Budapest, Hungary April 5-7

...We arrived in Budapest around 5pm. I had enough time to unpack a little, settle in and take a shower before the special dinner we were going to have this night, April 5th. We had a Danube river dinner cruise set up which I was looking forward to. We walked into the boat and there was a beautiful buffet dinner set up for us with traditional Hungarian food. The three main dishes were: pork wrapped in cabbage leaves, beef with a type of Hungarian cous cous, and lastly chicken with Hungarian pasta. There was also salad and of course dessert, three different types of cake. The food was delicious and after everyone had finished eating, our tour guide for Budapest, Andrea, told us about the places and history of what we were seeing as the boat rode down the Danube river. I went on the top deck (the part that was covered) to take pictures of what we saw. The city was beautiful because it was almost entirely lit up. I took many pictures and some turned out better than others, but you get the idea. Just for your information, to say "hello" young Hungarian people say "Ahoy!" How funny is that? Also, the way you pronounce the name of Budapest is buddahpesht...I had a lot of fun saying that too!
The wonderful buffet on the boat cruise.
This is the boat we ate dinner on.
The liberty bridge and behind it in the distance, the liberty monument.
The chain bridge
Castle Hill at night. There isn't a castle on this hill, but there is a great look out, a small town and a very beautifully constructed church.
The parliament building all lit up!
A protestant church (26% of Hungarians are protestant and 26% are catholic)

On April 6th we had a full day of activities. In the morning we had a city bus/walking tour with Andrea. Our first stop was Hero's Square. This is the main square in Budapest. It is in front of the city's park and on either side of the square are two museums, one of modern art and the other of classical art (which houses the second largest Spanish artist collection). In the middle of the square is a large pillar monument with 7 Hungarian warriors on horses around the bottom. These 7 warriors represent the rebellious and strong Hungarians that fought against the Turks to regain power of their own land. King Stephen became the first king of Hungary. Behind this monument are two half circle columns. Between each set of pillars there is a statue of all the rulers in Hungary and only one is a female- Maria Teresia (yes, her name will be repeated more than once in my blogs). She was Empress when Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and some other countries were ruled as one state.
This is the monument in Hero's Square of the 7 brave Hungarian warriors.
This is the entire monument/memorial in Hero's Square.
Train station by our hotel.
This is the classical art museum with the second largest Spanish artist collection, after El Prado in Madrid.

After seeing these monuments the bus took us through the park, which is Budapest's version of central park, but nowhere near as large. We also passed by a large spa complex, Budapest's old castle, ponds, and many people taking a morning stroll. We saw the Opera House, which is a nice building, the old Jewish Synagogue (which is not used by Jews because a Christian built it), the shopping street, and several churches. We then drove across Elizabeth bridge to reach Castle Hill, which is on the Buda side of the city. On Castle Hill there is a palace, a small village with some really good coffee and pastry shops, St. Mathias church, and the Fisherman's Bastion. The Fisherman's Bastion is just a look-out point in which you can see ALL of Buda and Pest. Below the look-out point, there once was a fish market, but it wasn't there for long and doesn't exist anymore. Instead it is the perfect place to see the entire city, which is incredible!
Here is a picture of the State Opera House, which I took from the bus so you may see a reflection from the window.
This is a memorial to all the Jews that were killed and thrown into the river during WWII.
Driving on Elizabeth bridge to cross into Buda. The Buda side of town is known as the wealthier side of the city.
View of Buda and the Danube river.
View of the Parliament from the Fisherman's Bastion on the pest side.
I am standing on the look-out point with Pest behind me.
View of the bottom half of the Fisherman's Bastion.
The Fisherman's Bastion.

We had a little break so I went with Karen, Joanne and their mother, Corinne, to visit St. Mathias church, which has the most beautiful mosaic roof I have ever seen (I took a lot of fun pictures), and then we headed over to a pastry shop where I had a delicious cup of hot chocolate.
St. Mathias church's stained glass windows. Beautiful aren't they?
The roof of St. Mathais church...I just loved the mixture of colors that were used.
View of St. Mathias from afar.
Reflection of St. Mathias church in a nearby building...I love this picture. :D
St. Mathias' altar. It was very dark inside so it was hard to get a clear picture.
The pastry shop where I had a delicious cup of hot chocolate.

Our next stop was the parliament building. I was very excited about our visit to the Parliament because the architecture is just magnificent and Goran said that it is as beautiful inside as it is outside. We had a tour inside the Parliament, which was a lot of fun. We learned a little more about the past rulers and were able to visit the court room/voting room. There are three levels: the first is for the actual congressman (I'm not sure if they are actually called this); the second is for reporters, radio and TV stations; and the third for citizens just to observe. I could continue with other things I heard, but I don't want to bore all of you...hehe.
A view of the Parliament...the architecture is just gorgeous!
This picture is taken inside of the Parliament looking down onto the stairs in the entrance of the building.
Inside the Parliament building I also had a lot of fun taking pictures. Here I'm trying to be artistic, but I'm not sure if I actually succeeded...hehe.
The ceiling in the central room of the Parliament. So cool, isn't it?!
The central room in the Parliament building. This is where the crown jewels are located.
The blue room, named so because of the blue carpet.
The voting room in the Parliament.
Arches inside the parliament building.
In 1956 there was a protest against communism in front of the parliament building. The secret police came to stop the protest and ended up shooting and killing more than 100 people. This is a picture of the building across from the square where the protest was. If you can enlarge the photo, you can actually see bullet holes on the bottom part of the building.
This is a memorial for all the people that died in the 1956 protest.

We had an hour break for lunch; I had goulash soup, which I now love, and then visited a very quaint town called Szentendre, St. Andrews. This town was filled with shops for tourists and it didn't entice me at all; however, I did find two beautiful pairs of hand.made glass earrings to add to my collection. :o
St. Andrews village's town square.
St. Andrews village.

When we returned to the hotel, I went with Karen and Joanne to the mall down the street from us just to have something to do. Then around 7pm, the entire group went to a Hungarian restaurant where we were serenaded by Gypsy music and ate dumplings, red cabbage and a goose leg. Yes, I know what you are all thinking, but I DID eat the goose leg AND I liked it! It was a lot of fun and the atmosphere was just wonderful. :) It was a fantastic day.
The wonderful gypsy musicians!
Me with my plate of dumplings, cabbage and goose leg!
Hungarian dinner. This is the lovely couple Armin and Annette from San Antonio.
Here I'm mailing postcards...I just loved these mailboxes because they made me think of Santa Claus!

On April 7th we were leaving Budapest, which made me sad because I enjoyed the city so much and I truly want to return because it is so magnificent here, but not before our morning excursion. First, we visited St. Stephens Cathedral (named so after the first king of Hungary) and it is a beautiful cathedral. Everything is made out of marble and the architecture inside was fantastic for taking pictures.
The entrance to St. Stephan's cathedral. The faces of the 12 apostles are carved on the door. Above the door is an image of St. Stephan looking down on the people entering the church. The ceiling above the entrance has astrological symbols painted in a renaissance style.
St. Stephan's Cathedral.
The hand of King Stephan....yes it is real! Apparently King Stephan died during the crusades and when his coffin was returned to Budapest, his hand was cut off. No one knows the reason for this, but it has been saved as a relic ever since.
The dome of St. Stephan

We were then taken back to Hero's Square where we had a short walk to Budapest's castle...the entrance reminded me of Disneyland! Here we walked around the front part of the castle and then went inside the small church on the Castle's grounds where we had a short organ concert. It was very nice. Then we walked through the park, which was amazing because the sun was shining, and passed by a pond and an adorable toddler riding his tricycle as his puppy followed him (yes, I got a picture and no, I'm not a stalker!). We ended up at Gundel's restaurant, which is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city and is famous for its chocolate pancakes (crepes). They looked so good I HAD to take a picture and they tasted even better! After our little morning snack, we hopped back on the bus and headed for our next destination...
Me in front of the Castle's entrance...doesn't it remind you of Disneyland in LA?
The courtyard of Budapest's castle.
The church in the castle's grounds where we had an organ concert.
Budapest's largest park...it was a beautiful sunny day so it made it easier to take great pictures.
I saw this adorable little boy when we were walking through the park with his little puppy following him.
One of the ponds in the city's park.
Gundel's restaurant in the beautiful park of Budapest.
I just loved the way the pancake (crepe) looked so I snapped a photo. Again, this is in Gundel's restaurant.

Plizen & Prague, Czech Republic April 3-5

...continuing from Regensburg (April 3rd) we headed towards the Czech Republic. As we crossed the border we passed where the old border control used to be. Goran (our tour director) told us that before the C.R. became part of the EU, tour buses would be stopped for an hour or more as passports and I.D.'s were checked. It is nice to know that now we can just drive on by.
The border patrol.

Our next stop, to stretch and so on, was in Plizen. It is an industrial town and known for brewing C.R.'s most popular beer, Pilsner Urquell. Here we walked around the brewery site, but didn't actually go inside the factory. I had been here last year when I came to the C.R. with my friend Emily. This is the same city where I watched my first Hockey game. :)
The brewery in Plizen.

After a half hour break we were on the road again. I was looking forward to seeing Prague again since I had enjoyed it so much the first time. I was hoping that there would be an Easter market while we were there (since we were going to be there Easter day). We got in around dinner time and because our hotel was far from the city center, I decided not to go visit the city the first evening. The entire group had dinner together at our hotel, which turned out to be very nice. I sat with a family of three and learned that the couple was originally from Vancouver, Canada, but moved to North Carolina. They have a 13 year old daughter who was very quiet, but seemed very nice. Once dinner was over, I headed to my room to rest for the following day.

April 4th, Easter morning we went to visit Prague's Castle. This may surprise people to know that Prague actually doesn't have a castle; instead, there is a wall that is around a cathedral and a palace. I learned some new things about it that I hadn't heard before. When the Hapsburgs ruled most of central Europe, Maria Teresia was Queen of the Empire for some time. She would travel to her kingdoms once a year to make sure everything was working well. The first time she saw Prague's palace she hated it and requested it to be rebuilt to her liking. The entire palace was redone to look more modern and comfortable for the royal family. In the center of the palace's square there is a large fountain and a giant bird cage, which were both added later on to please the Queen. Every time Maria Teresia would return to Prague, the bird cage would be filled with birds so that she would be greeted by their songs. We walked around the palace, saw the cathedral church (the spires you can see from a great distance), and then we walked down to the river Vltava.
The side of the palace in Prague.
The french modeled bridge...I loved the view from this side of the river.
Prague's main cathedral in Prague castle.

We then walked across a bridge which was modeled after French architecture; it reminds me of the Eiffel tower. We then went through the Jewish quarter of the city, where we saw the oldest synagogue in Prague. Then, we walked down to the main square where we strolled through one of the Easter markets (yay!) and then went to watch the astronomical clock chime.
The oldest Jewish synagogue in Prague.
The astronomical clock in the town square.

During our free time, some of us from the tour wanted to go to a church service since it was Easter Sunday so our tour guide took us to a small, but very nice Catholic church where I attended the service. I didn't really think about it before I went, but the entire service was in Czech. Even though I didn't understand a word, it was still nice just to listen to the organ being played and looking at the stained glass windows. After the service, I walked around with a sweet older couple, Bill & Charlene, who are from San Antonio, Texas. We looked at the different Easter markets, had lunch, took pictures, and I bought two beautiful hand-crafted earrings.
The Easter market...so many colors!
This is the church we went to for the Easter service.

We joined the rest of the group around 4.30pm and headed back to the hotel. This night we had dinner together in the hotel again. I ended up eating with a very kind family from Florida. Corinne (the mother who just turned 80) and her two daughters Joanne and Karen (who lives in Georgia) were so kind and generous with me the entire trip. Karen joked around that they had adopted me into their family. I spent a lot of time with them on this trip and became close to them. They are very special people. :)

This trip was really neat because I met people from so many countries. There were several people from the US, 2 different families from Canada, 1 group of friends from Australia, 2 groups from South Africa, a very sweet couple from Singapore, a family from the Philippines, and an older couple from Scotland, who now live in Canada. It was great meeting people from all over.

On April 5th, we said good-bye to Prague and headed for Hungary. Since the drive from Prague to Budapest was a very long one, we made a stop for 2 hours in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. I was very excited about seeing this new country and having the opportunity to eat food from there as well. Bratislava is a small capital, only having 450,000 inhabitants. Within the city there is a castle, many beautiful churches (both catholic and protestant), and a nice central boulevard to walk on. Along this boulevard we encountered the US embassy, which had a lot of security. At the end of this boulevard is the state theater and a large statue of a politician who fought to get rid of communism. He was put in jail for fighting against the government of the country at the time.

Goran showed us some nice little restaurants where we could eat and so I went with Corinne, Joanne, and Karen to a nice little restaurant that was underground in what looked like to be a wine cellar. The waiter who was serving was friendly with us. I don't remember exactly what I ordered, but I believe it was stir fried pork wrapped in a potato pancake (which is a traditional dish there) with a salad that was similar to cole slaw.
The State Theater in Bratislava.
The main boulevard in Bratislava.
When we were looking for a place to eat, something on the ground caught my attention and it was this little fellow.
A protestant church.
The castle of Bratislava.

After our short break we got back on the bus, which was nice because we were able to get out of the rain, and headed towards Hungary...

Munich & Regensburg, Germany April 1-3

On April 1st I arrived in Munich around 3pm and then took an underground directly to the hotel. Yes, the hotel is above an underground station which was perfect. All the hotels we stayed in were 5*s and this one so happened to be the Hilton.

This first evening I took it easy, so I walked around the area of the hotel, used the internet and found an authentic quaint Italian pizzeria. :)

On the second day, April 2nd, I had until 3.45pm free to do what I wanted. I got up early, ate breakfast, and decided to walk to the city center. It was only a 20 minute walk and actually a very nice one because I passed by some beautiful buildings, the Danube river which was only a few minutes away from the hotel, the old city gates, and then finally arrived to Marien Platz which is the main square of the city. At one end of this square is Munich's main cathedral and at the center is its famous clock, the glockenspiel. It is so beautiful with its Gothic architecture. I waited for the clock to start its "show" which is only played 3 times a day, but it didn't play so I headed towards the Jewish Museum which was nearby.
The old city gates.
In Marien Platz a monument for Johannes Paul II.
The Cathedral and the glockenspiel (in the center). The figurines that dance and move around are life-sized.
Some interesting architecture.
An older man wearing leggings and using roller blades...only in Europe!
I walked by a clothing store and saw three female mannequins, dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes, sitting on a ledge.
The Danube river...it is not blue.
The city's cathedral.

When I researched Munich, the place I wanted to visit the most was the Jewish Museum. There I learned about the Jews living in Munich. They arrived sometime around the 11th century and have been there ever since. It was sad to read about how poorly they were treated and have been ever since. They were blamed for many things such as natural disasters and the black plague. I also learned that not until the 19th century were the Jews allowed to form a community for themselves within Munich. Munich was the city with the most amount of Jews being sent to concentration camps during WWII. In this museum there were also many relics and traditional objects that are used during Jewish holidays and celebrations. These were all what were found and saved from WWII, so it was incredible to see that some of these items were intact. I learned so much in this museum and was absolutely fascinated by what I learned. One thing I loved about the building was that the the ground level was made almost completely of glass and on the glass were quotes printed in German and English. Since all the quotes are about Jews in Germany and how they were treated, I believe that these questions were asked of the visitors during the opening of the Jewish museum in 2006.
The Jewish Museum.
One quote on the Jewish Museum's window.

I then saw the Synagogue which was destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt recently in this century and it is absolutely beautiful! I wanted to go inside to see it, but unfortunately I was told only Jews were allowed to visit. So I had to make do with seeing the outside.\ Jewish Synagogue, rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII. Isn't it incredible?

I then wandered awhile and finally decided to visit the main garden in Munich. I sat in Hofgarten and started writing in my travel journal. I decided to write about everything and it is FULL of all the information I was given during the entire trip. I learned so much and saw so many things that I didn't want to forget any of it! This garden was gorgeous and full of life. There are benches all along the edges of the garden for people just to sit and take a break. I sat there and was at peace. Even though there were so many people walking around and sitting on the benches, it didn't seem like many people were around. Maybe everyone could feel the tranquility and serenity of this garden, but the only things I heard were soft murmurs of conversations, a cello player playing a song in the gazebo, and happy little birds chirping in the trees above me. I could have sat there all day if I hadn't had any other plans.
Hofgarten
The gazebo in Hofgarten. Can you spot the cellist?
Hofgarten...so beautiful!
I found this fountain very intriguing.

Around 3.45pm we had an organized excursion around Munich as well as to Marien Platz. I wanted to join the group for this so I could meet the other people I'd be traveling with. We saw so many things: the Olympic stadium, the University that King Ludwig I built and his cathedral, and the most expensive street in the city appropriately named Maximilian (who was a king). We then went to Marien Platz to watch the Glockenspiel, but after waiting 15 minutes we realized that it wasn't going to play for us because it was good Friday. So Goran, our tour director (originally from Yugoslavia), took us to a beer hall called Hofbrauhaus. It was really interesting to see and it was completely packed! There were a few men who were dressed in lederhosen and I was dying to take a picture of them, but I held back. We had free time for dinner and I met two lovely ladies who came in a group of 6 (they were by themselves plus two more couples. All the women in the group had worked together.) Estela and Betsy, both from San Antonio, TX and I decided to eat at a traditional German restaurant. The food was delicious, I ordered a beef stew soup with potato pancake strips in it. After that we returned to the hotel.
The Olympic Stadium which has a plexiglass cover to shield viewers from the rain. It was used for a few years by the two local football (soccer) teams.
The musicians corner in the Hofbrauhaus, beer hall.
Inside the Hofbrauhaus.
Maximilian strasse...the most expensive street in Munich.
The German restaurant, Donsil, where I ate.
The Arch of Triumph with a Bavarian soldier in a chariot.
The glockenspiel close up.

On April 3rd, which was a Saturday, we left early in the morning to head over to Prague. The trip was somewhat long so to make it easier on us, Goran had us stop for 2 hours in a small town in Germany called Regensburg. We walked across a bridge, which went over the Danube river. This bridge is a stone bridge that was built in 1140 and was used by the crusaders. The city was full of towers, which were built to show the town's wealth. We walked around the town, which didn't take too long to visit, and went inside the Gothic church. I found a small hand-making jewelry shop where I bought a pair of earrings. I visited an outside food market and bought a pretzel there!
A Hopf (I'm not sure if it is spelled correctly) for growing wheat for beer. There were so many of these Hopf farms as we drove through Germany.
The beautiful Gothic Cathedral of Regensburg.
The stained glass windows in the cathedral.
The almost 1000 year old stone bridge in Regensburg.
The Danube river with the town in the background.

We then headed off towards Prague...to be continued. <3p

Imperial Europe Tour

Dearest Family & Friends,

I had shared my plans for Spring break with some of you, but I forgot to tell others (sorry for that). Well, I didn't have anyone to travel with and staying in Spain was not an option. So with some suggestions from my mom, I decided to take a trip with the company Trafalgar. It is the same company I toured Italy with. Since I was familiar with how they operated, I knew almost everything was included in the price of the tour (except for a few meals), and I would be with a group of people, I decided to take the tour.

My trip was to imperial Europe, or central Europe. It started on April 1st and ended April 11th. We visited Munich, Regensburg (for a few hours), Prague, Bratislava (for a few hours), Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg and ended in Munich. It was a wonderful trip and I met so many kind and friendly people on the trip. I made some new friends and learned so much about these magical cities I visited. I want to go back and visit a few of them again because I just enjoyed it so much. :)

My plan for blogging about this trip is to blog in segments so that I don't have one incredibly long blog and so all of you can read about my trip little by little. I have taken over 600 pictures during those 11 days and I will be putting the best and most interesting ones online, but of course I will be making a scrapbook and I'll be happy to share it with any of you over the summer.

I hope you will enjoy my stories and the pictures that will go along with it. Much love to all of you and I hope you all had a relaxing vacation and a beautiful Easter.

<3 Celeste P.S. Many of my new friends have photos of me as well and they have told me they will share them with me. So once I get them, I may be adding more photos. :)