Travel and Food

Budapest: Illuminated Bridges

June 11, 2015 Leave a Comment

I would never have thought that I would get the chance to visit Budapest, Hungary. I’ve heard of the city before. You know, The Grand Budapest Hotel…

No, I haven’t seen the movie, BUT I have seen Budapest. I even saw some hotels but none very notable…just big and grand and out of my price range!

Place to Stay: A Hostel

My first hostel experience happened in this friendly, beautiful, and safe city. My friends and I stayed at the Hipster Hostel. And you know what? The space looks like it does in their photos!

We stayed in a mixed common room with ten beds. All the other roommates kept to themselves, and we usually only saw them as lumps underneath their blankets as we snuck in late at night or left to explore early in the morning. Bedding felt and smelled clean. The bathrooms were cared for, and those who checked us in were so friendly. For 8 euros a night, this was a great experience and so much better than I expected!

Food to Eat: Goulash and Pálinka

Naturally, I’m a research-crazy person, so I like to read up about the place that I’m visiting. Therefore, I had read that a very Hungarian food was goulash and a very Hungarian drink was Pálinka. Yeah, well. My friend from Slovakia burst that bubble with the announcement that Eastern European cultures really favor the same foods and drinks with only slight variations to recipes.

Goulash was a steaming soup/stew of deliciousness served with bread. It was flavorful, but perhaps that’s because I was so hungry by the time I was eating that anything would have tasted good!

Pálinka is a fruit brandy. I was informed that it’s good for cleaning and keeping from being ill. They serve the drink in a long-stemmed shot glass. My friend sipped his, but it’s meant to be taken quickly. The flavors cover the scope of fruits available to the region.

Landmarks to See

Honestly, a simple google search will tell you everything you need to know. So I’m not going to repeat those guys! But let me tell you that Budapest is absolutely dressed up for the arrival of stars and moon. The light-illuminated buildings almost blur out the stars while boats cruise the dark Danube River framed in glowing-light bridges. Young people climb up onto the bridge structures, smoking, talking, and enjoying the cool summer evenings.

My friends and I wandered throughout the city, allowing ourselves to be guided by our curiosity. It would have been easy to plan and schedule our day around museum visits and tours, but we climbed as we willed, detouring for food when the desire arose.

I’m the kind of person who deems a trip a success if the food is good. Maybe this ought to be a food blog. But here’s the problem: my food is usually consumed before I think to snap a picture for posterity or internet’s 5 seconds of fame.

Must Sees According to Barbara!

The Ruins. This portion of town used to be where the Jews were kept during World War II. Now, it’s the hippest part of town with unique eateries and creative bars.

The Bridges at Night. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Go. And See!

The Cathedral on the Hill. I imagine it has a name, but our wanderings took us there, where the sidewalks brimmed with tourists. If you wander around the side of castle looking building, you’ll discover what I fondly think of as the secret garden portion. When we were there, no one else was. It looks like it can be a little restaurant, but it wasn’t for us.

What About You?

Have you ever considered visiting Budapest?

Visiting Retz

May 18, 2015 Leave a Comment

When you think of visiting Austria, I imagine the top cities you want to see are Vienna, Innsbruck, and Salzburg. I’m right there with you, and I’ve happily seen a lot of Vienna with plenty more destinations just within that city to visit! But there are a lot of other wonderful places in Austria, such as Retz in Lower Austria.

You can visit this town in a day. Make sure to see the windmill and tour the wine cellars. And in between, check out one of the restaurants. I loved Elmer’s Cafe.

I started out the day at the windmill, which holds the claim of the only operational windmill in Austria.

The engineering of this thing is pretty awesome, not to mention it’s made mostly from wood.

The windmill tour included a lot of stairs, and I was thankful for the flashlight capacity on my phone. It gets dark on the third floor!

This building used to be a windmill, but it has been converted into a living space instead. And I find it very postcard-worthy!

If you follow this lovely little path, and take a right at the first opportunity, you will find a sweet little restaurant.

You’ll also find this incredible view of the town of Retz.

Not only do I enjoy seeing new places, but I also really like trying new things. Naturally, I ordered cow’s tongue for lunch while my friend ordered blood sausage. I also would like to helpfully point out that the stuff that looks like cheese is actually horseradish. Don’t shove it all in your mouth, people!

After this delicious lunch, my friends and I headed down to Retz for some coffee at Elmer’s Cafe to keep the afternoon sleepies at bay!

One thing I love about Austria is the way that even drinks are served. Such detail is involved.

Even at McDonald’s, you will be given a cup of water with your coffee. As long as you have water in your glass, you may sit at your table at the cafe, but once you’re done with the water, it’s time to move on. This was the Caramel Latte at Elmer’s Cafe, just in case you want to relive my day exactly.

The wine cellar tour began in the town square of Retz.

Retz has a week-long wine festival in June. The water in the fountains is colored to represent red wine and white wine, and during this festival, you can help yourself to free wine from nearby barrels.

The tour then headed down into the cellars. The thing about these wine cellars that just intrigued me was that they are dung in sand. Therefore, the dampness of the sand is important for keeping the tunnels in good shape. In some ways, I felt like I was walking through a giant sand castle.

The wine cellar was super dark, and along the way, we kept coming across London street names. Apparently, Jack the Ripper was being performed in the cellar. I’m not one for scary shows, but with such a unique place for the show, I think I should go. I may not sleep for weeks, though.

The wet sand walls allow for sand art to appear in some locations of the wine cellars. In a couple of places, a long horizontal line traveled the length of walls where many fingers have traced.

Oh, and there was definitely wine to be seen. The strange thing of these wine cellars was that the government did not require cellars to be registered so even today there is a lack of information as to how many wine cellars actually exist. Sometimes neighbors would accidentally dig into each other’s cellars. Depending on the neighbor, this could be a good or bad thing.

There were lots of interesting things down in the wine cellars, and I totally suggest visiting if you love good wine and interesting history. Along one tunnel, there were all these alcoves with different saints and protectors of wine and people. This particular statue is a dragon slayer. I guess dragons like wine, too?

And I leave you with this wine quote, allegedly from William Shakespeare.

What About You?

Have you ever toured a wine cellar? Is it a place I should visit?

Dreaming of Retz

May 14, 2015 Leave a Comment

One of the exciting things of Europe is the richness of history that it seems each town has. Retz is no different. Located in Lower Austria, this town has its own stories of being conquered and massacred.

And then, in the later 1400s, Retz was given some special rights to wine. Those who lived along the edge of the town square were permitted to sell wine and store it themselves. These houses dug below their homes complex cellars to keep their wine.

The weirdest thing is that these cellars are dug in sand!

Wrap your brain around that one!

Retz has a bunch of little things to offer, whether you want to tour the wine cellars, visit the windmill, or stop into one of the cafes for afternoon tea. Check out some options here.