TWO DAYS IN PRAGUE

One of the trips that my friends and I did during our Erasmus was Prague. We stayed two nights at Hostel Altair, which is really well located so you can go to the centre of Prague walking. As it was Christmas, the city was decorated with lots of lights, so it was beautiful.

As this was what I call an “express trip”, what means a short trip: two days are few days and we wanted to see everything, we had  to walk all over Prague on foot without stopping to rest (except to have a few beers at night hahaha) but the fatigue was worth it, and when you are walking it seems to be less cold!

The first day, given that we had gotten up early enough to catch the plane and we were a little tired, we decided to do tourism on our own. We went to Wenceslas Square, where you can find some stands to buy the typical food, and then to the National Museum and the State Opera (but we didn’t see their inside). That day we also saw the National Theatre and the famous Dancing House (Nationale-Nederlanden). 

I couldn't take great pictures about the monuments we saw in the evening as it gets dark really soon...

National Theatre

Opera

Dancing house

What we really enjoyed that day was having lunch at U Parlamentu: great dishes, delicious and cheap. We ate the typical Czech dish, the Goulash.  This plate and a beer only cost 8,55€!

The next day was the big day. We did a three hour free tour in Spanish in the morning. I totally recommend you to do a free tour because the guides explain really well, and despite those days were very cold, we liked it a lot since the guides show you almost the whole city: Powder Tower,  the Municipal House, the Tyn Church which is located in the Old Town Hall and the Old Town Square (it was beautiful with a giant Christmas tree full of lights), Franz Kafka Square, the famous Astronomic Clock (go there at exactly o’clock and see what happens!), the Old New Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue. We also saw the Kafka Statue and finally, the Rudolfinum (a concert and exhibitions hall).

In front of the Tyn Church they have built buildings, that is why it is not seen in its entirety. Even so, YOU CAN ENTER IT, and many people don't know it! (The entrance is between two of the buildings)

Powder Tower

Powder Tower

Tyn Church

Old Town Hall 

Astronomic Clock

Franz Kafka statue

In the evening we ate just a sandwich because we did not want to waste time eating: there were many things to see and in Prague night falls soon (16:30)! We crossed the Charles Bridge, which is the oldest bridge in Prague and crosses the Vltava River. In this bridge there are people selling paintings, scalpel, etc., as well as many local people walking. Before crossing the bridge, we stopped at St. Nicholas Church.

St. Nicholas Church

Once we crossed the Charles Bridge, we went to the John Lennon Wall. As I like the Beatles since I was little, I loved to see the wall. In addition there was a guy playing with the guitar songs of the Beatles, which made the place a special place. 

Before taking thousands of photos there, we made our own to the Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and the Golden Lane. 

St. Vitus Cathedral

If you want to have a beer in a cool place, I definitely recommend you to go to Vytopna, a pub where they bring you the drink in little trains!

By the way, Zizkov is a street plenty of pubs, Bukowski is the most famous one.

In case you want to go to a pub to listen some music, you can go to the Vzorkovna, the coolest pub I have ever been! It's an underground bar where you can sit on swings, stands, is full of graffitis, and anyone can get on the stage to play!

WHERE TO EAT

U Parlamentu, which I have mentioned before.

The Usudu: old dungeons converted into a bar.

Potrefená Husa: An ideal place to go with friends and try various dishes. All of theme were delicious!

U Vejvodu: we didn't go there but a friend of mine that is studying in Prague says it is a good restaurant.

Domácí Svicková at Potrefená Husa

Finally, do not forget to try the Trdelník, the typical czech desert that you can find in all the squares in Prague! (For those of you living in Sweden, the taste is very similar to that of the kanelbullar)

Do not hesitate to visit Prague, it is a beautiful city and in my opinion a good Erasmus destination because it is cheap and it is in the center of Europe, so it is close to everything!

BUDAPEST IN THREE DAYS

Hi again! This month I have not updated the blog very much because besides having to study for an exam, I have been traveling a lot!! My friends and I didn't have class for a few days, so we decided to go to BUDAPEST! I also spent a week in Lapland (during this trip I also visited Helsinki and Norway), but I will talk about it in the next post!

FIRST DAY 

You can start the journey at St Stephen's Basilica, which is free to visit. You can also see the mummified hand of King Esteban I (this costs 2€). This monument really impressed me as it is huge. 

The Liberty Square. There you can find the Embassy of the United States and the headquarter of the Bank of Hungary as well as other buildings.

The Parliament. In my opinion it is the most amazing building in Budapest, and it is impressive at night when they illuminate it with lots of lights. There are guided visits to the Parliament and of course, the change of the guard. In the same square where the Parliament is, you can also find the Minister of Agriculture and the Ethnographic Museum.

This is my friend Lorena

 

The famous Shoes monument is near the Parliament, on the banks of the Danube. This monument was done to remember what happened to the Jews in the Second World War: on this bank of the river, two Jews were tied by their feet, one to another. One was shot. The other died drowned when they both fell into the river. Horrible… 

The Bridge of Chains connects Buda with Pest, which I recommend to cross walking to see the views from both parts of Budapest. 

If you walk 10 minutes from the Bridge, you will find The Little Princess of Budapest, which everyone names “The elf”. Remember to drop her knees before leaving Budapest to have luck! 

Finally, you can go to one of Budapest famous spas. I went to Széchenyi, which consists of a lot of indoor pools and three outdoor pools (with temperatures between 30ºC and 37ºC). The interior pools close at 19:00 and the exterior ones at 22:00, so I recommend going about 17pm to have the opportunity of swimming both during the day and at night. I particularly liked one of the outdoor pools in which there is a spiral of water where once you are in it is difficult to go out and it is great fun. And it only costs 16,50€!

You can see better pictures of the spa on the web. (I didn't take more pictures because I didn't want to use the phone there...)

SECOND DAY 

Walk along Av. Andrássy and stop at the Opera. This is one of the most famous streets in Budapest and at the end of the street we can find the Heroes Square. 

The Jewish synagogue. It is the biggest synagogue in the world after the one in Jerusalem. You can visit it, as well as the Jewish Cemetery and the Hungarian Jewish Museum, but I thought it was going to be more impressive: the museum has few things to see, and the cemetery is not too big. Behind the synagogue you can find the Tree of life, a willow made of steel in which the name of a Jew killed in the Holocaust is written on each leaf. You can also see the Tree of life through the gate that is behind the synagogue, without paying an entrance. 

Váci Utca is the commercial street which is near Elisabeth Bridge. I recommend you take a walk until you reach the Central Market Hall, a big building full of food and souvenir stands. 

If you go out of the market and look at the left side, you will see the famous Liberty Bridge, the green bridge that takes you the Church in the rock (Lourde's Church) and the Gellért Balneary. 

Elisabeth Bridge, which is really cool at night when it is lit up. If you cross this bridge to Pest, you will see the twin buildings. By the way, there are many hostels for students in this area; I stayed at Colors Budapest Hostel. 

This is my friend doing a handstand in the middle of the road hahaha

The Citadella t is the highest point of Budapest, walking up there is a little bit hard when you are tired, but it is worthwhile the views of Budapest and the Liberty statue. 

You can stop at the Church in the rock (Lourde's Church) when you walk up to the top of the Citadella.

THIRD DAY 

You can cross the Bridge of Chains and go to The castle of Buda, which is the historical castle of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, which is also known as the Royal Palace (Király-Palota). There you can find the Szécheny library, the Hungarian National Gallery and the History Museum. You have to pay for each of the attractions separately, but walking through its gardens is free. 

Matthias Church and the Halászbástya (Fishermen's Bastion), a terrace which consists on seven towers from where there is an incredible panoramic view of the city. A famous medieval street in this area is Úri Utca. 

The famous Hospital in the Rock is just 4 minutes walking from Matthias Church, but I didn’t visit it. 

Another attraction that you can visit is the Memento Park (5€), an outdoor museum park with Communist sculptures. Honestly, I expected more from it. It was a bit poorly maintained: both the garden and the plants were scrawny and the information signboards of sculptures were illegible. It is also far from the city, so I would say it is not a "must" in Budapest. 

And finally, it is always a good idea to finish a day having a beer. I recommend you to visit one of the famous ‘ruins pubs’, for example the Szimpla Kert. 

WHERE TO EAT

Menza Étterem. I recommend you the Gulyásleves csipetkével (Hungarian goulash soup) and the Marhapörkölt galuskával (the hungarian beef was amazing, but I didn’t like the noodles). 

At the market: The typical thing to try here is the Lángos (it is a kind of fried bread in which you can add tomato, cheese, ham, etc. and it looks like a pizza. It only costs 3€, so I recommend you to try it! Be aware that the stands only accept cash.

Sorry for starting to eat before taking the picture, I was very hungry! Hahaha

See you in the next post... Thanks for reading me!

I don't know what is this building, but It was beautiful in the evening light!