When I walk through the streets of Vienna I can imagine that I am living during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire…until I see a McDonalds sign. After three weeks in the West Balkans, the first few days in Vienna were certainly full of culture shock. The biggest differences are simple but also very pervasive. Vienna is very clean, both on the ground, in lack of garbage, and in the air quality, especially compared to Pristina in Kosovo. There is a good mix of young and old people, as opposed to the mostly young population in Kosovo. There are not cats everywhere (a major bonus). The list seems to go on forever. Since we are on a more normalized schedule I have been able to fall into a routine and have had a good chance to skim the surface of all that the city has to offer. I have seen two of the main churches, a few museums and a few gardens. I am lucky that I still have two more weeks (despite the paper that I need to research and write) to explore more of the city’s sites, shops, restaurants and clubs.
This past weekend I was able to take a short mini-trip to Budapest, Hungary. Budapest was voted the EU’s best city to live in for 2009, after a mini-trip to Budapest I can certainly see why. First of all, Budapest is a beautiful city. The Danube River runs through the city, separating “Buda” from “Pest” (for once this summer, the geographic separation did not parallel an ethnic division). Each part of the city has a distinct character – Pest seems like any European city where as Buda feels like a small village. The buildings are stunning and the many memorials represent heroes from the multiple ruling periods in Hungary’s history. From the Byzantine Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Communist Era and many more the city of Budapest has been governed by a number of different regents and styles of rule.
We (myself and the three UNC students with whom I was traveling) arrived in Budapest on Thursday evening. We spent the evening wandering the “castle district” of Buda and enjoyed a meal overlooking the Danube and Pest. While Hungary is a member of the European Union it does not use Euros and instead uses a local currency called Hungarian Furits, since one euro equals approximately 250 furits, conversions are a little complicated and my math skills (out of operation since senior year) were put to work. After dinner we ventured across the Chain Bridge into Pest and enjoyed cake and coffee with a beautiful view of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Our hotel (where we four shared one bed, hence the title here) happened to be on the Buda side of the river, so after an evening in Pest we took approximately a billion stairs back up the hill. (Mom, I promise to never make fun of you for walking slowly again.) The benefit of the weekend in Budapest was that I now feel like I can conquer any amount of stairs, I know some of you (Allee, Hollister, Eva, Meghan) are laughing at me right now because of my previous misadventures with lots of stairs (read: Duomo), but really, I am a stair expert these days.
We started Friday morning early and by the end of the day had seen all of the “big sights” in Budapest, to say it simply. We saw the Parliament, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the State Opera, the Jewish Synagogue, The Jewish Museum, The Holocaust Memorial, the Square of Heroes, a few museums, a Turkish bath, and a park. We walked approximately 1241209384385728947 miles, which might be an exaggeration but we were either walking or eating all day long. That being said, we were able to eat delicious meals through chance and good use of a tour book (this is not the first time that Lonely Planet has come to the rescue this summer). Saturday morning was a lot calmer and we just wandered around the city and small weekend fairs before it was time to head back to the train station.
There are a lot of things that the United States can learn from Hungary. First, we need a better train system (it is so easy to get from Vienna to Budapest). Also, if Hungary has wind turbines, the United States can have some too. Budapest is full of green spaces, which are so pleasant and really build a sense of community in a neighborhood. Finally, restaurants in Budapest provide fleece blankets to their clients. This is a wonderful wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL thing and all restaurants should do it, everywhere, end of story. It makes a meal that much more enjoyable when you aren’t shivering while eating your food.
Budapest was a fantastic weekend trip and I am very excited to get back to Vienna to explore some more. One of the most wonderful parts of Vienna is, like Budapest, the open space. Today was a gorgeous summer day and the Museumsquartier and Rathaus platz were both filled to the brim with people – both locals and tourists! There is a ton of free music, including opera that wafts in through my bedroom window. In addition to free music I was able to catch a David Byrne concert of Sunday night (the lead singer of Talking Heads). Listening to his voice sent me right back to my days growing up in Bethesda and to wonderful spring days in Chapel Hill – it was a wonderful experience! The venue was an “open air arena” that was a small courtyard with a stage set up and vendors for food and drinks. The crowd was lively and the band was electric! This past week I also turned twenty! I had a wonderful birthday thanks to love from all around the world – THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (again) to all of you wonderful friends. I love hearing updates from you all, so please keep the emails coming!
In love,
Lauren
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