A Difficult Decision Made Easy

10 am. Somewhere between the Czech Republic & Slovakia:

Stewardess: "Coffee?"

Man: Yes.

S: Large? Small?

M: Cappuccino.

S: No, just coffee.

M: No.

S: Beer?

M: Okay.

I don't know if it was just the weather or the city, but Bratislava left me cold (and wet.) From the weird soviet UFO bridge to the weird soviet-rebuilt castle there wasn't much to see. Plus, I was having an embarrassingly hard time remembering which country I was in. It's Slovakia, not Slovenia or Slavonia (which also is right around here.)

A Redeeming Building

Luckily, I only spent a day and a half there. A trilogy later I hoped on a bus to one of the best named cities ever- Budapest.

 

Praha

I love Prague. There's plenty of history, gorgeous buildings and you can walk everywhere. Unfortunately, everyone else loves Prague too... And there are an incredible number of tourists.

Since I was there right before Easter there was a wonderful market going on. See that flowering tree in the background? Zipties and fabric flowers.

The highlight of the market (for me) was the 3 hours of live performances each day. I was a loyal audience and went every day. The highlight for me was the youth dance troupes. There's nothing quite like small czech children all dressed up and dancing (except for small Hungarian children, but we'll get to that in a future post.)

The highlight of my trip, however, was getting to reunite with a Czech friend I met in Malaysia (the second one in a week, as I reunited with an Italian friend I met in Malaysia as well.) It was fabulous to have a local guide, especially one who was so delightful. We went to the farmers market, a soup festival (where I sampled sauerkraut soup), and a local pub.

 

Vienna aWaits You

From the crowded trains of India to the church service on a train in South Africa, I've had some interesting experiences with trains on my trip. My night train to Vienna was by far the calmest-- and I had company which made it even better. Besides taking an accidental champagne shower and smelling like a high class dive bar, we made it easily to the "City of Dreams."

Upon arrival we ducked into a small, traditional coffee shop. Our two coffee and roll gave us a bit of a shock when it was 15 euro... Welcome to Europe.

While keeping our coffee habits in check, we wandered around and had an overall great time.

Our second night we went to the Opera. When opened, the public's reaction was so negative the architect committed suicide. Art critiques are hard.

We also journeyed to the palace, which had the most bizarrely ugly fountains I have ever seen.

Image source: Maxwell Res

Unfortunately, due to work duties, dad had to leave early and not join me on my way to Prague. But it was great to have a few days.

Happy Easter!

 

Road To Rome

The old adage says, "all roads to lead to Rome." Unexpected, mine did too. While there I got to see my dad, go into a locked room in the Vatican, talk to lots of art professors, and have one of the best meals I've had on my trip.

After months of living in dorms I got to stay at a hotel with my dad. There was even a fruit bowl (more like a fruit vat) and I was just a little excited.

The trip was largely uneventful-- which is a good thing for me, a not so good thing for the blog.

But here are some pictures:

Wine Not Whine

Living for a few months in South Africa has given me a unique view of the country that I think I would have missed if I had only been here a short time. It's multicultural, with 11 official languages. It has an incredible wealth gap, which is nowhere more evident than in the schools and the living situations of students. Yet, it is also a young nation, founded within my lifetime. Trying to figure out how to atone for the crimes of the past, while also moving forward, will take time.

Tourists are frequently worried about the crime. Within Cape Town it is evident. I've heard of a few muggings, and have seen multiple car windows smashed. However, even taking this into account, I would highly recommend a visit here.

The other day I saw an USA tourist board advertisement. It wasn't until the end, when they told me they were advertising it that I knew this (not a good sign.) I'll try to do a better job promoting South Africa.

Cape Town has a landscape few cities can match. The ocean with a mountain right next door.

View of Cape Town

The diversity of the culture comes out in unique and beautiful ways.

Carnival

The wildlife is unmatched.

Plus (and I cannot stress this enough) there's wine.

A glass of house wine in a restaurant generally costs about 15 rand or $1.25. The vineyards are close and are simply beautiful.

Now that I'm leaving, I can't wait to come back.