Europe!

As I write I'm sitting in my hotel room in Amman and thinking about the past 16 days. I left home a little more than two weeks ago. I've seen so many new things in that amount of time I feel like I've been gone so much longer. I will do my best to take you on the journey with me, with my words and my pictures.

Dad, Mom and I at the airport in Chicago the day I left.

Vienna

After flying from Chicago to Munich I caught a train to Vienna. In Vienna I was meeting up with a friend, Denise, from school. She was coming to Europe for a different reason but we decided to spend a few days together. After we met up we checked in to our hostel and got some breakfast. Our body clocks were a bit off but we wanted to push through it and do some sight seeing that first day. We walked to the city center and saw St. Stephen's Cathedral, many of the Habsburg's palaces and walked along the main shopping streets. For dinner we found a pizza place a friend had recommended and then did more walking around. Vienna has great holiday lights in their city center and although many of them were not lit, the ones that were, were beautiful.

We also took a free walking tour one day that taught us a lot about the buildings we had been looking at. I had the best hot dog of my life from a stand outside the opera house. The story goes, at least we were told, that the stand originally was only open after shows at the opera house and the people operating the stand were people who had been in the show! It was a way for the audience and the performers to interact. It's not the case anymore, but it was still a delicious hot dog.

Denise and I outside St. Stephen's Cathedral

Amazing light from the stained glass windows in the church.

Part of the Habsburg's grounds

Opera House

Budapest

After a wonderful stay in Vienna I was ready to head to my next destination, Belgrade, Serbia. I bought my ticket and would be taking the train from Vienna to Budapest, switching trains and then going from Budapest to Belgrade. What actually happened may have been a blessing in disguise but that did nothing to make the situation less stressful as it was unfolding. 

Despite the fact that my train left Vienna on time we moved very slowly and soon I started to feel like we were behind schedule. I only had ten minutes to switch trains once I arrived in Budapest so I didn't have a lot of wiggle room. We finally arrived in Budapest about 15 minutes late, five minutes after my train to Belgrade was supposed to depart. I was hoping that train had been delayed as well, but no such luck. There were no options until the following day. Time to problem solve. My original plan was to visit Budapest in a few days and while I was there I was going to be staying with old friends of my parents, the Newmans. I had their email address and a phone number so I thought my best bet would be to get a hold of them. However, this proved to be much harder than I anticipated. There was no wireless internet and despite multiple attempts and the help of some locals I could not get a pay phone to connect the call. Also, I discovered that the number of people who spoke English in Budapest was much smaller than the number in Vienna so that was another speed bump. Finally someone directed me to an 'internet cafe' of sorts and I was able to send an email to Newmans. After waiting a couple hours and a few more failed attempts at reaching them by phone I decided to check my email. I kept my fingers crossed as I logged in and there it was: an email from Charles saying yes, I could stay with them with directions to get to their place. I have never felt better. 

We met at a cafe next door to their apartment and had dinner. After talking about it with them and my parents (via email) I decided to not go to Belgrade and just stay in Budapest. I'm glad I did. That first night was the beginning of a wonderful visit and a wonderful friendship with the Newmans, who shared not only their home but their love for the city of Budapest and for that, I will always be grateful. 

The view from my bedroom window in Newman's apartment. Not bad, huh?
It's St. Stephen's Basilica. 

Inside. I really fell in love with this building. 

Notice the difference between the building on the left and on the right. The one on the right has been revamped since the end of Communism in Hungary. 

Opera House

Castle Hill on the Buda side of the river at night.

The beautiful Chain Bridge.

The Gresham Palace, a four-star hotel. I went in to have a look and use their bathroom.
It was an experience in itself. 

Thermal baths

One of the many amazing meals I had in Budapest.
This was some of the best hummus and falafel I've ever had.

A wonderful view of the Pest side of the river from Castle Hill.
I watched a rain/snow storm go over the city from here.
From start to finish it lasted about fifteen minutes.

Inside the Matthias Church. Nearly every inch of space is decorated with painting done by hand.
It's beautiful. 

Suzanne, myself and Charles

Prague

It was hard to leave Budapest. But Prague was my next destination and it was the first place I was going where I would truly be on my own. I was anxious for what the city would hold. 

I arrived around 4:30 in the evening and in the dark I struggled to find the hostel I wanted to stay at. I actually walked past it before some girls passed me going the opposite direction. They were speaking American English so I asked if they were headed to a hostel. Indeed they were and they showed me the way. When I walked in there were three people ahead of me talking to the receptionist. From bits and pieces of their conversation I put together that they didn't have any beds left for the night. Now what? I thought. I did not want to wander around Prague, at night, trying to find a place to stay. When it was my turn to talk to the receptionist she recommended a hostel on the other side of the river that was owned by the same people. I asked if that's where the other group was going. She said it was and I caught them as they were getting into a taxi.  I learned that they were from Argentina and had been traveling for about a month already and were only halfway through their travels. We cooked and ate a couple meals together during our time in Prague and as it turned out we were on the same train to Munich when I left Prague. We became friends over the course of a few days and they are great.

I was only in Prague for two days but I was able to see a lot of the city and really enjoyed myself. 

Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

I woke up early one morning to watch the sunrise from the bridge.
Unfortunately it was cloudy but it was snowing and beautiful just the same. 

Take me to my castle! 

John Lennon wall

And now I'm finally in Jordan. The next few days will be busy and packed with all new things. I'm nervous and a little scared. But also excited for the adventures that lay ahead. 

The view from my hotel window in Amman