August Recap

Greetings from Brno at the close of an outrageously busy month.  I've gone somewhere every weekend, visiting friends before I leave in September, so there's lots to tell and catch up on.

On August 2nd, Ivan and I hopped a train at about noon, destination: Nové Zámky, Slovakia.  Nové Zámky is a small town in southwestern Slovakia close to the Hungarian border and birthplace of Mr. Ivan Vogel himself.  After an easy two-hour train-ride, we rolled into Nové Zámky, which means "New Castles," and arrived at his home to be greeted by his sister, Katka, and mother, who awaited us with a feast.

As you know, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were joined from 1918-1993 as one country, Czechoslovakia.  The Czech and Slovak cultures are similar, and the languages are about 80% the same (more or less).  There are small changes, but a Czech and a Slovak can converse normally with next to no misunderstandings, much like an American and a Brit.  It's natural for Czechs and Slovaks, but for a Czech-speaking American not so much.  I came prepared with a cheat-sheet filled with Slovak conjugations and verb tenses, so I was ready to go.  I had a great time talking to Ivan's family in a crazy Slovak-Czech-German-English-French-Latin combination.  His parents also speak some Hungarian, so they tried to teach me some words, which I failed pitifully at.

On Thursday afternoon, Ivan, his mom, his sister, and I piled into the car and headed to Kolárovo, a small town close to Nové Zámky.  Kolárovo is home to the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe, and really reminded me of old New England covered bridges.  We walked around there for a bit, and then headed back to Nové Zámky, where Dr. Vogel, Ivan's father, was waiting for us.  We spent the night on their deck, eating and chatting, and I met one of Ivan's friends, Marek.

The wooden bridge in Kolárovo.

The wooden bridge in Kolárovo.

On Friday morning, Ivan, Katka, and I set out for one of the places I was most excited for: Esztergom, Hungary.  Esztergom is a small city in Hungary on the border with Slovakia, to the point that a bridge straddling the Danube links Slovakia and Hungary, with Štúrovo (Slovakia) on one side and Esztergom (Hungary) on the other.  Esztergom is the birthplace of St. Stephen, the patron of Hungary, and houses an enormous basilica on the site of the home where he was born.  We arrived in Esztergom and took a stroll across the bridge back to Slovakia, which was pretty awesome.  For those keeping score, that means I've officially walked from Switzerland to Liechtenstein, Austria to Slovenia, and now Hungary to Slovakia.  After a sufficient number of pictures on the border, we made the climb up to the basilica, which was massive and very nice.  After climbing all the way up to the dome and finding it difficult to believe that I was staring at two different countries, we headed back down and sauntered on back to Slovakia.

The bridge connecting Slovakia and Hungary (from the Hungarian side).

Ivan and Katka on the Hungarian side with the Slovak border behind them.

Katka and me on the Hungarian side with the Slovak border behind us.

The Basilica.

The coronation of St. Stephen.

The location of St. Stephen's home.

The Basilica.

From the dome of the basilica, left: Hungary | Danube | right: Slovakia.

We left Hungary and stopped at a small village, Belá, which is known for its chateau, which is now an incredible hotel and winery.  While pretending to live the high life (although life's not too shabby, let's be honest), we walked around the gardens and escaped the oppressive heat for a little while on some benches under a weeping willow.  After that, we headed back up to Nové Zámky, where we of course had a kebab for lunch.  Ivan and I then spent the afternoon on a (sand!) beach alongside the Váh River, a tributary to the Danube, with his friends Marek and Linda, which was great.  That evening, Marek and Linda came over to watch the Olympics and play some foosball.

The chateau in Belá.

Ivan and Katka cooling off under a willow tree.

After leisurely sleeping in on Saturday morning, Ivan, Katka, Mrs. Vogelová, and I piled into the car and headed in the direction of Podhájska.  Slovakia (and Hungary) are very well-known for their thermal baths and springs.  Podhájska is a pretty famous village close to Nové Zámky with a large thermal bath complex, so we stopped there for a few hours to take a dip, as temperatures were ridiculously high.  We tried all the different pools, from a standard chlorine pool at a nice cool temperature all the way to the 100°F natural springs.  Refreshed from swimming, we set out again for Banská Štiavnica, a truly medieval city located in some small mountains.  We walked around Štiavnica, strolled through the market on the main square, where Katka had a man free-hand carve her two small wooden hearts out of a regular chunk of wood, and then went up to the castle, where we could look down over the city.  It was a really beautiful little town.  We then jumped back in the car and headed for a town that we were actually unable to find.  Given Slovakia's location, though, it houses a few different monuments claiming to be the geographic center of Europe, depending on where you draw the line in Russia marking the end of Europe.  We weren't too far from one, and Ivan wanted to show it to me.  We were unfortunately unable to find the exit (or I should say, Ivan and his mom were unable to, Katka and I were busily asnooze in the backseat), and ended up stopping in Banská Bystrica instead, a fairly large city in the center of Slovakia, where we saw the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising.  Having crossed half of the country, we got back in the car and headed back to Nové Zámky, stopping along the way for some supplies for a cook-out.  Ivan grilled some pork, and I made the family and some of Ivan's friends true American burgers, which appeared to be a hit, despite the lack of French's mustard (but we did have Heinz ketchup).

One of the pools in Podhájska (yes, we went down the slide).

The main square in Banská Štiavnica.

The Castle in Banská Štiavnica.

Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica.

After sleeping in on Sunday, Ivan, Katka, and I once again set out to adventure.  What were we exploring, you ask?  We were in fact headed out to see Nové Zámky!  I had been there for three days, but still had yet to see much of the city (aside from the grocery store and quickly from the car).  We walked around the main square of the city, and they told me how the city was almost completely leveled in World War II.  When the Soviets arrived, they erected their lovely communist architecture, and so the center still has that feel to it a bit.  We wandered around some of the smaller side streets and saw various parks, and then headed back to their place for lunch.  In the evening, Ivan and I were picked up by Ivan's friend Mišo who also lives in Brno.  Our destination was Brno, but not without a stop in Bratislava, the capital.

The Main Square of Nové Zámky.

In Bratislava, we met Ľubo, another friend from my year in Austria, who now lives in Bratislava and works at Volkswagen.  We headed to Devin, a castle in Bratislava that sits alongside a tributary to the Danube.  On one side of the river is Austria, on the other side is the Czech Republic, and as you look at this scene, you're standing in Slovakia.  It was crazy to be looking at three countries at the same time.  Ivan and Ľubo also pointed out that if we had been able to go up to the castle (it was unfortunately closed since it was a Sunday evening), we would've been able to see Hungary, as well.  All in all, very crazy, but great to spend a little time in Bratislava and see Ľubo again.

Ivan, Ľubo, and me at Devin Castle in Bratislava, Slovakia, with Austria behind us and the Czech Republic to our left.

The following weekend, I caught the train to Prague on a whim, giving my friend JoEllen a brief head's-up that I was coming and going to spend the night on her couch.  I got to Prague, which was a welcome relief, as I hadn't been there in six months, which is hard to believe.  During my Fulbright year, I was in Prague usually two times a month, and I feel quite at home walking the streets there, taking the metro, etc.  It was really great to be there again, and I caught the tram out to Petřiny, the region of the city that JoEllen lives in with her boyfriend, Martin.  These names might be ringing a bell, and if so, check out my post about Thanksgiving.  We spent the afternoon just hanging out, watching the Olympics (JoEllen and I taking advantage of every opportunity to rub the medal count in Martin's face), and Martin cooked us dinner.  We then spent the evening in a pub in true Czech style.

On Sunday morning, JoEllen and I were up early to watch the Olympics while Martin slept.  Around lunchtime, I headed out into the city on my own, and I took the metro to Malá Strana.  I walked around that area of the city, traditionally home to famous Czech authors, then crossed Charles Bridge, which was a nightmare given the amount of tourists, and went up through the small streets to Old Town Square.  From there, I crossed over to Wenceslas Square and strolled over to the train station, eventually catching the train back to Brno.

Charles Bridge

Prague Castle

Old Town Square

The following weekend I then caught the train from Brno to Svitavy, and from Svitavy the bus to Linhartice, Libor's village.  Since I'm leaving in September, I wanted to make sure I saw his family before I left.  I was in Linhartice from Friday 'til Sunday, and it was nice to be there, a relief to be in a house again.  On Saturday, we rode our bikes to Vranová Lhota, which you might remember from my entry about Malta, and saw some more of Libor's family, including Martin, with whom I went to Malta.  It was nice to be there and hang out for a bit before I make the cross-continental move.

As many of you know, my cousin Maddie is currently studying in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the semester.  We've been chatting pretty much daily since she got to Europe a week ago, and she actually bought a ticket to Budapest from Malmö, Sweden, on a whim with a friend of hers who was in her grade in high school, coincidentally also studying in Copenhagen at the same university.  She asked me if I'd like to join, so of course I went to the train station right away to get my ticket!  I went to Budapest for five days while I was living in Austria, but that was already almost four years ago, which is hard to believe.  I was excited to get the chance to go back to Hungary, if only for a weekend.

While they flew to Hungary, getting there at about 4:30pm on Friday, I took the train, leaving at about 4:30pm.  My trains, coming from Poland and going to Hungary, were of course delayed, since these two countries for some reason can never have trains that actually run on time.  I ended up getting to Budapest about a half-hour late, around 9pm, and Maddie and Sean were there waiting for me at the train station.  We set out on the 25-minute walk to our hostel, located right in the center of the city, which was amazing.

After dropping our stuff at the hostel, we headed out.  It was already past 10pm, but I told them that if there's something they had to see immediately, it was the castle, Chain Bridge, the Danube, and Parliament lit up at night.  They were up for anything (or so they said), and we made a quick detour to St. Stephen's Basilica, the same St. Stephen who was born in Esztergom, which I visited with Ivan at the beginning of August.  We walked from the Basilica down to the Danube, crossed the Chain Bridge, and then walked around the Buda side of the city (since Budapest was originally two cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube).  We crossed another bridge, came back to Pest, and wound our way to the hostel.  After a several mile walk, we were ready for bed.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Buda Castle

Chain Bridge

Parliament

Left: Parliament, Center: Buda Castle, Right: St. Matthias Church, Foreground: Danube

We were up early and ready to go on Saturday morning, and headed out first to the Basilica.  We went inside, which is absolutely beautiful, and went to an area of the basilica that I hadn't yet been to.  There we were able to see the reliquary housing the right hand of St. Stephen, more than a thousand years old.  It was both very cool and very disgusting.  After that, we climbed all the way to the dome of the basilica and, though I'm fairly certain they were ready to kill me, the views were well worth it.  From there, they were able to see just how big Budapest really is, and I was showed them our general route for the day.

Maddie and me on the dome of the basilica.

St. Stephen's Right Hand

After descending the 364 stairs, we headed south, finding Váci Útca, one of the main shopping streets of Budapest, which ends with the Great Market Hall, three stories of stalls selling various products.  We crossed the Danube around noon, beginning the hike to the top of the citadel in near-100°F weather.  Central Europe has been having a serious heatwave which finally broke today, but this weekend in Hungary was indeed a scorcher.  After dragging ourselves up to the top of the Citadel, we were once again rewarded with beautiful views of the city (and took the time to soak up some of the shade).  We were unfortunately unable to go from the Citadel directly to the Castle, but it did lead to the discovery of an outstanding Hungarian restaurant not too far from the castle.  While Sean and I had beef gulasch, like true Hungarians, Maddie had a salad and Hungarian soup.  Properly fed, we began the climb once again and headed up to Buda Castle, which is now home to the Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum.  We wandered around the National Gallery for a few hours, seeing various pieces by Hungarian painters, and then walked to St. Matthias Church and Fishermen's Bastion, which also look out over Pest and are beautiful.  From there, we descended again, crossed the Chain Bridge, and headed in the direction of Andrássy Útca.  Andrássy Útca is comparable to the Champs Elysées in Paris or 5th Avenue in NYC, and as we walked along the street filled with countless shops of important brands, Maddie scoffed at my lack of knowledge of the different names.  The most important find, though, was clearly the pizzeria I'd gone to the last time I was in Budapest which made one of the best pizzas I've ever had, and which is where we had dinner.  We kept strolling down Andrássy, seeing the Opera house as well as the former headquarters of the Nazi SS and then the Soviet KGB, now the Terror Museum, and finally came to Heroes' Square, a large square surrounded by museums.  Thoroughly tired and sweaty from walking all day, we went back to the pizzeria for dinner, then spent some time wandering around on the quest for ice cream before heading back to the hostel for a beer in the hostel bar.

From the Citadel, left: Buda, center: Chain Bridge spanning the Danube, right: Pest

Mads in Budapest!

Maddie and me

Buda Castle from the Citadel

St. Matthias Church

Fishermen's Bastion

The Opera

Heroes' Square

On Sunday morning, we headed out in the direction of the Jewish Quarter.  We visited the Great Synagogue, also known as the Dohány Synagogue, which is the largest synagogue in Eurasia and the second largest in the world, after a synagogue in New York.  I had never been in a synagogue before, so I was excited to see what it looked like on the inside in comparison to a church.  When we walked in, Sean and I were even given yarmulkes to wear.  It was very beautiful inside, and there was a small band playing classical music at the front, led by a boy who had to have been no more than nine years old on the piano.  After, we walked outside through the Memorial Garden, which is the site of 24 mass graves for 2,881 bodies found in the Jewish Ghetto following emancipation in 1945.  From there, we continued to wander the city a bit until I had to head to the train station to catch my train at 1:30.  The weekend in Budapest was an absolute blast, and I'm so glad that Maddie and Sean were able to come down here and get a little taste of Central Europe.  It's just a pity I won't be able to show them more of the area, like Vienna or Prague.  Oh well, there's always the future!

The Great Synagogue

Inside the Great Synagogue.

24 mass graves in the Memorial Garden of the Great Synagogue

Maddie and Sean with the princess.

My train out of Budapest was naturally late by about 25 minutes, and I was taking an earlier afternoon train so as to stop in Nové Zámky, which lies along the route from Budapest-Prague, so I could visit Ivan's family before I leave.  After finally arriving in Nové Zámky, Ivan and his father met me at the train station and we headed to their place, where Katka and Mrs. Vogelová were waiting.  After eating and chatting for an hour, Ivan and I headed back to the train station, where we killed an hour since our train was late by 75 minutes coming from Belgrade through Budapest.  The train finally came and we were able to make it back to Brno.

Now I'm just in Brno tying up loose ends and killing time until I head to Denmark on September 6th.  I'm taking the train through the night, so will arrive in Copenhagen at 10am on Friday, the 7th.  I'll be in Copenhagen for a few days before flying to Reykjavik, Iceland, and from there to Boston on September 10th.  It's sad to be leaving Europe, but at the same time, I'm getting excited to come home and see everyone (and eat!).

That's it for now, I'll keep you updated with what other adventures happen during my final days on this crazy continent...