Lisbon is for Lovers!

Lisbon was our layover city, since we took a flight with TAP Portugal. We were originally going to stay over for about 24 hours (5 pm - 5pm) but our flight was canceled and so we had to take the 10 am flight the following day. This meant we got 40 hours in Lisbon. I had booked a room with a shared bath at Zuza Guest House for the first night, but when I asked if it was available the 2nd night, all there was, was the "cozy suite" for double the price. We couldn't cancel the first night and so we hemmed and hawed over whether to just make our life easier. We finally just went with it.

When we got to our guest house (after taking the metro), we were pleasantly surprised to find that he had put us in the fancy room for both nights! A little studio with a kitchen and living area, and Brazilian music "Bossa Nova for lovers" was playing when we walked in. It was absolutely adorable. And the best part- there was a stack of guide books: Frommers, Lisbon Food and Wine, and wait for it- Rick Steves Portugal! This is when we knew we were destined for Lisbon. The weather was beautiful, in the mid 60s, and our host, Luis, invited us out for a drink at a little bistro in front of the guest house. Apparently he does this with all his new guests, and it is a very nice little touch. We had some local vine verde (green wine that's like a bubbly white) and empanadas and got a recommendation for a delicious restaurant in Barrio Alto called Lisboa Noite.

The funny thing about Portugal is that they put out little appetizers when you sit down at a restaurant, and then if you eat even one olive or a piece of cheese, you pay for it. Luckily, Rick had warned us. We enjoyed a delicious meal of cod and a mushroom asparagus risotto. Cod is very popular in Portugal, but interestingly most of it comes from Norway. This was Liz's first fish in 3 years and she was in heaven!

We had an early night so we could rest up for our whirlwind 24 hour Lisbon tour. We woke up at 630 am and took a cab to the castle in the Alfama district close by. We did a walking tour of Alfama (with Rick), which is one of the few areas in Lisbon that survived the 1755 earthquake. We were staying in the Rossio area which had been entirely rebuilt into a gridded city. Alfama was pretty difficult to navigate, mostly because I didn't have a good map, but also because it has lots of twisty streets and none of it makes sense. We learned more about the castle and about Portuguese history and then walked back down to The Chiado district, near our guest house and did a second walking tour in this area, which had been rebuilt into a grid after the earthquake. By the time we got back to our hotel around 930 am, our host, Luis, was mighty impressed that we had seen half of Lisbon. He thought it was hilarious that in the past 7 years, we were the first to have sight-seen for 3 hours before breakfast. Breakfast is also included for all the guests, which is a nice little touch <3 Zuza!

We freshened up after breakfast and took the 15E tram over to Belem, another area of Lisbon. There is a really beautiful monastery and church, a monument celebrating the explorations of Portugal, and the tower of Belem. The church was beautiful and held the tombs (though i dont think they actually have the bodies) of Vasco de Gama (a Portuguese explorer who found the trade route to India)and Cameos (a poet who wrote about the explorations.) Our favorite was the monument to the explorations. We climbed all the way to the top and got beautiful views of the monastery, the 24 de Abril Bridge (a cousin of the San Francisco bridge), and the tower of Belem. At the bottom of the monument was a gorgeous marble map of the world, gifted to Portugal by Africa. It had the history of the explorations of Portugal on it and was so neat. Rick also gave us a lot of info about it! Rick is awesome, by the way. I've been a lonely planet lover for quite some time, but Rick Steves is great because he gives you lots of history and really good suggestions (that aren't usually touristy.) Of course, you've got to take everything with a grain of salt. I'm a convert now, thanks to Elizabeth's previous love for Rick, and hence why we brought Rick Steves Eastern Europe guidebook on this trip.

Belem is also the home to the original pastel de Belem (called pastel de Nata in the rest of Potugal) which is a delicious little custard tart that tastes like rice pudding without the rice. I might have gotten 2! The good news, is that unlike the Sachar torte of Vienna, the pastel de Nata tastes pretty much the same everywhere, despite only 3 people supposedly knowing the original recipe. For lunch, we took another Rick Steves recommendation and got one of the best meals ever at a fish joint. I'm not even certain what fish we ate but it was delicious! Two guys came and cut up one of them and then they had this delicious olive oil, tomato, onion dressing and buttered boiled potatoes. It was good!

After lunch, we took the tram back to the commercial square and then walked 3 km to the tile museum, which was East (Belem is west of the square and we couldn't find a bus that went to the tile museum.) The tile museum was so neat! They had lots and lots of beautiful tiles and scenes dating from before the earthquake (and some after too) and it was so neat to see. We only had an hour before the museum closed, so we had to do a speed tour but I wouldn't definitely go back and spend hours oogling the tiles, if I could!

We walked back to our guest house, picked up some vine verde and had a great time with Bossa Nova on our CD player! We loved Lisbon! We headed out for some Fado, traditional Portuguese singing. We went to a local open-mic night Fado restaurant Rick had recommendedC originally we were planning to eat dinner there, but the food didn't look that great so we just had drinks. Lets just say they didn't like that, because when we went to get our bill, the waiter tried to charge us a cover charge! There were a couple empty seats, so they hadn't been losing business because we were there, and they never told us we had to order a minimum! Luckily, I took control of the situation and told him "ah heck no" and so we got out of there just paying for what we ordered. Plus, Rick had recommended this place and even said there was no minimum and to "order what you want." Hmmph. We decided to go to another restaurant Luis had recommended in the Barrio Alto area, as well, and then had a lovely sea bass dinner. When we got back to our guest house, Luis' people had left us a breakfast in the fridge for the next morning, since we would be leaving before breakfast. It was very sweet. Elizabeth and I cannot wait until we come back to Portugal (someday!) The weather is great, the people are so kind, and the food is delicious

1. The musical theme of our time in Portugal
2. Look what was greeting us at Zuza Guest House
3. Our cozy suite
4-5. Dinner at Lisboa Noite- cod and risotto
6-7. Delicious pastel de Belem at Pastis de Belem
8. The church at the monastery in Belem
9. Delicious fish lunch be deboned by Carlos
10. The painting in our fabulous cozy suite
11-13. The amazing tile museum

The best of MuniPraVienBudaLisb

Erzebet

Favorite city: Budapest!!! Loved the city's energy and learned so much history. Plus, I got to see lots of elderly men in speedos at the Szechenyi baths ;)
Favorite sightseeing activity: Our 5+ mile morning run through Budapest to Margaret Island. Turns out even after 3 weeks of not exercising (besides our monster walks) we still got it!
Favorite meal: Goulash meat thing at our favorite biesel in Vienna... Close second would be Lauren's bday lunch raclette... Mmmmm cheese
Worst meal: Ironically, also at my favorite Viennese biesel...Turns out I'm not a schnitzel girl --- nasty!!!
Favorite new friends: Til, Andre and the Schneider family, who we me at Hofbrauhaus in Munich
Favorite hotel: Miss Sophie's. We needed a silver lining in Prague!
Least favorite hotel: Hotel Ruthesteiner. I felt like a sardine!
Favorite currency: Czech koranas because I could pronounce it!
Funniest moment: Peer pressuring Lauren into a Sacher torte taste test tour.. And blindfolding and feeding her the torte taste test!
Favorite drink: Hot white chocolate at the famous New York Cafe in Budapest.
Favorite mode of transportation: Our own two feet! We walked everywhere... And my once gray tennis shoes are now a lovely shade of brown!
Best museum: Sisi Mueseum! I loved every minute there. Hapsburg Empress Elizabeth was pretty awesome--- she ate lots of chocolate, exercised like crazy and combed her hair for three hours a day!
Favorite historical figure: Sisi!
Favorite monument: Budapest Parliament. I could look at it all day long!
Favorite doggie: A Hungarian Puli. Not only do people like to have dreads in Eastern Europe, apparently dogs do to!
Favorite citizens: Germans! So friendly and warm.
Favorite language: German because I can say danke and halo!
Best street food: Our kitten cookie with warm mulled wine! Yummy kitty!
Lowest low: Walking 2 miles to our Vienna hostel with my rolling suitcase... Following my fearless leader Lauren and not knowing how much further I had to go :(
Highest high: Our first night in Munich at the Hofbrauhaus

This was the trip of a lifetime with the ultimate traveling partner. So many laughs. I won't go anywhere without Lauren Cooper! Can't wait for our next adventure!

Lauren

Favorite city: Vienna, the Paris of Eastern Europe!
Favorite sightseeing activity: Rick Steve's Audioguide tour through Vienna. It was so magical in the rain at night, sharing a pair of headphones with Elizabeth (aka we had to walk in tune together)
Favorite meal: Pork Knuckle!! I have never enjoyed eating crispy pig skin more.
Worst meal: Czech Kitchen--- Rick Steves does disappoint on occasion! It was like going to a cafeteria in a basement and eating schlopp.
Favorite new friends: The Schneider family we met in munich at Hofbrauhaus who are so fun.
Favorite hotel: Zuza Guest House in Lisbon - we paid for a shared bath room the first night and a "cozy suite" the second night and got the cozy suite both nights. It was absolutely adorable and when we walked in, Brazilian soft music ("Bossa Nova for lovers") was playing. Perfect location and a total splurge (the shared bath was full the second night!)
Worst hotel: Hotel Ruthensteiner - walls were as thin as paper and it took an hour walk to get anywhere.
Favorite currency: Hungarian Florints because I felt like a millionaire!
Funniest moment: When Elizabeth became a carnivore- who can't help but laugh when a vegetarian of 3 years converts because of an adorable German boy!
Favorite drink: My frappe apple juice in Munich.
Favorite mode of transportation: Train through the countryside of Switzerland and Germany. Beautiful snow covered country sides were so beautiful to watch.
Best museum: House of Terror. So informative. I learned about something I barely knew about and it was very intriguing and well done
Favorite historical figure: Sisi. Gotta love an Empress who loves cat tongues from Demels (a chocolate shop) and is a drama queen.
Favorite monument:
Favorite doggie: A white Maltese running around in circles while waiting for its fashionable owner in Prague ( see pic below)
Favorite citizens: Portuguese - so warm and welcoming
Favorite language: German- I loved saying Dankesche- thank you. The only other language we really heard was Czech (and Prague was depressing), English (boring), or a little bit of Hungarian (and we couldn't even tell if it was Hungarian or German since German was more common in Hungary.)
Best street food: Birthday breakfast sausage with sauerkraut and horseradish in Prague - mm (see pic below)
Lowest low: Walking to our hotel in Prague which we didn't know how to get to.. Including wrong turns and non English speaking Czech people and a horrible hill. This is when I realized I overpacked.
Highest high: Getting standing line 4€ tickets to the Vienna Opera and enjoying a picnic from Nasch Market while waiting for those tickets (thank you random opera going blogger who said the would be a good way to pass time!)

Photos:
Elizabeth
1. Budapest's Margaret Island photo op while running
2. Delicious goulash
3. Weinerschinztel - the worst!
4. Til and Andres from Munich
5. The tour de Sachar torte
6. White hot cocoa at The New York Cafe
7. The Parliament building
8. The little kitten!

Lauren:
1. Pork Knuckles
2. The Schneider's from Munich
3. The beautiful snowy countryside of Germany
4-5. Adorable dog
6. Sausage and kraut breakfast
7. Waiting in line for the opera!

Running away again in Margaritaville

Our 3rd day in Budapest consisted of us actually going into Buda for the first time. We crossed the chain bridge and made our way up Castle Hill (and jealously gawked at all the people taking the funicular up.)

We made our way to the Hospital in the Rocks, a really cool underground hospital that was used during World War 2 when the nazis invaded, again when the soviets came into Budapest, and during the uprising of Hungarians in 1956 against the soviets. After this period it became a nuclear bomb shelter. It was absolutely intriguing. To view the hospital, you had to go on a tour. We have no problems with tours, but our tour guide was Mr. Monotone Boring. Luckily the hospital itself had a lot of original items from the 1940s-1960s, so Elizabeth and I were just amazed looking at all the rooms. There were over 70 wax figures set up in the different rooms and scenes were reenacted. There was an emergency room, operating room (where two operations went on at once), 2 showers for the whole place, various sleeping quarters (3 different rooms fitting 60 people in each) and all sorts of medical memorabilia. Pictures weren't allowed, but of course I couldn't let you guys not see!

The nuclear bunker was never actually used (since a nuclear bomb never hit luckily.) The good news is that doctors and nurses and the other personal to run the hospital were the ones who would have been allowed in (if they got there in 15 minutes of the alarm going off.) Elizabeth and I were very reassured by our correct career choices.

After the hospital, we explored the rest of castle hill. We had a picnic in the park near the Mathias church and then went up to the castle. We got some beautiful viewpoints of Pest (in case you didn't know, pest is on one side of the Danube and Buda is on the other side, connected by 5+ different bridges.) Then we went down Vati Utica (a touristy shopping lane) and into the central market (a big produce and meat and fish and touristy item indoor market.) There was a ton of, pardon my language... crap. We didn't buy anything luckily (Elizabeth is very good at keeping me in budget) and got away in time for our evening cruise on the Danube with the Legenda. Rick (Steves) has been our guide this whole trip, but he had some prices wrong in Budapest. Rick, if you are reading this (ya right!), you might want to revisit your Budapest chapter! The cruise was really beautiful, the buildings along the river were all lit up and gorgeous and we saw a decent part of the city we hadn't seen. The parliament building all lit up was worth it. We also got a free drink (gross-o wine) and an audio guide during the boat ride. This audioguide was a little weird since I would think I'd want to just enjoy the tour and not be watching a video with audio guide, but it wasn't half bad. We learned a decent bit about some of the monuments and buildings along the river.

After our cruise, we headed back home since the next morning Elizabeth and I would be running to Margaret Island, which is an island in the Danube in between one of the bridges in the northern end of Budapest. We had a fabulous run to the island and then around it (a 30 minute run around) and got to enjoy the river and nature and a run through Pest and Buda! It was so enjoyable and we somehow made it about 8 miles, even though neither of us has run in about 3 weeks. We have been doing a ton of walking, though, so that could be why it was so enjoyable. We also became a friar and nun on our run (see last photo.)

Photo vomit:
1-6: Hospital in the rocks (1. Before going in 2-5. inside the hospital 6. The alarm siren that I got to practice cranking)
7: Elizabeth in front a statue on the Pest side of the Danube
8: In front of the chain bridge
9: in front of the Fisherman's Bastillion (by Mathias church)
10: the raven (symbol of Budapest) at the castle
11: the Parliment all lot up at night (on the Legenda)
12-13: on our run in Margaret Island (yes, there was this awesome photo-op on the running path)

Bathing in Buda

We just spent 3 days in Budapest and had such a wonderful time. We both agreed out of all the places we have been in Eastern Europe, we would live in Budapest.

The first day, we got in around 1 pm and were scooped up by Sandor, the guys that runs our hostel. The pick-up was included in our stay, and we had no problem skipping our normal exercise routine of hiking to our hostel. He brought us on a mini city tour and then showed us our apartment. It was a 2 bedroom with kitchen and bathroom and the other room wasn't rented until the last night so we had an apartment to ourselves. This was much needed since our place I'm Vienna had walls so thin that Marshall (on skype in Florida) could hear Elizabeth talking to her mom (on Skype) in the hallway with our bedroom door shut.

I was pretty exhausted, but Elizabeth (who is now going by Erzebet - the Hungarian version) runs a tight ship and napping wasn't in the schedule. We did a mini walking tour around our neighborhood, the Jewish Quarter, in Pest. We walked through the Great Synagogue, the biggest temple in Europe and 2nd biggest in the world, and saw a beautiful graveyard dedicated to the thousands of Hungarian Jews who perished in the holocaust. In the back of the synagogue, there was the Tree of Life, a willow that makes an upside down menorah and has 4000 leaves etched with the name of a Holocaust victim.

After this, we headed over to the part of Pest on the Danube River, which was our favorite part of Budapest. We walked along the river to the chain bridge, which connects Buda to Pest, and then to the Parliment building. This building is just magnificent. Probably the most beautiful museum I have seen in all of Europe. There is a small memorial to holocaust victims along the river, with brass shoes representing the victims that were told to take off their shoes and then were shot into the Danube at that exact spot. I wished we had gotten the chance to go to the holocaust memorial in Budapest, because the memorials around town where some of the most thoughtful ones I've seen.

We met up with our mom and daughter friends, Mary and Sarah, from Vienna at Rosenstein's, a restaurant my mother had read about in food and wine magazine. We had some bone marrow (a fatty weird textured dish), meat pancakes, and veal. Erzebet is really enjoying her carnivorous side. We spent a good 3 hours at dinner so we were spent by the time we got home!

The next day, we started off the day at The New York Cafe, a fancy schmancy cafe at a fancy schmancy hotel. We then went to the House of Terror, a museum about the communist rule in Hungary. I had to convince Erzebet that we should go, she was turned off by the name, which even I was skeptical about. But we loved it!! It had information overload on the nazis and then the soviets invasions, but we learned a lot and it was a very interesting museum. Each room had a 1-2 page word document waiting for us to read. I might have fallen asleep once or twice when it was Erzebet's time to read, but like I said, Erzebet runs a tight ship. She has to wake me up each morning at least 3 times before I'm up.

After the museum, we headed down Andrassy Road to the the Szechenyi baths. We weren't entirely sure what to expect, but we were game. We entered the baths and bought our tickets. We got one with a cabin and one with a locker (like Rick Steve's said) and then walked into the changing areas. I had bought a cheap bathing suit outside the baths, because it was 3000 forints ($15) and my only other option was renting a bathing suit for 1000 forints ($5.) you couldn't pay me $10 to where a bathing suit someone else has already worn, so that was $15 well spent. (I should have brought a bathing suit with me, but I was silly and didn't.)

Erzebet and I found our way to our cabin, more like a closet, and then headed out to the outdoor pool section (in bikinis with just a hand towel to keep us covered... It was cold.) we headed to the opposite building where the thermal baths were. There were a whole bunch of different baths (aka pools) of varying temperature. This kind of reminded me of being in India, because I had to keep telling myself to not look at the pool water with things floating and to not think about when the last time the baths were chlorinated or diseases that could be lurking. We also didn't come fully prepared, because we forgot flip flops. This gave me the heeby jeebies walking around barefoot, but again I just had to breath and enjoy the experience. We wandered into the different indoor thermal baths, trying to find the hottest one. It couldn't be found. They were all warm, maybe hot, but not burning. I guess they don't want to give people third degree burns. We spent some time in the steam room and the wooden sauna and then made our way back out into the outdoor area. Now this is definitely where we had the most fun. There is a lap pool in the center and then two pols on either side. One of the outer pools had a ring in the center with jets pushing people in a circle. It was really fun. The hottest pool was one of the outside ones and this is where we spent the most time. It had some very nice jets that were almost like fountains and the y shot out and felt like back massages.

After about 2-3 hours, we had bathed enough! We went home and freshened up and then headed out to a delicious Indian restaurant where we met two American girls who were a blast. We went with them to one of the best ruin bars in Europe, Szimpla. It was a really quirky place and had some communist throwbacks like soda from the era.

Pics:
1. The brass shoe holocaust memorial by the Danube
2. The New York Cafe - Elizabeth's Hot White Chocolate
3-5. At the baths
6. A real hungarian vizsla (my boyfriend's dog - the breed is from Hungary)
7. Erzebet and I
8. Erzebet street- named after Sisi (the empress of Austria-Hungary who helped Hungary get freedom in the 1800s
9-10. The willow at the New Synagogue