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!
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