Where in the World is Ellen?: Goulash and Wiener Schnitzel (Budapest and Vienna)

Needing a break from all the craziness in Belgrade, I took advantage of what most Europeaners take for granted, that everything is so close. A 3-4 bus or train ride can get you to many awesome European cities. I decided Budapest because when I was there 10 years ago with my family and it was like one of the National Lampoon holidays. 1st, my brother was supposed to meet us in Budapest from Paris but conveniently enough got his passport stolen and I'm sure you can imagine what a mess that was. Then I got some kind of stomach flu pretty much hour 1 there. My mom was beside herself with those 2 issues and my sister was basking in the glory for once being the one that wasn't in some kind of trouble. Needless to say, my dad had had enough of all that and although I was ill, still made me go on a tour around the city. So my only memory was trying to hold in getting sick on the minibus, and then as soon as we stopped to get out, I would get sick. Nice, huh? Now being back, I really have to admit that nothing even seemed familiar. But here I am to tell the story of Round 2. Then Vienna, well, I had never been and had always wanted to go, so why not?

So here it is...

BUDAPEST - Home of goulash soup

Actually, Budapest is more like Buda and Pest, if you will. I forgot how beautiful this city is and how historic. It was built on the Danube River, which separates these 2 cities, and provided a place of protection from invasions back in the day. "Pest" was of Slavic origin and means kiln or stove because of the natural springs. The Buda is what they think came from "voda" which means water in many Slavic languages, referring to the Danube. It wasn't until the late 1800's that they were united (with a 3rd, Obuda) via the first bridge that was built. There are 8 in the city alone that connect the 2 sides. The history is quite complex, from the Austro-Hungarian empire to the good 'ol Communist rule, I by chance happen to just get here on October 23rd, which on that day in 1956, Hungary declared Independence from the Soviet rule. So I got to see some fun celebrations, dancing, and singing. Besides it being known as the "City of Spa's" from the dozen thermal spa's around, which darn it, I didn't have a chance to go, it also known for being a culturally vibrant city, they have some amazing and beautiful opera houses, theatre houses, and concert venues. AND, which I am still shocked, you can get tickets to shows and performances for as little as 3 euros (like 5-6 dollars)!! "Better" seats are 10 euros (15 USD), how sweet is that! You can't get anywhere near a show in Chicago for less than 50 bucks.

Another couple of things of interest, or "good to know," 1. they HATE being called Eastern Europe, "we are not in Eastern Europe, we are Central Europe, only Westerners who don't know any better call us that." Ouch. 2. Hungarians are also known as Mygars. The Magyars were neighbors (or confederates) to Hungary and ruled them and hence the name stood. I guess Mygars is generally used to refer to their ethnicity or referring to themselves or their language. It's generally accepted to be called "Hungarians" but if you want to look smart, you can use "Maygars." :-) and 3. Back before 1956 the Hungarian flag used to have the Coat of Arms in the middle of it. After a revolution that took place on October 23, 1956, that all changed, Hungary gained independence and off went to the coat of arms. So now you will see just a tri-colored flag OR if you are there, a flag with the hole in the middle. I happen to come ... on October 23rd and was fortunate enough to see festivities to celebrate their independence, which took place in front of the Parliament....

What I also found interesting is that Hungarians are thought to be descendents of Asia as well as Finland. But they are mostly have European origins, but mostly related to Poles, Croats and Ukrainians. The language (which is bizarre) seems like a mix of all that, with some Asian words and even Finnish words and is said to be Finno-Ugric (eh?).

Another thing is that yes, Hungary is part of the E.U. so they get some kind of $$, BUT no, they do not meet the economic standards so they still use the "forint" as currency and not the Euro. When I was there the exchange rate was 181 forint to 1 USD, so that is always fun to convert this odd number in my head AND work with money in the thousands. They say it might take 5-10 years before this happens, so we'll see. I heard that they make something like 500 euros a month, so they have a little way to go to up these "standards."

So in my pow-wow sightseeing, I saw the Parliament, the oldest Parliament in Europe,

the Opera House,

the Castle District, on the Buda side, so often is referred to as Buda Castle. I guess can inhabit almost 8000 people. It was 1st built in the 12th century and the unfortunate Hungarians hardly had time to enjoy it - it was besieged no less than 31 times. But now that is a World Heritage Site, it has been restored and is an absolutely beautiful castle.

and lots of Squares, like Heroe's Square,

churches,

and synagogues, the theater district,

and beautiful historic buildings from Roman times, and just plain 'ol sightseeing,

which included Budapest at night...

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VIENNA - Land of Wiener Schnitzel's

Vienna, also is known as Wien, and similiar to Budapest, has a great cultural and historical background. From palaces to parks, it is truly beautiful. For my .2 seconds, I really pow-wowed. Also as in Budapest, the public transportation is fantabulous, okay fine, I would have to say even better - everything is labeled, it is clean, efficient, and.... just nice! I didn't have a problem getting around at all, and I am one to be directionally challenged. Also nice about Vienna is that everything is pretty compact. Besides a few times when I was just too tired to walk and took the tram or metro, it is definitely a walking city. Although, just like in Budapest when I got there just in time for their Independence day, I got here just in time for a National Holiday here, something to the effect of "Security" day... really, it seemed mostly like Army-type stuff, or "protective" people, but again, it was fun to see how locals celebrate, and eat! I have to admit, Vienna has some delicious pasteries... hmm. Although I admit, more than a few times I would think to myself, "Well, if I walk this route instead of taking the tram, I can reward myself with some Marzipan!" hahah! Again, not good for the ever-growing waste line, but hey, gotta enjoy life, right??

I quickly found myself at the Museum of Natural History,

which has the largest European collection of Natural artifacts in the world... I guess the collection began about 250 years ago, and it is pretty impressive. I was most impressed by their rock and jewel collection.

They had this one bouquet of precious stones for Maria Theresia that had 2,102 diamonds, 761 gems, with leaves made from pure silk and the vase from rock crystal. It literally was jaw-dropping.

Although Mozart wasn't born here or anything (Salzburg) he was buried here. He spent ample amount of time here and here is where he was "discovered" when he played the piano for Maria Theresa at the sound age of 6 (he started at 4) and for years following. So you will see Mozart chocolates and hear Mozart music a lot of places. So when I was approached at the Opera House to see a Mozart "classical" performance with the orchestra in "traditional" outfits, although cheese factor 10/10, I couldn't resist. It was a small intimate theater, but the music was really really beautiful and they even had opera singers, we heard works from Don Giovanni, Figaro, and Magic Flute.

My one single free day was power sightseeing that started at the Schonbrunn Palace, which was more of a summer palace for Franz Joseph, Maria Theresia and the Habsburg rulers. I toured 40 rooms, but I guess there is a whopping 1441 rooms. Wow! And besides all the gold (bling bling) and lavishness of the rooms, the gardens

were something to take note of as well. I can only imagine it in the summer, but it is open to the public, which there were many runners running through, and is pretty massive. They even had this fun maze.... that I literally got lost in (which is the point). It was fun though!

Again, being in the mood for classical music (and really, it does something soothe me, I really need to go to more concerts back at home), I eagerly waited to do an Opera House tour. And the anticipation was well worth it! It was built in 1869, almost completely destroyed after WWII, and then totally refurbished to an amazing venue. Not only was the Opera House itself impressive, BUT it is one of the few Opera Houses that has an ongoing and changing performance schedule. Performances change every night and literally, we learned about all that goes into not only the set changes (they have a storage area nearby and every day they have to have 15-30 trucks to transport all these sets) but also the diversity the singers and Orchestra repertoire has to have. Impressive!