checklist...with a delicious dessert at Gerbaud. It was delicious!

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I honestly think I could spend a week or two in Budapest, exploring her charms, history and mystery. But, alas, I only had 2 days here and it was enough to make a very lasting impression on me!

Hands down, my favorite thing about Budapest was the architecture.  Parts of the city look like Prague, parts look like Vienna, others distinctly Parisian.  It's for that reason that many movies and music videos have been filmed there. Films like Evita, The Debt, Max, Munich, Transporter 3.  It's a gorgeous city in it's own right, but it's also easy to disguise Budapest as another city.

I don't watch music videos, but our guide told us that Katy Perry's "Firework" was filmed in Budapest, so I checked it out.  From the very first opening scene of the Chain Bridge, to the sequence at St. Stephen's Basilica to the ending sequence shot at the Budapest Castle on Buda hill, it's a gorgeous display of the city.

Take another YouTube break and watch it here. 

I started this blog by saying "Szia," pronounced like "see-ya", which is how Hungarians say hello. Ironically, the way they say goodbye is "Hello!"

So, dear readers...hello from Budapest!

Zagreb, Croatia: broken hearts, Matthew McConaughey and nudity

March 4 and 5

On my way to Croatia, I drove through Ljubljana, Slovenia and grabbed lunch at McDonald's. I know, I know, I should have my world traveller card revoked. But Ljubljana was a nice town. It has a large, historic old town and a large university population.

I got back on the road. The drive took me through Slovenia and northern Croatia and was gorgeous. The land is full of rolling hills, but it's a drab, dreary day and somehow that suited me just fine. It felt right for Eastern Europe.  In less than 2 hours, I was in Zagreb, Croatia.

I was surprised by how big and modern Zagreb was. It wasn't particularly neat, tidy or gleaming, but high rise apartment buildings dotted either side of the highway and I saw a Ford dealership, a VW dealership and other signs of commerce. The apartment buildings looked like they were built in the 1970s or 1980s...square, uninteresting and plentiful.

I drove into the Old Town area and it took me 3 passes through the labyrinth of 1 way streets to find a parking lot and check into the Jagerhorn Hotel.  My room was on the 2nd floor (4 flights-no elevator) and I was pleasantly surprised at how quaint the room is.

I spent the first evening walking around the area surrounding my hotel - a bustling shopping district with a variety of international stores like H&M.  Zagreb is full of outdoor bars - patio seating huddled under heat lamps, rows of chairs with blankets draped across them, beckoning people to sit, drink, relax.  I walked the city, enjoying how foreign everything felt. I marveled at the language and how foreign everything seemed. In Italy, basic Spanish helped me decipher some Italian words. In Germany, English helped.But nothing could help me with Croatian. Absolutely foreign!

The good news is that most Croatians speak some English and the signs for the main tourist sites have English on them, so that helps travelers get around.

I had dinner at a restaurant recommended by my hotel, an international place called Carpaccio's.  It's a small, charming restaurant with an excellent menu.

My meal was fantastic!!!  I had Croatian wine (meh), vegetable soup, an amazing turkey breast stuffed with cheese, ham and basil, plus roasted vegetables and semi-freddo for dessert

 stuffed turkey breast at Carpaccio's

It was funny to get the bill and see that it was 221 Croatian Kuna (HRK). My heart stopped for a second and I thought I was back in NYC.  But I did the conversion and realized that 221 HRK is about 28€ or $39. Considering it was 4 star restaurant and I ordered soup and dessert, I'd say it was pretty inexpensive! I love Croatia... or should I say "volim Hrvatsku"!

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On day two, I woke up early and set out to explore the city. I started with the Naive Museum, which is full of art from native Croatian artists.  They had a special technique of painting on glass instead of canvas. They paint on the back of the glass, which means the artist paints everything backward.

Here are a few of my favorites. The first is "Woodcutters" from Ivan Generalic:

The next is "Swine Herd" by Mojo Kovacic. I loved the bright colors in the background and the way Kovacic played with light and darkness with the snow on the trees. It almost looks like a cartoon at a glance. Very unique!




Next, I went to the Croatian Natural History Museum.  I saw hundreds of stuffed animals and birds plus gems, stones, rocks and other stuff. It was a great museum, well laid out and I enjoyed strolling through the rows of Croatian animals. The bugs and reptiles... not so much. But at least they were dead!

I'm not a big fan of this octopus...can you tell?

But, I liked the birds. 

 And everyone likes butterflies, right?

I am not much into geology, so I raced through the section on stones and earth. But one room did give me pause. How gorgeous would it be to have a countertop or table made of this Tiger Onyx? Swoon!

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After getting my fix of animals and rocks, I walked through St. Mark's Square, the central square of old town Zagreb.  I saw several news cameras around - it looked like there was a press conference starting. I noticed a well dressed woman standing on the sidewalk and asked her what was going on.  She explained that the media presence was typical because St. Mark's is the center of the Croatian government. It's as if Washington, D.C. was condensed down to a city block. 

The woman and I had a nice long chat about Croatia and the challenges it has faced since it became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. She explained that the conversion to capitalism is quite difficult and after 23 years, she feels there hasn't been enough progress. She explained some of the challenges the people and government faced when it converted. She says the people of Croatia still think in socialist ways, where nothing belongs to them.  The government hasn't created any long term plans for infrastructure, economics, growth, industry or trade and the people seem oblivious to what capitalism really means.  Very interesting chat!

After my new friend left, I continued exploring St. Mark's square, which includes constitutional courts, federal courts, lower level courts, the Parliament and presidential offices.  

 The Croatian EU Flag...

And the Croatian and Zagreb coat of arms on this flag...

But my favorite building was the one right in the center of it all: St. Mark's church. The roof is covered in beautiful, colorful tiles.  On the left is the coat of arms of Croatia, while the right is the coat of arms of Zagreb. It's a gorgeous building.

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I left the square and headed to a very different type of museum, the Museum of Broken Relationships.  

I'm 35 and single and joke that after 20 years of dating there is nothing I haven't seen. When I read about this particular museum, I knew I had to go.  It was nominated for Museum of the year and won for the Most Innovative Museum in Europe in 2011.

It's a museum dedicated to failed relationships. It started as a traveling exhibition but is now a permanent collection. As it travelled around the world, the exhibit encouraged people to donate a token of a previous failed relationship along with their story. People embraced it and items and stories poured in. 

The museum was FASCINATING.  It wasn't solely dedicated to romantic relationships, but that is the majority (probably 80%).  And of course, I think as visitors walk from room to room, they think of their own failed romances and friendships.

Below are a few of my favorites. 

Some were scary...

And some were funny. 

Some were quite sad to read...

And one even made me cry...

Others reminded me of my own life...like this example of what I call the "fake-out."

And some were triumphant...!

And even a few that managed to be funny, like this one from Silicon Valley...

The museum was really unique. It was interesting to read the stories and realize we're not the only ones who have been through love, passion, betrayal and heartache. 

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I took the funicular back down to my hotel, where I learned about 2 movie theaters in Zagreb with English movies (Croatian subtitles). After months of no English entertainment, I jumped at the chance. In most of Europe there are either zero English channels, or the English is limited to BBC, Sky News and CNN International.

I almost ran to the theater! Actually, I took the local city tram which was fun. All of Europe has extensive trains, busses and trams and it makes me with the USA took public transportation more seriously. 

I was tickled pink when buying my ticket the woman asked me to look at a seating map and pick a seat.  You have to select a seat?! I couldn't even figure out where the screen was.  I panicked as people tapped their feet behind me to get me to hurry. I quickly picked one of the only yellow ones I saw in Row G.

As I went into the theater, I realized I’d picked the only empty seat in a row, so I squished between people.  Who wants to be right next to someone in a movie?  Not this girl!

So, after the lights went down, I moved to an empty row and had the entire section to myself!  I saw Dallas Buyers Club (which was excellent!) and it was so wonderful to hear English I never wanted to leave the theater.

That's me and a Croatian, skinny Matthew McConaughey.

As I left the mall that night, I saw a DJ booth and next door to it, a naked penis on the wall.  WHAT?!?!

I stood, staring at the artwork I was seeing.  A girl cam out of the DJ booth and explained it was an art exhibit from a man named Tomislav Gotovac, who had died, but was famous for his naked art. She worked at the radio station next door. I had a long discussion with her and another DJ at Radio 808 about nudity and attitudes in Croatia vs. the USA.

I was shocked. I explained that in the USA, we would never have this displayed out in the open for children to see, right next to the DJ booth. They were shocked by my view that a naked person should be hidden away.  To Croatians (and most people around the world, I think) the human body is nothing to be ashamed of or hide away. Why shouldn't children be able to see it?

Here is part of the art exhibit. It consists of 100 photos of Gotovac and his various body parts.

What is your opinion? Let me know in the comments...

 Zagreb is a fabulous city and Croatia a wonderful country.  I found great art, history, museums, food and warm people.  Next time I visit Croatia, I plan to explore the gorgeous port city of Debrovnik.

Caio!

Trieste, Italy

March 1st

After a weekend in Bologna with my parents, a flat tire, a rental car swap out and a week in bed with the flu, I was ready to hit the road yet again.  I decided to head out on a loop through Eastern Europe that would take me through northern Italy, Solvenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany.

My first stop was Trieste, Italy.  Located on the Adriatic Sea in the northeast corner of the country, it lies on the border of Slovenia.  It's a gorgeous seaside port town that was part of the Roman Empire, the Hapsburg Empire, occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars and part of the Austro- Hungarian empire until World War I.  In fact, it was the chief seaport of Austria-Hungary.  It's a city with a fascinating past and gorgeous views.

I started out by visiting and old roman theater in the historic city center.  It looked like a tiny replica of the Colosseum in Rome!

Next, I toured the Capitolo Cattedrale di San Giusto Martire, a gorgeous church set at the top of a tall staircase.

And then I wound my way down to the most famous piazza in trieste, the Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia.  This unique piazza has huge government buildings on 3 sides and is open to the Adriatic Sea on the 4th side. The buildings are so massive, they look like wedding cakes!

And on the 4th side of the square, the Adriatic Sea....

When I was in this piazza, it was insanely windy. I could barely keep from being blown into the Adriatic. I wonder if it's always this way, or if this was a fluke.

One thing I love is that most piazzas in Italy have statues or fountains in the middle. I thought this one was particularly gorgeous.  

After leaving the piazza, I walked over to the canal area and had lunch.  I also came across this statue of James Joyce, the Irish novelist and poet.  I learned that Joyce made Trieste his home from 1904 to 1920 after leaving his home in Ireland.  It was here in Trieste that his children were born and from this city,  he worked to get The Dubliners published.  Trieste so loved James Joyce, they placed the statue of him on the Grand Canal.

I had to get a photo with him!

And just like that, it was time to leave Trieste. I would certainly come back here again. I think the sleepy town on the edge of the water would be amazing in the summer!  It's just the right mix of coastline, water, ancient ruins, and a wonderful smattering of cultures.

Next up... I'm headed east... towards Zagreb, Croatia!
Ciao!