Russia: приехали домой

I figured it would only be fair to actually finish writing about Europe before the New Year, only makes sense.

After taking a plane from Krakow to Berlin, and waiting for 4 hours at the airport where the only food stand had closed for 2 hours, we finally made it to Moscow! 

Fun fact about me: I spent most of my childhood in Volgograd, so in all my time in Russia I had never visited Moscow. 

It's much better than I imagined! It is such a beautiful city! I can't wait till I see St. Petersburg, from what I hear, it's more glorious! 

I got to meet some of Den den's family, there was vodka (but unfortunately no bears, sorry guys). 

We first went to explore the park Kolomenskoye (Колoменское), which used to be a royal estate. 
The architecture in the park (as well as all of Moscow) is just beautiful! 

I don't remember if I've ever had Tarhun (Тархун) in my life, but oddly enough the green colour intrigued me. It isn't Kvas, but it is good. 

Our second day we got to go and explore downtown! We took the beautiful metro that Moscow is very famous for (definitely a huge step-up from the Parisian, urine-smelling, metro's). 

We were very happy to find that even Moscow has the "free-walking tours", so we signed up for it, and headed over. The girl who was presenting the tour was really lovely, recommending nice places to eat, things to see, and things to avoid. We of course ended up at the Red square, which was even more beautiful than I imagined! 

The St. Basil's Church (Собор Василия Блаженного). Constructed by Ivan IV, and believed that he blinded the architects in fear of them constructions another more beautiful church. I think it cost about 10 euros (? +/- a couple of euros) to get inside, however we were told that the inside was small, and not as magnificent as the outside may make it seems. We were also on limited time in Moscow, so we decided to admire the church from the outside. 

Inside the "GUM" (pronounced "Goom"). It's a huge department store, that used to be the main department store during the Soviet Union. It is very beautifully constructed inside and out! We also kept coming back here for Kvas and Plombir (пломбир). We would overhear some english-tourists really disliking the Kvas. When I was younger I remember I really hated Kvas, and this was a problem because walking around extremely hot Volgograd you'd get really thirsty... and guess unfortunately for me there were only "kvas" stands everywhere (which was cheaper than water at that time), so while my whole family would satisfy their thirst with 20 cents Kvas (obviously not "cents" in Russia, but it's less confusing this way), we would have to search around for water for me. 

We were recommended a nice "cafe" or "cafeteria" (in Russian it's called a Столовоя)which was the best food ever! It was like home-cooked meals. So you walk through and get whatever you want. So Den den and I just relived our childhood but taking pretty much anything our eyes could see (salads, main course, soup, drinks, dessert...), and it came out to about 12CAD$ for both of us. Best and cheapest meal we had the whole trip (EXCEPT for the food we had at our families... nothing beats a home-cooked Russian meal, nothing!) 

Fun fact #2: this statue refers to an old Russian tale of the gold-fish that would grant wishes. As any child that grew up in a Russian family, in Russia, I would have to memorize poems and stories. This was one of them, and I would always forget this one verse of it! I, unfortunately, no longer remember the tale, but I do remember how much I struggled with it, and hope my mom wouldn't notice the missing verse... she did... every time. 

The State History Museum we went to. Learning some history. 

We paid the really expensive amount (that I cannot remember any more... sorry) to go into the Kremlin. 

The Tsar Cannon

The Tsar Bell... had some misfortune when it crashed during a fire. 

Can you tell how awkward I am! Yeah... The chick who did it after me go into a lot of trouble by the police. I was too cool not to be noticed. 

The Triumphal Arch of Moscow, built in order to commemorate the triumph over Napoleon. 

Our last touristy spot of Moscow was the Поклoнная горa (Polkonaya Gora (?), I don't think there's an english name for it), which is part of the Victory Park, commemorate the end of The World Wars.  

We then went to check out the War Museum. As usual Den den spent one million years there, extensively looking over every piece of equipment. 

After a long day of walking around the Red Square, the metro, and then the park, I was exhausted.

But I figured I could at least have some fun, while Den den took pictures of everything, and I mean everything...

The lowest and longest metro in Moscow. Now as a human who is afraid of heights this wasn't my favourite part. I was actually freaking out quite a bit... 

The fat kitty at Den den's families house. 

Our last stop of the trip, and in Russia was my grandparents house in Volgograd (formerly known as Stalingrad, because Stalin thought he needed a city named after him). Unfortunately my first day was spent crying, as people would come over to tell me things about how much I was loved by my grandpa, how much he couldn't wait to see me, and how every one remembers how him and I would go for walks in the park together when I was younger. 9 days. That was all that was left of the trip before I made it home. 9 days. Unfortunately such is life. 

But I was just happy to be with my amazing family! However... I then got some kind of flu, or sun stroke, or too-much-vodka-flu, that on the night of my first full day I woke up feeling very ill. I then got a fever, and couldn't keep anything down. This lasted for 4 days.... I was in Volgograd for 5 days.... You can imagine how disappointed I was with my body. On the fourth day I got the courage to go outside and show Den den all my childhood memories of where I used to play, where I would buy ice-cream, and where we used to go to pick fruits. We also went to our "Dacha" (дaча) so I could at least spend some time not sitting at home. 

The good thing about me being so sick was that my grandmother was kept really busy by taking care of me, and keeping her mind off of other things. 

We also got to go through all my mom's old 70-80's clothes, and got to look at hilarious baby pictures as a big family. It was even cooler to look at my grandmothers and grandfathers old photos of their childhood! 

Sexy little me. I know, please come down on how sexy I am. 

Our last day in Volgograd, my aunt had a lovely idea of taking us to see Mamayev Kurgan (Мамaев курган), considering our flight was later in the day, and we hadn't seen anything in Volgograd due to my mysterious flu. 

What a bittersweet end to such an amazing time of travel. I will never forget any of these experiences, and I really cannot wait to go back. I miss everything about Russia and I look forward to many more visits to come! 

P.S I apologize for the weird font changes... apparently when I write in Russian the keyboard gets all messed up. 

Krakow: The last stop

Unfortunately Krakow does not have many pictures, nor many stories.
After getting the new in Budapest, I was in no mood to do any more exploring. I felt guilty if I smiled or laughed, knowing the rest of my family was in mourning.

Frankly Krakow had a lot of really nice history (we went to the castle and Auswitchz), but I wasn't in the mood really for much exploring, nor did it make me feel comfortable meeting a Ukrainian tour guide who kept taking stabs at Putin... yes this is a Tour Guide who takes people from all around the world on tours, that decided to make shit politic.

Not many pictures to post, as I am uncomfortable posting pictures from Auswitchz to this blog, and we didn't really take any pictures of each other. So I'm sorry this post isn't the best.

Krakow was nice, I'm just sure it would have been better if I wasn't in the situation that I was.

Budapest: But for you I'd leave it all

Arriving to Budapest from Vienna was interesting.

The bus we got was so old! It was like Soviet Union old.

There was also a guy on the bus who did not like the fact that there were no seatbelts. So he decides he'll sit right beside the bus driver.... this is were the second bus driver sits. So obviously theres a big conflict between the primary bus driver (who actually speaks no English and all he can say is "no"). So people on the bus are getting really frustrated, as we were running late already, now there's this asshole who doesn't like the fact that he can't sit up in the front with a seatbelt. So one American on the bus makes a valid argument to the guy: "if you wanted to be safe and with seat belts why take the cheapest bus! Take the train!" Good job American guy. So the seatbelt guy see's the error of his way and finally takes a seat elsewhere.

Den den and I then make friends with the bus driver as we were the only Russian speaking people on the bus, and turns out the driver could only speak Hungarian, and a bit of Russian.

After the bumpiest bus ride we finally made it to scolding hot Budapest!

After settling into our cozy hostel we ended up exploring the far end of Pest.
We went over to the city park, which happened to be way away form the center, where there was also a castle. We did this first to try and get explore all of Budapest in 3 days, our logic here was start at the edge and work out way across.

The Buda side

The Pest side

The several days that we spent in Budapest was extremely hot...

But even so, we ended up climbing tons of stairs to get nice views. We mostly explored Budapest with our "free walking tour" guide (again I really recommend doing these! The guides are so enthusiastic!) 

After the tour we thought it would be a good idea to climb a mountain...

This is the mountain we climbed, in the hot sun. Once you get to the top there isn't much shade (or if there was there'd be tons of people in that tiny area of relief), so we only spent about 5 minutes at the top. 

Trying to get the side of Buda at night

Actually succeeding. 

Unfortunately there isn't much else I can say about Budapest. On our last night there, I got some horrible family news and spent the rest of the evening in our hostel crying until my eyes ran dry. Just a reminder to everyone, do not leave trips to see your family so late in your life, you never know when would be the last time you see them. 

Unfortunately looking back on this post, it makes me so sad.... 12 years, and all I had was 9 days left until I was home. 

Krakow next. 

Vienna: Feel like a princess

Valid reasons why I was not able to write the next blog post:

• My computer crashed after downloading "Yo-seh-mee-tee" (aka Yo-seh-mite if you say it how I say it)
• Two days after my computer got fixed, I spilt coffee on it. Fried the keyboard. Lost computer for another 2 weeks. 

But all is good now, and I have my computer, with a lovely "new" keyboard from Hong-Kong that only cost me $20 dollars (versus the "$150" for an "authentic" Apple keyboard... psht who needs those anyways). 

Anyways, where did I leave off.... Oh right, incredibly hungover and travelling across Europe, from Prague to Vienna. 

Let me reiterate: best bus ride ever (other than the hungover thing, and the feeling of wanting to vomit on every bump in the road). They served tea and hot chocolate! 

Once getting to Vienna, we were greeted by my aupair friend, whom I met back in Paris, to take us to her beautiful.... castle. 

That's right, I said castle; moat, courtyard, and a labyrinth of rooms, bathrooms, and halls. 

It was so beautiful! The family, the accommodations, and the wonderful time spent in Vienna. 

When we got to our friends place, we spent about an hour just getting a tour of the house, and then we decided that we were too hungover, hot, and exhausted to go out into Vienna. Instead we lounged around by the pool, got to know the family, and went out for dinner at a local restaurant. 

Relaxing in a castle. 

The next day was our big Vienna day. Everyone knows my logic: things are much better demonstrated by pictures. 

I like taking pictures in front of big screens. *hint* take a look at the beautiful architecture in the background! 

A line to a clothing store.... At first glance we thought it was going to be a line to something cool. Some people are really serious about sales. 

Marie Antoinettes mother. 

This is us replicating the statue. I think we nailed it. 

We thought this was a cute picture. I wanted a picture like this with Denden too, but he said we had too much "cute-sy" pictures in Paris. 

Another castle we visited but did not stay at. 

I got to meet up with another friend in Vienna, have lots of amazing food, and enjoy a trip of a lifetime. It is so amazing to now know all of these wonderful people! 

Next up will be Budapest. I promise this time, I'll keep all liquids far away from my laptop. 

Prague: City of Beer

Did you know that the Czech’s are more punctual than the Germans? We took 2 buses in German both of which were late by a minimum of 20 minutes (45 minutes for one them!!). However, we got to our Berlin bus station 2 minutes late only to find out that our bus for Prague had already left…

So what do two travelers do that need to get to another country? They buy overly expensive, last-minute bus tickets that luckily only had 3 free seats left (apparently some people were missing this bus).

Fortunately we made it onto this bus, and even got two seats next to each other (although we did ask a girl to move, and she kept on giving me a look the whole time on the bus ride… Which I don’t understand. She could have told me “no”, but then it’s either she sits next to me, a stranger, or another stranger… So I don’t see the problem. On a crowded bus I am happy to offer my seat to a couple/ friends as for me it doesn’t matter whom I sit next to).  

Anyways, we made it to Prague, 30 minutes after our original bus. At one point on the road we actually passed our bus on the road! Ughh… 120 euros down the drain.

This was our first city where we would be staying in a hostel. We had booked the Postal Hostel, which if you are going to Prague we really recommend you stay at. The people running the hostel were really helpful in suggesting good/ cheap restaurants and bars, and the hostel itself is clean and very comfortable. However, if you are lazy/ would prefer to be closer to the downtown and bars this isn’t exactly your hostel.

Our hostel room.

Just got so comfortable in the hostel that I almost left in my flippy floppies. Dennis wasn't impressed.

Through our hostel we found our first “Free Walking Tour”. As I understand it is a certain company that organizes several tours around different European cities, some of which are completely free (tips are appreciated though. Considering how awesome every tour guide is and how much walking they do on a daily basis while keeping a smile on their face (rain or shine), they really do deserve a generous tip).

Prague is beautiful in the way that it has it's modern buildings integrated into it's history.

Many people all over Europe like to rub statues. In this case apparently if you rubbed his feet you'd get good luck. As you can see the feet are gold meaning lots of people had rubbed those feet.

.... and people would run other places too.

But I am a rebel.

You would find many fun things on the streets of Prague. 

The prices in Prague were really low for us (we would convert to the dollar). Alcohol especially. So in other words, we ate a lot of food. Street desserts (some rolled up pastry with sugar) and I went around to restaurants trying different “gulash” (an eastern European dish).

Gulash. Which was delicious! 

A pig roast that was served at the market.Unfortunately very overprices for Prague price standards, but it was amazing! If possible and you are in Prague either just pay for the roast, or find a cheaper one that is outside of the city centre area.

Beer, everywhere really good beer.

Prague (like many European cities) is divided by a river, the Vltava. Of course we checked out both sides. The side away from the “city center”, or across the Charles Bridge has a huge castle. However, we didn’t explore much of the castle itself as it seemed like a tourist trap. It was a really expensive ticket here, and another here, for different accesses to the castle.

On the other side of the column was a chick all dressed up and with a guy taking photos of her. So I got on the other side to take my own "modelling" photos.

On our last night in Prague we decided to go hard (keep in mind we needed to wake up in the morning to catch a 8:30 bus to Vienna. Oh and this time we didn’t want to be late).

We decided to go for a pub crawl. It was only 20 euros per person, you hit up 5 bars (ending at the largest club in Prague, that is 5 stories high with different “themes” at each level. I’m looking at you country-lover… you are more than welcome to stay on that floor), and you get one hour of free shots – We took great advantage of that I must say… Free shots were of vodka, absinthe, or a cup of beer.

Right away we met an Irish couple that we really liked and so we stuck around with them drinking shots, trying to scream over the music to talk, and of course, drinking more shots.

Once last call was called it was a scramble to get the last couple of shots and off to the next bar. On our way there we met a second couple, this time travelling Australians. We hung out with this crowd for the rest of the night, drinking, talking, and dancing. Apparently they “lost” me in one of the bars (boyfriend wasn’t too happy about this), but when girl chats happen in the line for the bathroom what can you do! You must offer great drunken advice to young 18-year-olds and then happily hug and say how you will always stay best friends. It happens.

Cool crew of travellers!

On the way home I was miserable about having to get up in a couple of hours and knowing I'd be incredibly hung-over, and being extremely cold. Dennis is having the time of his life.. I am not impressed.

Charles bridge at night.

While walking home we happened to look overhead to find a flock of bats. Pretty creepy, but at the same time really cool to witness something like this.

The morning after wasn’t so fun… The fact that we had a really nice bus helped! But hung-over and car-sick me wasn’t having it. I pretty much passed out almost right away, or just had to keep my head looking forward… God knows what would happen if I moved my head slightly in either direction.

Most comfortable bus ever! Tv's, hot chocolate, tea, and snacks. Oh and the cheapest bus we took the whole trip!

Overall Prague is a beautiful city, and spoiler alert: it was definitely my favourite cities we visited (After Paris and Moscow of course). The food was amazing, the sights were beautiful, and the people were very welcoming.