Weekend Escapade: Szentendre

This weekend, I was home in Budapest. Even though I'm here during the week and about every other weekend, I really want to get to know Hungary before I leave. I want to see more than just Budapest. The first weekend I was here, wayyy back in the beginning of September, I took a trip to a town off the coast of Lake Balaton. However, besides that, I haven't really explored any other Hungarian cities. 

So, on Sunday, a group of us took the commuter rail to Szentendre, a cute little town about 45 minutes outside of Budapest. It wasn't the best day for touring, and we ended up getting rained out around 1 PM but it was still cool to see! 

I'll be in Budapest this weekend too; one of my good friends who studies in Milan is coming to visit! Can't wait to show her around. And, I finally get to experience the famous Budapest Opera! 

Weekend Escapade: Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania

Yep.. You read the title right. 

Last week, me and four friends road tripped down through Serbia and Macedonia to Thessaloniki. We drove through Bulgaria and Romania on the route home. It's hard to describe the trip; it was spontaneous and amazing and something I never thought I'd get the chance to experience. 

We left the night of Tuesday, Oct 22nd, because Oct 23rd is a national holiday, and our classes the following Thursday were canceled. When we left, we had no plans. No hotels/hostels booked - just us and the car. We drove through the night, driving through Belgrade, and we stopped in Macedonia to eat and recharge. Macedonia reminded me so much of the States.. Rolling hills and forested countryside. The restaurant we stumbled on was delicious and pretty cheap. So far, so good. 

We continued on to Greece. The weather was perfect - hot and sunny the entire weekend. It was such a nice break from cold and often overcast Budapest.

We drove to Thessaloniki. [fun fact: my Greek heritage actually traces back to Thessaloniki!] I wasn't sure what to expect, but the city was pretty dilapidated. Many of the buildings were unfinished or crumbled, and the streets were dirty. It didn't matter to us though, and we drove along the water till we hit a small town outside of the city. We found a nice beach, spent the afternoon there, and decided that's where we would spend the night. Two slept in the car, and then three of us slept on the beach. It was pretty amazing, the only hitch being the packs of feral cats and dogs that would say hello to us every now and then..

Our main goal in Greece was to hike Mt. Olympus, which was about two hours from where we slept. We awoke, found some food and provisions, and headed to the mountain. Now, I'm not particularly fit or hiking-oriented, but a couple of the guys in the group are. So, I was a little nervous about making it up the mountain.. but obviously I still wanted to try. 

The mountain is absolutely incredible. It is huge, and because of how large it is, I felt like I was experiencing all the seasons in one hike. The base is thick with trees, most of which are red and yellow, their leaves covering the trail/forest floor. Then, after some ascent, you enter a more evergreen level that's a bit more rocky. After that, you're in the process of passing the tree line, and are amidst the clouds, hiking rocks and boulders. The next level, which I didn't make it to, is above the clouds, and I think it's only rocks. All that, on one mountain, in one hike. I can see why the ancient Greeks believed Gods lived at the top.

 

^^  This picture is looking down into the mountain. 

After that, we were all exhausted. I probably could've fallen asleep standing up. We drove from the base down to a little mountain town called Litochoro. What a great find. Litochoro is an adorable, romantic town with a lovely square and some good, cheap food. We found a hotel that could accommodate us, and we all split a room. Oh god did I appreciate that shower. I think I still had some sand in my ears from sleeping on the beach the night before.

^^  The gang in Litochoro with Mt. Olympus in the background. 

The next morning, our plan was to drive to Sofia, but stop at a lake on the border of Greece and Bulgaria on the way. It was hard to leave Greece, because everything we'd done there had been so amazing, but we all really wanted to see Sofia. The drive from Litochoro to the lake was picturesque - we truly experience rural, Greek countryside. When we arrived at the lake we realized it wasn't actually that great of a place to swim, so we just relaxed in the sun for a while. Wild horses and goats wandered about..

 

We finally decided to leave Greece, and off we headed to Sofia. Before we got there though, we wanted to stop at a very cool national park in Bulgaria, Belogradchik. It was a fortress at some point in history, built there because of the naturally occurring rock formations.  

Sorry for all the pictures, but as you can see it, the park is beautiful. And unlike in American parks, there are no railings or fences to keep people off of the rocks. We were able to climb out, possibly to our deaths, and see a fantastic view of the sun setting over the hills.

We made it to Sofia that night, found a hostel, and passed out. The next morning, we went on a free walking tour of the city. What a cool place! I really knew nothing about the city before arriving, but it's so rich in history. It dates back to before the Romans, and you can actually see some of the excavated Roman architecture. Each level of the city is from a different age, which is incredible. Many of the buildings are beautiful as well, often topped in gold. And of course, there's still remnants from the Communist era all around.

 

 

 After seeing Sofia, we hopped back in the car and began the journey home. We drove through Romania but it was the middle of the night, and none of us really wanted to stay somewhere and explore that area the next day. We slept and drove, drove and slept through the night and were in Hungary by morning. 

Five days, about 1500 miles.. Definitely a trip for the books. One of the most unique experiences I've had this semester, and easily one of the best. 

Shoes on the Danube

The weather has been absolutely lovely in Budapest for the last week or so, which has given me a chance to do some more exploring. On the edge of the Danube, there's a famous monument called Shoes on the Danube. I had heard of it before coming to Budapest, but I didn't know what it stood for. In all honesty, it's probably one of the most moving and eerie statues I've ever seen. When Hungary was occupied by Germany at the end of WW2, from 1944-1945, the Jews in Budapest were rigorously hunted. Budapest had not really deported many Jews to concentration camps during the war, but once German soldiers occupied the city, Jewish people were deported in thousands to camps, sent on death marches, or just shot outright on the streets or in their homes. 

On one of the last days before Budapest was liberated by the Soviets, the Arrow Cross Party [Hungary's version of the Nazi Party] forced dozens of Jews to the edge of the Danube and shot them point blank into the river. Men, women, and children alike. This monument is a permanent marker to remind citizens and visitors of what took place on the banks of the Danube. The metal shoes are modeled after actual shoes that would have been worn in the 1940s.

Budapest is full of history and absolutely beautiful and moving monuments, and I hope that I continue to discover them throughout my time here. 

On a different note, stay tuned for a recap of my past weekend.. a road trip that was spontaneous and unexpected in all the right ways.

The Streets

There's a lot of street art in Budapest - on the streets, walls, transport.. Sure, there's a decent amount of graffiti as well, but most of the markings are artistic and often times political. I've been trying to capture some of what I see, and here are a few images. 

There will definitely be more installments to come.. I just need to find a camera first. If you haven't heard, my phone was stolen about a week ago. My iPhone was my only camera for the trip, so I've been deliberating about what I should do to fix the situation, because I definitely need a camera during my time here. I'm going to try and find a cheap digital camera as soon as possible.

The Food Chronicles: Part 2

So, it's been a little while since I did a food post.. But I've been eating pretty well. I cannot get over how rich and heavy the food is here. Salad? I'm not even really sure what that is anymore. I've been doing more of my own cooking in the less-than-amazing communal kitchen here, and that basically consists of sautéing zucchini or cauliflower and making pasta. Very gourmet. 

 

First off, GYROS. A staple here. They are so delicious and cheap [500 HUF.. about $2] and warm and seasoned and did I mention delicious..  And hey, there's some cabbage and stuff in there. Vegetables, right?

 

Next staple: pastries. Also incredible cheap, about 200 HUF. Pastry places, called 'pékség,' are everywhere and it's so hard to not just buy everything in the case all the time. 

 

I don't usually eat at sit-down restaurants, cause they're typically more expensive, but when I have, there's often really great chicken dishes. Of course, Hungary is famous for the chicken paprika, which is a must try, but the other chicken I've tried has been pretty good too. 

 

Few places serve actual breakfast, but there's a cute cafe right next to my dorm that serves up muesli, yogurt, fruit, orange juice, and an espresso for 1500 HUF. It's perfect for weekends or a treat on a weekday morning. 

 

Yep, burger and fries. French fries are a big thing here. They're served with so many different meals. 

 

Now this is actually a meal I had in Prague, but it's pretty similar to a traditional Hungarian dish. It's pork wrapped in a potato pancake and then fried. Fried food. It's a very, very big thing here. Also, drinking beer with every meal is common as well. And I mean every meal, as in breakfast too. 

 

 Along the fried thread... This creation is a traditional Hungarian dish called 'langos.' It's a fried dough pancake smothered in sour cream, cheese, and sausage/bacon, typically. You can get other toppings too, like I opted for onions, and there are usually also pepper choices and maybe other kinds of meat. 

Exploring the Jewish Quarter

It's been a long time since I spent a full weekend in Budapest. I love being able to travel throughout Europe so easily, but I also want to spend a lot of my time abroad in Budapest so that I can really say I know what it's like to live here. Anyways, I didn't waste any time and on Thursday I went with a friend to explore the Jewish quarter. 

We started at the Dohány Street Synagogue, also known as the Great Synagogue. It's the largest synagogue in Europe and the third largest in the world. Within the walls surrounding the synagogue there is a cemetery for over 2,000 people who died in the Jewish ghetto during 1945-45. The statue pictured above is in the rear courtyard of the synagogue. It is the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park -- each strand of the weeping willow is inscribed with one of the over 400,000 names of Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis. 

Being from the United States, it is so easy to distance myself from WW2 because none of the fighting, bombing, fascism, or antisemitism happened within our borders. No one in the States witnessed people forced to wear the Star of David with shame on their coats; we didn't see Jews fired from their professions; corralled into disgusting ghettos; sent away to death camps. Of course I learned about WW2 and the Holocaust in history class, but that is nothing compared to physically seeing something like this statue. And honestly, one of the worst parts is, is that Hungary wasn't even one of the countries where the most Jewish people were murdered. Fathoming the atrocity that took place a mere seventy years ago is incredibly gripping and I've never really experienced being so affected by something that did not directly impact my life. 

We continued on with our self-guided tour. Many of the buildings in this district have Hebrew engraved at the entrances. Interestingly enough, this area also has a thriving nightlife and we passed some very cool looking bars and restaurants. There were also good design and clothing shops.

 

This is another memorial statue within the Jewish quarter. The picture of the plaque is hard to read [I was happy it was in English though] but it says: 'Whoever saves a life is considered as if he has saved an entire world /Talmud/ In memory of those who in 1944 under leadership of the Swiss Consul Carl Lutz /1895-1975/ rescued thousands from National Socialist Persecution.' 

Here, I have to admit my ignorance; I had no idea who Carl Lutz even was when I first saw this statue. After some research, I began to realize just how amazing his actions were. I highly recommend reading a bit about him yourself, but I can try and summarize. He was the Swiss vice-consul in Budapest in 1942 until the end of the war. He had support, but basically single-handedly used his power at the consulate to save the lives of over 62,000 Jews in Budapest. He issued Swiss safe-conduct documents to thousands, sending them to Palestine, and also issued letters of protection from the Swiss government to thousands remaining in Budapest. He set up safe houses in Budapest by putting them under the control of the Swiss, and therefore making them untouchable to the Hungarian Arrow Cross or German forces. One man was able to save half of the Jewish population of Budapest. If that isn't immensely awe inspiring.. 

 

At the end of our walk, we found a nice little restaurant to grab some soup and Hungarian fare. Many of the restaurants in this area have a kosher menu or kosher options. And, a lot of the markets had kosher sections. 

I was so glad I was able to learn more about Budapest and the incredibly rich history of the city. Hopefully I keep discovering districts like this for the rest of my time here.

Weekend Escapade: Oktoberfest

In May, my friend and I booked Oktoberfest. Last weekend, we finally went. When I say that Oktoberfest is an unreal scene, I seriously mean it. Thousands and thousands of people, most dressed in traditional garb [dirndl for the women and lederhosen for the men], chugging beer and scarfing down pretzels, sausages, and candied nuts. Oh, and it's a huge carnival with all sorts of rides, too. There are 14 tents, some bigger than others. We made it to three in total, spending a good amount of time at each. My favorite was Hippodrom - it was a super local tent, mostly all Germans, and the beer was delicious.

Basically, I had an amazing time. About 20 or so kids from Bentley were there this weekend, and it was so nice to see people from home! I don't think I realized how much I missed them. 

 

This was the Hippodrom tent, which is one of the smaller ones. 

 

We caved and went on one of the rides. At least we picked a good one though! We got to see some great views of the festival. 

On Sunday, we tried to do a little exploring before our flights/buses left Munich. We squeezed some sights in at least. I was so exhausted when I got home but it was completely worth it -- one of the craziest but most amazing weekends I've ever had. Although I have to say I'm looking forward to spending some quality time in Budapest for the next couple of weeks.