A Perfect Ending

We definitely slacked on posting our last blog – probably because we are in denial about our trip ending! It’s so hard to believe how quickly three months passed by!

Croatia was a perfect place to end our trip! It was incredibly beautiful and actually quite similar to Italy (rocky beaches, lots of pasta, etc.). Although we did venture into the city center of Split one day, most of our time was spent at our resort (Le Meridien Lav) in a town called Podstrana – about 20 minutes south of Split.

Our time in Croatia can be summed up in one word – relaxing. Below are a few of our favorite pictures from the week.

View of the hotel pool and beach (where we spent nearly all of our time):


Enjoying the sun (prior to us both getting sun rashes):


Celebrating Jonathan’s birthday (a delicious dessert compliments of the hotel):


Roman ruins in Split (in the historic city center):


Fruity drinks at the bar (as well as at the pool/beach):


Last night of the trip (at dinner over-looking the coast):


Now that we are back, we’ve been asked quite a few times about our “favorites” on the trip. We really enjoyed every minute of our time in Europe (making it really hard to narrow down "favorites"), but below are a few we’d thought we share.

Favorite Cites/Towns:
• Budapest (Hungary)
• Barcelona (Spain)
• Edinburgh (Scotland)
• Manarola / Cinque Terre (Italy)
• Beilstein (Germany)
• Stockholm (Sweden)

Favorite Activities/Sites:
• Kayaking on Lake Geneva (Switzerland)
• People watching at New Harbor (Denmark)
• Anne Frank House Museum (The Netherlands)
• Wine tasting on the Mosel River (Germany)
• Gaudi architecture (Spain)
• Salvador Dali Museum (Spain)
• Augustiner Braustubl Tavern beer hall/garden (Austria)
• Porgy & Bess Jazz Club (Austria)
• City walking tours (numerous countries)

Favorite Restaurants:
• Les Fines Gueules (France)
• Espai Sucre (Spain)
• Dos Palillos (Spain)
• Bloberger Hof (Austria)
• Pizzeria Starita (Italy)

Favorite Local Foods/Dishes:
• Waffles (Belgium)
• Montanara Neapolitan pizza (Italy)
• Genovese pesto (Italy)
• Langos (Hungary)
• Aelplermagronen (Switzerland)

Favorite Beers:
• Brouwerij ‘t IJ Columbus (The Netherlands)
• La Chouffe (Belgium)
• Pauwel Kwak (Belgium)
• Fraoch – a.k.a. the “Heather” beer (Scotland)
• Jamtlands (Sweden)

Thank you all for following our journey with us! We are excited to catch up with everyone now that we are back! We definitely caught the “travel bug” and are already thinking ahead to our next big trip (although it might be a while)!

Final Beer List:
• Karlovacko Pivo (a Croatian lager)
• Ozujsko Pivo (a Croatian lager)
• Tomislav Pivo (a Croatian dark lager)

Hungary Hungary Heather!

We absolutely loved Budapest! With so much to do in such a beautiful surrounding, Budapest is definitely the most underrated city in Europe. We could have easily spent at least another week there, and one of the really wonderful parts is that it isn’t nearly as crowded as many of the other cities we’ve visited.

After sleeping in until almost noon on Saturday, we ventured out to partake in some light exploring of the city – mainly the large shopping street and Great Market Hall – before heading back to our hotel to watch the afternoon World Cup game (Germany/Argentina). Later that evening, we had dinner at a really nice restaurant next to the beautiful Opera House (also out of season), and then spent the rest of the evening at our hotel’s bar listening to the live music. We have a knack for finding places frequented by older crowds – we were the youngest people at the bar by at least two decades!

We started Sunday with a walking tour of both parts of the city (Buda and Pest) which are separated by the Danube River. It was run by a different company than the one we have been using for most of the trip (New Europe), but was just as good (and possibly even a bit better). The tour started in Pest (the financial and commercial hub of the city) and ended in the more historic Castle District in Buda (the more residential and historic side). Here is a picture of us in front of Fisherman’s Bastion in the Castle District, which supposedly served as inspiration for the Disney castle logo.


After the tour, we decided to do a wine tasting at a nearby wine cellar/museum which was really cool and informative. We were surprised to find out that Hungary is a huge wine growing country and we definitely want to make it back to visit some of the outlying vineyards. For dinner on Sunday, we ate at another Hungarian restaurant (see picture of Heather at the top of the blog enjoying a “kenyerlangos”) followed by a visit to one of Budapest’s “ruin bars” – Szimpla. “Ruin bars” are essentially former condemned or abandoned buildings that have been transformed into pubs/bars. Szimpla was really cool and definitely a unique Hungarian experience.

After a morning of shopping, we planned to spend Monday afternoon at another wine tasting. Much to our dismay, we arrived at the House of Hungarian Wines to discover it was closed down – heartbreaking! Fortunately, we found a nearby cafe where we grabbed a glass of wine and tried the famous (and delicious) Hungarian cake – dobos torte. Later that night, we made a visit to the absolute coolest bar we’ve ever been to – Szimpla Kemp (see picture of one of the rooms in the bar below). It is the most famous “ruin bar” in the city and the “big brother” of the place we were at the night before (just Szimpla). It was crazy! They have a really large outdoor courtyard tucked in the middle of a bunch of run-down buildings, completely hidden from the road, and with all kinds of random objects (cars, pummel horses, computer monitors, etc.) decorating the venue.


Tuesday was our favorite day in the city. We started by visiting the Szechenyi Baths – the most popular and largest thermal (Turkish style) baths in Budapest. In addition to three large outside pools, there were numerous indoor baths/pools – all fed by thermal springs at varying temperatures. It was an awesome experience, as we were able to really absorb the local culture (and do some great people watching), and we highly recommend a visit to one of the baths on any trip to Budapest. We just wish we had time to visit more than one! Beware though… large Hungarian men aren’t afraid to don a Speedo! Below is a picture of us in the large outdoor swimming area.


After picking up a few last minute souvenirs, we tracked down the supposedly best “langos” (fried flat bread dough topped with garlic, sour cream, and cheese) place in the city. The “Langos Bar” did not disappoint us at all, and is probably the best thing we’ve eaten on the trip (see picture below of the lady topping ours with cheese). Just thinking about it makes our mouths water! Heather spent the next hour talking about opening a langos stand in Austin.


After our delicious snack, we made it back to our hotel in time to rest a bit before a scheduled visit to the amazing spa at our hotel. Our massages were awesome, and afterward, we made our way downstairs in the hotel to have dinner at a place called Bock Bisztro – one of the top restaurants in the country. The “wine-themed” restaurant was delicious, and was a perfect ending to our time in Budapest!

Yesterday we spent the entire day traveling to Split, Croatia on a very long, overnight train ride. We arrived a little tired and grumpy early this morning, but after a short nap we were ready to head down to the pool/beach for a “strenuous” afternoon of relaxing in the sun (don’t worry – we just bought another bottle of sun screen)! The vast majority of our time in Croatia will be spent relaxing at our resort (see view from our hotel room below) and celebrating Jonathan’s birthday! We’ll definitely post anything exciting that happens during the week before we head back to the states on the 15th (boooo)!


Beer List:
• Dreher Classic (a Hungarian Euro Pale Lager)
• Soproni (a Hungarian Euro Pale Lager)

Happy Birthday America!

Since we didn't have a lot of options to celebrate the 4th in Budapest, we decided to toast America in our own way – by eating breakfast at McDonald's (see picture below filled with greasy food)!


And because nothing is more American than Starbucks (except maybe apple pie) we continued the celebration by stopping there for an afternoon iced coffee (see picture below). Heather was a bit mortified though when Jonathan pulled out his camera and tripod in front of Starbucks! As a side note, this is the first Starbucks in Budapest (opening up just two weeks ago), and had a line out the door during our visit.


Last but not least, we would like to wish a very happy 80th birthday to Heather's grandmother, Velma, and also a happy birthday to Aunt Laura! We love you guys!

Save a Horse, Ride a Baby?

This past Sunday, we arrived in Prague – the capital of the Czech Republic. Heather couldn’t stop laughing after snapping the above picture of Jonathan at a park along the river in Prague, so we thought we’d share it with everyone! In all seriousness though, all the tour books and fellow traveler comments were right on – this is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (see picture below). Another great thing about Prague is how cheap this city is, at least in comparison to many of the other places we’ve visited. You can get a great half-liter beer on draught at a restaurant for just a little more than a buck (beer actually costs less than water)!


On Monday we got an early start to try to avoid the hordes of tourists. There are so many things to see and visit in Prague! We decided to take another free tour offered by the New Europe tour company (the same tour we’ve taken in several other cities) as a way to gain a better understanding of the city. After showing us some of the major sites in Old Town (the square, the clock tower, churches, theaters, etc.), our tour guide took us to the Jewish Quarter (see picture below). During World War II, the Nazis destroyed most Jewish neighborhoods in cities throughout Europe. However, the Jewish Quarter in Prague is remarkably well preserved, largely due to Hitler’s gruesome plans for the area. According to our guide, after removing the Jewish people from the neighborhood, Hitler instructed his troops not to destroy the area. His plan was to preserve the neighborhood to create a “museum” to an extinct race where scholars could study their buildings, relics of their religion, and objects used in daily lives. Today most of the area is devoted to the Jewish Museum, Synagogues (including the oldest in Europe), and graveyard. Although we didn’t visit the Jewish Museum, our tour guide told us an especially moving story about some of the contents. During the concentration camp period, a Jewish artist was able to smuggle in basic art supplies. Rather than use them herself, she gave them to the children in the camp. For many, their art work hanging in the Jewish Museum is the only evidence left that they ever existed.


After the tour, we grabbed lunch at this place called Bohemia Bagel, which serves all kinds of crazy sandwiches on a variety of bagels (definitely worth a stop on any trip to Prague). We then made our way over to enjoy a couple beers along with a shot of herbal Czech liquor (Becherovka) at the oldest brewery/pub in Prague – U Fleku. It was a really cool place and another must on any visit. For the World Cup, Hyundai built a “fan park” in the Old Town Square with a giant screen for people to watch the games. Live bands played before and after each match, and local vendors were set up to serve food and drinks around the area. We decided to partake in the festivities on Monday night, watching Brazil (the crowd favorite) destroy Chile! Here is Heather enjoying a Czech Budweiser during the game.


Tuesday we started the day by trying to visit the Staropramen brewery (Jonathan’s favorite Czech beer). Unfortunately it was closed for renovations, but we were able to eat lunch in their restaurant. We spent most of the remainder of the day revisiting sites from our walking tour and taking pictures (it is always hard to take pictures during the actual tour). Below is a picture of us in front of the Astronomical Clock (tower) in Old Town Square.


Wednesday was another jam packed day, which included a tour of Prague Castle and an area of the city called “Lesser Town” – ultimately lasting over four hours. The tour also included a changing of the guard ceremony at the castle which was rather pathetic compared to some of the others we’ve seen before. Interestingly, while the guards at Buckingham Palace work seven hour shifts, the Prague Castle guards only work one hour shifts. Here is Heather giving a “high-five” to one of the guards in front of the castle.


We were quite tired and sweaty when the tour was all done – leaving us just enough time to run back to our hotel, quickly shower, and make it back to the Municipal Hall for a classical concert we were attending that night. After almost three months of doing our best to avoid anything and everything we consider “touristy,” we somehow picked the most “tourist” concert imaginable! In our defense though, our first choice was to attend an event at the Rudolfinum, but the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra was out of season. The building housing the touristy concert was extremely beautiful though (both inside and out). Here is a picture of us with the Municipal Hall in the background.


We spent most of the day on Thursday revisiting sites in the Lesser Town, including the Strahov Monastic Brewery (a microbrewery run by monks – see picture of Jonathan below). We finished our time in Prague with another Czech meal at a local restaurant.


We arrived in Budapest last night and are staying at the nicest hotel of our trip! We look a little grungy at this point (have you noticed how long Jonathan’s hair is), so we are sure the hotel staff was really excited to see us arrive!

Beer List (we are going to detox when we get home!):
• Staropramen Lezak (a Czech Pilsener)
• Staropramen Granat (a Czech Euro Lager)
• Staropramen Cerny (a Czech Dunkel)
• Staropramen 11° (a Czech Pilsener)
• Kozel Medium Lezak (a Czech Pilsener)
• Kozel Premium Lezak (a Czech Pilsener)
• Kozel Cerny (a Czech Dunkel)
• Kozel Svelty (a Czech Pilsener)
• Budweiser Budvar (a Czech Pilsener)
• Bernard Svatecni Lezak (a Czech Pilsener)
• Gambrinus 11° Excelent (a Czech Pilsener)
• Krusovice Cerne (a Czech Schwarzbier)
• Pilsner Urquell (a Czech Pilsener)
• U Fleku Flekovsky Tmavy Lezák 13° (a Czech microbrewery Dunkel)
• Saint Norbert IPA (a Czech microbrewery India Pale Ale)
• Saint Norbert Weizen (a Czech microbrewery Hefeweizen)
• Saint Norbert Amber (a Czech microbrewery Marzen)