I combined these two cities because we spent only a couple days in each. Prague is one of the most beautiful cities we have been to on this trip. We went to a restaurant where you get a neck massage after the meal! We climbed up all the stairs to get to the Prague castle and the view from the top is truly stunning! The St Vitus Cathedral (church within the Prague Castle) was Derik's favorite architecture out of the entire trip. He said "It's a beautiful gothic-style architure. It was absolutely stunning. There is no way to capture the beauty with a picture. You have to see it in real life." Must-see's in Prague: Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.
Budapest: This was a last minute decision stop. So many people recommended we stop here that we decided to do it! It's called "the Paris of the east", and it definitely has a lot of beauty like Paris without as many tourists and it's a bit cheaper to visit. Hungarian food was surprisingly amazing. I say 'surprisingly' because we had no idea what to expect. You know what kind of food you are getting in France, Germany, Italy, but Hungarian cuisine was new to us.
Budapest (pronounced budapesht, by the way), is known for their thermal baths. Essentially this is like a spa with pool-size hot tubs and sauna rooms. We spent the whole day basically at the thermal bath. On our way back, after all that relaxing, we were stopped on the metro by metro police. Yup. Apparently we scream "tourist" because less than a minute after we got on, we were questioned. We had the wrong ticket, and it was by complete accident. As I mentioned in the prior post, the language barrier has been getting harder and the ticket machines are different in every single country. The metros are all called something different and navigating them can be tricky. The fine was an unexpected inconvenience but we now double check with the information booth before we get any metro tickets.
Each and every city in Europe has been completely different. There really is no way to compare two cities because they have different architecture, language, food. The locals have different attitudes toward tourists and there are so many things that make each city unique. We have noticed some similarities between all the European cities and the US. Here are a few:
American music: In every city we have been to, we have heard American music at some point in a public place. Justin Bieber, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande- it has mostly all been pop. It is so funny to hear it at the grocery store, for instance, to discover at the cash register that the cashier can't speak any English.
Fashion- there have been a few subtle differences, but mostly European locals and tourists can blend together as far as clothing styles. The most unique fashion styles we saw were probably in Berlin, which just goes with the eclectic style
of the city. Europeans generally seem to dress up often, compared to Americans. In Ghent, I don't think I saw one woman in pants and in Paris and London, we saw many men in suits, for instance.
McDonald- Yup, every city we have been to has had a McDonalds, but they all serve slightly different things. Some unique (to our American idea of McD's) things we have seen on menus: chicken wings, fried cheese balls (called cheese melts), curly fries, tiramisu, and espresso.
Some things are unique to European and not common in the US. Here are a few differences we have noticed:
City Squares- though this isn't super common in American cities every European city (it seems) has a square in the middle of the city for shopping, lounging, eating, drinking, picnicking, street performing, and most importantly NOT driving. It's a pedestrian-friendly area for strolling where you don't need to worry about getting hit by a car, motorcycle, or bicycle (common anxieties I have when crossing the street here. They drive so fast and swerve in and out so quickly!)
Beautiful alleyways- from Stockholm to Budapest and all in between, alleys can be found all throughout the cities. Dipping in and out and getting lost in these alley mazes can keep you busy for hours. Not to mention the countless photo ops they provide!
Architecture- you just can't even compare how much older these buildings are than anything we have in the States. The antique beauty is breathtaking. Imagining the process of constructing these buildings that still stand strong today, and that have so much detail, it's incredible. Sometimes we see beautiful, old buildings and wonder what is inside, and it turns out to be a grocery store or a shop. This was especially popular in Ghent. We saw the most beautiful and old McDonalds there that may have once been a church- who knows.
These are a few things we have noticed throughout Europe. What are some similarities we missed? How about differences?
Budapest: This was a last minute decision stop. So many people recommended we stop here that we decided to do it! It's called "the Paris of the east", and it definitely has a lot of beauty like Paris without as many tourists and it's a bit cheaper to visit. Hungarian food was surprisingly amazing. I say 'surprisingly' because we had no idea what to expect. You know what kind of food you are getting in France, Germany, Italy, but Hungarian cuisine was new to us.
Budapest (pronounced budapesht, by the way), is known for their thermal baths. Essentially this is like a spa with pool-size hot tubs and sauna rooms. We spent the whole day basically at the thermal bath. On our way back, after all that relaxing, we were stopped on the metro by metro police. Yup. Apparently we scream "tourist" because less than a minute after we got on, we were questioned. We had the wrong ticket, and it was by complete accident. As I mentioned in the prior post, the language barrier has been getting harder and the ticket machines are different in every single country. The metros are all called something different and navigating them can be tricky. The fine was an unexpected inconvenience but we now double check with the information booth before we get any metro tickets.
Each and every city in Europe has been completely different. There really is no way to compare two cities because they have different architecture, language, food. The locals have different attitudes toward tourists and there are so many things that make each city unique. We have noticed some similarities between all the European cities and the US. Here are a few:
American music: In every city we have been to, we have heard American music at some point in a public place. Justin Bieber, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande- it has mostly all been pop. It is so funny to hear it at the grocery store, for instance, to discover at the cash register that the cashier can't speak any English.
Fashion- there have been a few subtle differences, but mostly European locals and tourists can blend together as far as clothing styles. The most unique fashion styles we saw were probably in Berlin, which just goes with the eclectic style
of the city. Europeans generally seem to dress up often, compared to Americans. In Ghent, I don't think I saw one woman in pants and in Paris and London, we saw many men in suits, for instance.
McDonald- Yup, every city we have been to has had a McDonalds, but they all serve slightly different things. Some unique (to our American idea of McD's) things we have seen on menus: chicken wings, fried cheese balls (called cheese melts), curly fries, tiramisu, and espresso.
Some things are unique to European and not common in the US. Here are a few differences we have noticed:
City Squares- though this isn't super common in American cities every European city (it seems) has a square in the middle of the city for shopping, lounging, eating, drinking, picnicking, street performing, and most importantly NOT driving. It's a pedestrian-friendly area for strolling where you don't need to worry about getting hit by a car, motorcycle, or bicycle (common anxieties I have when crossing the street here. They drive so fast and swerve in and out so quickly!)
Beautiful alleyways- from Stockholm to Budapest and all in between, alleys can be found all throughout the cities. Dipping in and out and getting lost in these alley mazes can keep you busy for hours. Not to mention the countless photo ops they provide!
Architecture- you just can't even compare how much older these buildings are than anything we have in the States. The antique beauty is breathtaking. Imagining the process of constructing these buildings that still stand strong today, and that have so much detail, it's incredible. Sometimes we see beautiful, old buildings and wonder what is inside, and it turns out to be a grocery store or a shop. This was especially popular in Ghent. We saw the most beautiful and old McDonalds there that may have once been a church- who knows.
These are a few things we have noticed throughout Europe. What are some similarities we missed? How about differences?
Very interesting. Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. What was temperatures of hot springs?
ReplyDeleteIt was around 80 degrees, I think. Not too hot but just right!
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