Vienna & Budapest Outing

So sorry that it has taken soooooooo very long to post again…with a report to write about our trip, a trip to Munich, and finals on TOP of that, it has been hard to find time! Now that I’m in Innsbruck finally, and have about 12 days to myself (the others went traveling), I have more than enough time to fill you all in on what has been going on J.
On Friday the 14th, we made our exciting whirlwind trip to Vienna and Budapest. (Brace yourself, this is a LONG, LONG post!)

Directly after class, we took our oversized backpacks (filled to the brim) and headed once again to the Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (train station). We didn’t get into Vienna until about 8.30 that night, and when Guertler asked us whether we wanted to out for a drink together or go it alone, there was a resounding “JA!” for hitting the town with Gernot Guertler. He took us to a restaurant, whose owner he seemed to already know (a trend which has become more and more apparent…). The restaurant was great – definitely off the beaten path, and not overrun by tourists…well…until we got there. Herr Guertler and I bonded a bit as soon as he realized that I was a “beer woman.” Let’s just say I became the butt of a few jokes following that night J. After our drink with Guertler, he turned in the towel but the rest of us wanted to experience Vienna a bit more before bed. We had to search a bit for a non-sketchy café (after first walking into a bar in which there was a dog tied up in the back, and one of the owners was passed out). We did however find one, and had one more drink before resting up for the next day.

The following day, we woke up to our first Jugendherberge Frühstück (youth hostel breakfast), and at precisely 9.30 am we started our tour with the world-famous Gernot Guertler. For approximately three hours we went at Guertler speed (very…VERY quickly) throughout Vienna. The man has the map of Vienna memorized in his head, so needless to say, he knew all of the shortcuts. It was easy to see how Vienna had been the central point of the Holy Roman Empire, as went by the Rathaus, the Hofburg Theater, the national library, the opera house, and the University of Vienna (to name a few landmarks).
After our tour, we were free to explore Vienna on our own for a few hours before our gemeinsames Essen (dinner together). My friends Al, Madelaine and I decided to check out the Naschmarkt. This is basically a very crowded market, whose vendors stretch about a mile in length. The vendors cry to potential customers, and sell pretty much anything you could possibly want – fish, meat, cheese, fresh produce, spices, dried fruits, nuts, etc. It was also interesting to see the eastern influence as Kebap stands were mixed in among the others. One vendor was particularly vying for our attention, and started to sing a rap song in English to us…are we that obviously American?!?
After our leisurely walk through the Markt, we met up with some others from our group and went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum). The museum was AMAZING. The building itself was a work of art – every minute detail. The museum had impressive collections of Egyptian and Roman artifacts. On the second floor, every room was filled with paintings. Some of the more notable artists were Rembrant, Peter Paul Ruebens, Van Dyke, and Rafael. We spent about three hours in the museum, and I still felt like we hadn’t done it justice.
After our individual outings, we had dinner together (at another restaurant whose owner Guertler also knew). After eating as much as we could, a few went to the Opera house and were able to bum tickets off of those who left early, and the rest of us went directly back to the Jugendherberge to collapse.

The next day (Sunday the 16th ), we woke up early and boarded our next train at the Vienna Hauptbahnhof. It was about a four hour train ride to Budapest, and the train itself was actually different. Rather than the stereotypical European trains with compartments, the seats were open. As we crossed the border into Hungary, it was odd to see how much the stereotypes of Eastern Europe were fulfilled. Especially as we got closer to the city, older run-down buildings left over from the Soviet era were mixed with newer structures, VERY much influenced by western capitalistic culture.
When we got off the train in Budapest, we were (unexpectedly) greeted by our group of host students from Pazmany Peter Catholic University. They went all-out with a sign, and were extremely friendly. We then boarded a bus for our one-hour ride to Esztergom, and on the ride got to know our host students better. Their English was very good, and everyone got over being shy right away. Thank goodness their English was so good, because Hungarian is one of those languages in which one can be completely clueless. For example, we went to get some food at one point, looked at the menu, and had NO idea how to even pronounce anything on it, let alone what it was to begin with!
Once in Esztergom, we were given a tour (in German) of the Esztergom Basilica – the largest church in Hungary. It seemed to have popped up out of nowhere! The city itself wasn’t that impressive, but then suddenly you see this HUGE structure on top of a hill. It was a beautiful church, and overlooks the Danube. Directly on the other side of the Danube is Slovakia, and a bridge nearby (Maria Valeria bridge) was just built in 2001 to connect the two countries. (A few from our group actually walked over it) The basilica itself is host to a crypt and many religious artifacts, including relics and religious garb. After our tour, a few of us went to the top of the basilica. Retrospectively, a good decision. HOWEVER, one of the scariest experiences of my life! Imagine marble stairs about three feet wide (maximum) spiraling up hundreds of feet, very cramped, people coming DOWN those stairs as you are going UP, and hardly any windows. Yes, Mary was scared sh*tless. However, the view from the top was fabulous, and I have pictures to prove it!
After our time in Esztergom, we were shuttled back to the University’s campus. It’s located about 50 kilometers from Budapest, and the grounds themselves were used as a soviet military camp up until 1992. In fact, the building that a few of us stayed in used to be a prison. On our walk to the central part of campus, we passed several run-down soviet buildings before seeing several very impressive and very modern university buildings.
That night we were in for a special treat. Not only did they have a special authentic Hungarian dinner laid out for us, but there was also a folk music group AND a dance instructor! Incidentally he spoke no English other than “left, right, left, right…” and “one, two, three, four” but that was more than enough to get by! After dancing with our new Hungarian friends, we went out to a local bar with them. It was definitely an experience! Most of us tried this type of shot that is a favorite in Hungary – fruit flavored liquor with honey mixed in. We also learned that in Hungary, you aren’t supposed to clink your beer glasses – this is because after Hungary was taken over by Austrian forces, the Austrians apparently did so in celebration. Now, the only time when it is appropriate to do so, is if you say (doing my best with spelling…) “basomik Hino!” which means (roughly translated) “screw Hino!” who was the Austrian commander.
The next day was absolutely FILLED, so I’ll do my best to summarize it without being too long-winded. We started off with a lecture, and then had a tour of campus led by one of our favorite people – Laszlo, a prof at the Uni. He gave us some info about the architecture of the new buildings (incorporating nature), and then went into more detail about the soviet buildings around campus.
Immediately after our tour, we got on the train with Laszlo and went into Budapest. The following tour was about five hours long, but absolutely amazing. We were able to see some of the bigger landmarks like the parliament building, Saint Stephen’s Basilica, as well as the only Soviet memorial standing in its original spot. (The rest were moved out of the city) The reason that this memorial remained standing is because it didn’t support communism, but rather stood as a memorial for fallen soldiers. It was protected by a large fence, because apparently people would still try to damage it.
The great thing about Laszlo’s tour was that he also was able to point out a lot of the smaller details. For example, we were walking down a seemingly random street, and then he pointed out a bomb shelter door near the pavement. There was also still remnants of a white arrow that pointed down to it, so as to be able to find the door if there was a lot of rubble. He also told us how to tell the difference between which conflict bullet holes in the sides of buildings came from (either WWII, or the revolution in 1956).
After the tour, we met up with the Hungarian students in the city and went out for dinner before going to the bars. The bar we went to was perhaps the weirdest bar I have ever seen. You walk in through a seemingly random door, go through a couple sparsely furnished, run-down rooms, and emerge in a court-yard filled with picnic tables and lined on one side by a surprisingly nice bar. It was definitely a first.

Our last day in Hungary was fairly uneventful – we had to wake up early for two more lectures, and had to leave immediately afterwards to make the train on time. In our last half-hour in Budapest, we frantically tried to spend as many of our Forints (Hungarian Currency – it’s about 250 Forints to one Euro) as we could. We then said goodbye to our Hungarian friends after exchanging emails, and boarded the train for our 6-hour ride back to Salzburg…yes, all this happened within four days.

As soon as I can, I’ll post about Oktoberfest and arriving in Innsbruck!!!

ps - apologies for no pictures. for some reason the website isn't letting me post them. i'll try to do a post of just pictures sometime in the future...