WARNING: The keyboard is rather confusing so excuse our poor grammar.
Our first official day in Budapest (technically just Pest because we didnt cross the river) went a little differently than I think we were all expecting. Back in Amsterdam, we had a moment around a dinner table when we realized...we knew absolutely nothing about Budapest. The currency, the time zone, the history, the general atmosphere and landscape...NOTHING.
Kelsey tried to claim it might have camels and sand but we shot that one down with confidence. Val suggested a canal-filled landscape similar to Amsterdam but we all sort of doubted it.
In fact, Budapest is a really beautiful, urban city (with one large river separating Buda from Pest). The architecture is largely eclectic with emphasis on Art Nouveau (uh oh spelling), and a rich history of dictatorships and occupation. Speaking of which, we spent the early afternoon at the House of Terror which is a fantastic museum about both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Hungary. It is located in the old headquarters for the Arrowcross (Hungarian Nazis) and the secret police comprable to the KGB in Hungary. There were literally torture chambers and prison cells in the basement. The museum was really well curated and they brought you through time (and terror) in a comprehensive yet fascinating way. If youre ever in Budapest and want to get depressed and informed, we highly recommend it.
Once we felt like we had a handle on the history, Lizzy led an impromtu walking tour with the help of Rick Stevens Guide Book of Budapest. We saw the Parlament Building, the Chain Bridge (which was the first bridge to connect Buda to Pest), and a fat ass church with St. Stephen above the altar instead of Jesus.
We are all bummed to leave on Friday but excited for several key things:
1. Our own beds
2. Various pets
3. Various family members
4. Various restaurants
5. NO MAP NAVIGATING
6. Our cars and driving
7. Not being ashamed of our nationality and our inability to speak any other language (ignorance is embarassing)
8. Our closets (though we wish we could just combine them all and still have access to the others clothes)
But, as the last post said, we are going to HATE not living together, eating every meal together, and strutting the streets linked at the elbows.
See you all very soon!
Maddie and Liz
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
budapest buddies
hello family and friends,
sadly we have reached the last stop on our euroextravaganyaextraordinaire: budapest. after a 7 hour train ride, as kelsey held her head over the air conditioning vent so as not to puke, we arrived in the graffiti-ridden train station.
we are realizing we have very little to say because we arrived around 7pm tonight, but we did have a delightful and pleasant dinner at an incredibly touristy restaurant near our hotel.
our hotel is called easyhotel and you can find the contact info for the hotel online if necessary. the rooms are hilarious. we find it very fitting that an airline would create a hotel that resembles the interior of the business section of a jet.
we miss you guys and are excited to come home soon, although very sad to leave europe.
love,
us
p.s. everyone was SOOOO wrong. we love each other even more than before (we thought it was impossible) and we find each others flaws absolutely hilarious. we do not want to stop living together, and sleeping in separate hotel rooms tonight is going to be difficult. peace.
sadly we have reached the last stop on our euroextravaganyaextraordinaire: budapest. after a 7 hour train ride, as kelsey held her head over the air conditioning vent so as not to puke, we arrived in the graffiti-ridden train station.
we are realizing we have very little to say because we arrived around 7pm tonight, but we did have a delightful and pleasant dinner at an incredibly touristy restaurant near our hotel.
our hotel is called easyhotel and you can find the contact info for the hotel online if necessary. the rooms are hilarious. we find it very fitting that an airline would create a hotel that resembles the interior of the business section of a jet.
we miss you guys and are excited to come home soon, although very sad to leave europe.
love,
us
p.s. everyone was SOOOO wrong. we love each other even more than before (we thought it was impossible) and we find each others flaws absolutely hilarious. we do not want to stop living together, and sleeping in separate hotel rooms tonight is going to be difficult. peace.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tragedy Strikes in Prague!
Greetings from Praha!
We finally arrived here safely after a 6 hour train ride from Berlin. The train was 2 hours late, but it was a pleasant ride through the countryside. We even passed through a national park.
Yesterday we did a free walking tour of the city, and learned an immense amount about Prague's history. We saw the Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, and the Jewish Quarter, which includes the second oldest synagogue in Europe!
Unfortunately, Kelsey has been sick for a while, so today we took her to a doctor. The doctor gave her antibiotics, so we are hoping that she is on the mend. In order to help speed her recovery, we have decided to stay in nicer accomodations (a hotel) in Budapest rather than the 9-person room we had booked. We found a reasonably priced hotel in the center of town (contact information to come soon).
Tomorrow we will take the train to Budapest. It is a seven-hour ride, so hopefully Kelsey can get the rest she needs.
Despite Kelsey's condition, we love Prague and have enjoyed our time here.
To our parents: please talk amongst yourselves and figure out who is picking us up at the airport on Friday. Our flight information should be in your email. We look forward to seeing at least one of you there. Just to warn you, we are planning on making an In-N-Out stop on our way home. That is non-negotiable :)
We love and miss you all!
The Lumina Crew
We finally arrived here safely after a 6 hour train ride from Berlin. The train was 2 hours late, but it was a pleasant ride through the countryside. We even passed through a national park.
Yesterday we did a free walking tour of the city, and learned an immense amount about Prague's history. We saw the Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, and the Jewish Quarter, which includes the second oldest synagogue in Europe!
Unfortunately, Kelsey has been sick for a while, so today we took her to a doctor. The doctor gave her antibiotics, so we are hoping that she is on the mend. In order to help speed her recovery, we have decided to stay in nicer accomodations (a hotel) in Budapest rather than the 9-person room we had booked. We found a reasonably priced hotel in the center of town (contact information to come soon).
Tomorrow we will take the train to Budapest. It is a seven-hour ride, so hopefully Kelsey can get the rest she needs.
Despite Kelsey's condition, we love Prague and have enjoyed our time here.
To our parents: please talk amongst yourselves and figure out who is picking us up at the airport on Friday. Our flight information should be in your email. We look forward to seeing at least one of you there. Just to warn you, we are planning on making an In-N-Out stop on our way home. That is non-negotiable :)
We love and miss you all!
The Lumina Crew
Friday, July 3, 2009
Bockwurst in Berlin
let's begin this post by saying that all 6 of us got piercings today. that is all the information we are willing to divulge. now, along with our daily naps, we will have daily piercing cleaning sessions.
that being said, we know it's been quiet on the blog. that's because we've been doing a lot here in Berlin. we reluctantly said goodbye to the Flying Pig on Tuesday night and set off (large backpacks in tow) for Amsterdam Centraal, the train station. our last couple days in Amsterdam were exhausting, but we wouldn't have felt right leaving feeling rested anyways. part of the reason we were so tired was because there are SO MANY BIKERS in Amsterdam. they are merciless. we quickly learned to spend a lot of energy dodging them. we made it into a game, where you win if you don't get hit, and you lose if a bike or tram crashes into you. several of us have almost lost.
back to the train station. once we arrived, we sat on the platform waiting to board our overnight train to Berlin. earlier in the day we had purchased groceries, so we spread out our meal right there on the cement platform. once on the train, we realized we were in for a ride. our cabin was probably the size of Maddie's closet, and had 6 beds... two stacks of three. we felt like sardines zooming along through the German countryside.
9 hours later, we arrived in this awesome city. our hostel has been a nice transition from the Flying Pig. it may not resemble a constant open house like the Flying Pig does, but it's very clean, people are friendly, and it's extremely centrally located.
on our first day here, we went on a free walking tour of the city for 3.5 hours. our tour guide, Theo, took us to all the sites and explained the fascinating history of Berlin. we sat on the lawn where Hitler addressed his troops, saw the Berlin wall, stood above where Hitler died in his bunker (now a nondescript dirt parking lot), and climbed the glass spiral dome to the top of the parliament building. afterwards, we enjoyed a traditional German meal, one of Theo's many useful recommendations.
that night we made friends with some people at our hostel and set out to find a club. when we arrived at our destination, we learned the club was hosting a private party sponsored by evian for Berlin Fashion Week, which started July 1st. after some weasling and whining, all 6 of us girls were let in the door. we're sad to say we ditched our new male friends in favor of free drinks and shmoozing with the tall blond bug-eyed Amazons and gay men.
now, we have to describe this party. it was on the roof of a 15 story building with a view of the entire city. we were surrounded by models that made us feel short and underdressed. our scruffy flats didn't really stand the test of couture. staff with evian shirts swarmed around offering free goodies.
on our second day in Berlin, we were slightly less productive. we wandered around a beautiful park for 2 hours in search of the famous Berlin Zoo. after many setbacks, we found the zoo and had a fun time immitating the animals (penguins and sea otters in particular). for dinner we split up and met back up to an electronic club called Bang Bang Club.
today we went to the Turkish Market for lunch, which was loud and crowded, but had good food. next we went to East Side Gallery to admire the artwork on that remaining section of the Berlin Wall. we got caught in a downpour, and 3 of us were wearing white shirts, but we pulled through and made it to the Jewish Museum. we walked around the Museum and dried off, and then went to the piercing studio (recommended by our hostel, don't worry moms).
tonight we plan to have a picnic dinner on the patio of our hostel and go to a club we've only heard great things about. wish us luck for putting together outfits. we dread getting ready every night because we have each worn all possible combinations of each other's clothing multiple times. we leave for Prague tomorrow at noon, so you might not hear from us for a day or two. say hi to the Bay for us!
love and miss you all,
val and matti
that being said, we know it's been quiet on the blog. that's because we've been doing a lot here in Berlin. we reluctantly said goodbye to the Flying Pig on Tuesday night and set off (large backpacks in tow) for Amsterdam Centraal, the train station. our last couple days in Amsterdam were exhausting, but we wouldn't have felt right leaving feeling rested anyways. part of the reason we were so tired was because there are SO MANY BIKERS in Amsterdam. they are merciless. we quickly learned to spend a lot of energy dodging them. we made it into a game, where you win if you don't get hit, and you lose if a bike or tram crashes into you. several of us have almost lost.
back to the train station. once we arrived, we sat on the platform waiting to board our overnight train to Berlin. earlier in the day we had purchased groceries, so we spread out our meal right there on the cement platform. once on the train, we realized we were in for a ride. our cabin was probably the size of Maddie's closet, and had 6 beds... two stacks of three. we felt like sardines zooming along through the German countryside.
9 hours later, we arrived in this awesome city. our hostel has been a nice transition from the Flying Pig. it may not resemble a constant open house like the Flying Pig does, but it's very clean, people are friendly, and it's extremely centrally located.
on our first day here, we went on a free walking tour of the city for 3.5 hours. our tour guide, Theo, took us to all the sites and explained the fascinating history of Berlin. we sat on the lawn where Hitler addressed his troops, saw the Berlin wall, stood above where Hitler died in his bunker (now a nondescript dirt parking lot), and climbed the glass spiral dome to the top of the parliament building. afterwards, we enjoyed a traditional German meal, one of Theo's many useful recommendations.
that night we made friends with some people at our hostel and set out to find a club. when we arrived at our destination, we learned the club was hosting a private party sponsored by evian for Berlin Fashion Week, which started July 1st. after some weasling and whining, all 6 of us girls were let in the door. we're sad to say we ditched our new male friends in favor of free drinks and shmoozing with the tall blond bug-eyed Amazons and gay men.
now, we have to describe this party. it was on the roof of a 15 story building with a view of the entire city. we were surrounded by models that made us feel short and underdressed. our scruffy flats didn't really stand the test of couture. staff with evian shirts swarmed around offering free goodies.
on our second day in Berlin, we were slightly less productive. we wandered around a beautiful park for 2 hours in search of the famous Berlin Zoo. after many setbacks, we found the zoo and had a fun time immitating the animals (penguins and sea otters in particular). for dinner we split up and met back up to an electronic club called Bang Bang Club.
today we went to the Turkish Market for lunch, which was loud and crowded, but had good food. next we went to East Side Gallery to admire the artwork on that remaining section of the Berlin Wall. we got caught in a downpour, and 3 of us were wearing white shirts, but we pulled through and made it to the Jewish Museum. we walked around the Museum and dried off, and then went to the piercing studio (recommended by our hostel, don't worry moms).
tonight we plan to have a picnic dinner on the patio of our hostel and go to a club we've only heard great things about. wish us luck for putting together outfits. we dread getting ready every night because we have each worn all possible combinations of each other's clothing multiple times. we leave for Prague tomorrow at noon, so you might not hear from us for a day or two. say hi to the Bay for us!
love and miss you all,
val and matti
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