Last stop, Krakow!

Andrea and I decided to go to Krakow instead of Vienna with Michaela and Liz because I wanted to do something different and had read a lot about Poland. Our hostel was great and we quickly made friends with a fellow Australian (Andrea is from Perth on the west coast) and Kiwi (what you call people from New Zealand). We hung out and explored with them walking around the city the first night. It is a very small city shaped in an oval. The first day we did a tour to the Jewish ghetto and around to some famous sights.
Kazimierz is the Jewish district that has multiple synagogues and the Jewish cemetery.

This is a picture of the staircase that Spielberg used in his film Schindler’s List. The scene was of a little boy working for the Nazis who sees a fellow Jewish schoolgirl hiding underneath the staircase. He tells the guards no one is there to save her life.

This is a picture of some of the houses that remain from WWII in the old Jewish ghetto.

The second night we went out with a large group from our hostel. Some of the guys were from Chapman! It was a fun night out with all new people.

Doing the YMCA!

The next day we went to Auschwitz. It was a day I will never forget.

We got traditional Polish perogies for dinner! YUM!

This is a picture of me in Main Market Square, the largest in any of Europe’s medieval cities, in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary.

Krakow was an incredible experience with a ton of WWII history that I was so lucky to see.

Damn you, Danube

The Danube is the river that separates Buda from Pest, which I could never get the pronunciation right, hence the posts’ title. Sadly we didn’t get the best of luck with the weather on our trip. It was pouring rain our first day of sight seeing. Rain is the worst when you aren’t prepared! Can you say soggy socks!? Although the weather wasn’t great the city made up for the cold. The Fisherman’s Bastion and the Buda Castle sit up on a hill that gives you the perfect view of the city. The bastions architecture is beautiful!

We set back down the hill to cross the Chain bridge (the first bridge built to connect the two cities).

Over dinner at, The Hummus Bar, we decided to take a night tour on the water. Best decision I have ever made. It was breath taking. Definitely one of the most beautiful sights I have seen abroad. Everything lights up so perfectly and reflects on the water. The pictures don’t do it justice.

That night we went to the ruin bars! These are buildings that were destroyed in the war that are turned into bars. The walls are covered in eclectic random decorations and there are a ton of different rooms to sit in, dance in, smoke hookah, or get a fancy drink. We went to two different ones the first night, Szimpla and Instant and Corvineto on Saturday.

The last day we did Hero’s square and the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. The baths were so fun and felt so good after 5 days of running madly around two new cities!

Budapest is now one of my favorite cities in Europe. Everything was so cheap, the people were nice and the sights were beautiful. Definitely somewhere I hope to return, during summer season next time of course!

Prauge is czeched off my list...

Finally Spring break! Andrea, Michaela, Liz and I started off our 10 day eastern Europe trip in Prague. Liz and Michaela stayed with friends and Andrea and I stayed in a hostel because Justin, Omar and Ryan’s residence has a very strict no guest policy (So bizarre right? I mean this is Europe!). Prague is a small city so we saw pretty much did all the sights on the first day. The Lennon Wall was sort of a letdown to be honest. Maybe that’s because I have already seen the Berlin wall, but it was still fun to take pictures with.

The street food in Prague is AWESOME! Tredlenik is a sweet bread that has sugar and almonds and we got it at least 3 times throughout our stay. Langos is fried dough that has garlic, cheese and ketchup. Needless to say we were feeling pretty fat at the end of this trip! Haha!

Prague is perhaps the best known for its nightlife and it did not let us down! We met new people from all over and the clubs were huge (some even with 5 floors!).

The highlight of my time in Prague was definitely dinner with my sorority sister, Katie, and her family! We went to Sasazu, a funky Asian restaurant outside the main part of the city. It landed itself a place in the top 5 meals of my life. We ordered ‘chef’s choice’ where the chef brings you out a ton of different dishes and the table shares. Everything was absolutely delicious! Katie and I got Lychee martini’s to start and then I got a chili mango mojito! Take a look!

The best part is that the dinner ended with massages! What more could a girl want!?

The next night I finally got to see my boys. They cooked for me (I was impressed) and we hung out and had a couple of drinks. Sadly I didn’t get to see them much during my time in Prague because it was their finals week, but I still had a great time.

Now it’s time for our overnight bus to Budapest!