Blasting Through History
Leaving Bosnia behind so soon was a shame but we had to make tracks further north quickly to have enough time to get know Berlin properly and prepare (mentally and physically) for the 8 days of camping coming up very soon.
The first stop was Budapest which was a bitch of a daytime train ride (14 hours) so by the time we arrived late at night we only found an overpriced hostel with a horrid backpacker bar to have a beer in. The next day we promptly changed to a much better place with a sexy Hungarian manager to stay in and on the recommendation of a guy we met went to a great bar called 'Szimpla'. This place was a lot like Cafe Lounge but it was huge; set in a run down building which had been remodeled with an arty decorum: plants and vines, graffiti pieces, second hand furniture, projections and what not. It was basically the coolest bar we've ever been to. We met people from Spain, Germany, Cuba and of course Hungary. A well enjoyable evening.
The next day after some tiresome city exploring i.e. too much walking, we unwound in the local Hungarian thermal baths for a good 4 hours, definately the highlight of Budapest. They had various pools, a whirlpool and an insanely hot sauna which you have to take a block of ice in to resist the pain; although the feeling when jumping into the 16 degree pool straight afterward was heaven. As night was falling some mean clouds covered the sky and within minutes the most insane storm was underway; wind sweeping away towels and bags, rain being forced in a horizontal direction, hail and lightning. So we watched it from the best possible place... in the 26 degree outdoor baths until we were evacuated for fear of a lightning strike.
After three nights we got the bus to Prague to check out what all the hype is about. In my opinion not much. Sure it's a beautiful city with great statues and architecture but the place was absolutely swamped with tourists and drunken louts. Granted we only stayed for two nights and didn't really know where the good places were but I was happy to leave. The only redeeming feature was a tout in the tourist area promising us a "midget lesbian" show for half price! I was intrigued thinking this was a once in a lifetime opportunity but Juz was not as moved by the two strangest (or greatest) words ever put together.
So it was goodbye Prague, hello Berlin to stay with my buddy Lincoln and check out the quality European city. Hopefully we'll get some rest as this is the calm before the storm, but if we don't that's also good.
The first stop was Budapest which was a bitch of a daytime train ride (14 hours) so by the time we arrived late at night we only found an overpriced hostel with a horrid backpacker bar to have a beer in. The next day we promptly changed to a much better place with a sexy Hungarian manager to stay in and on the recommendation of a guy we met went to a great bar called 'Szimpla'. This place was a lot like Cafe Lounge but it was huge; set in a run down building which had been remodeled with an arty decorum: plants and vines, graffiti pieces, second hand furniture, projections and what not. It was basically the coolest bar we've ever been to. We met people from Spain, Germany, Cuba and of course Hungary. A well enjoyable evening.
The next day after some tiresome city exploring i.e. too much walking, we unwound in the local Hungarian thermal baths for a good 4 hours, definately the highlight of Budapest. They had various pools, a whirlpool and an insanely hot sauna which you have to take a block of ice in to resist the pain; although the feeling when jumping into the 16 degree pool straight afterward was heaven. As night was falling some mean clouds covered the sky and within minutes the most insane storm was underway; wind sweeping away towels and bags, rain being forced in a horizontal direction, hail and lightning. So we watched it from the best possible place... in the 26 degree outdoor baths until we were evacuated for fear of a lightning strike.
After three nights we got the bus to Prague to check out what all the hype is about. In my opinion not much. Sure it's a beautiful city with great statues and architecture but the place was absolutely swamped with tourists and drunken louts. Granted we only stayed for two nights and didn't really know where the good places were but I was happy to leave. The only redeeming feature was a tout in the tourist area promising us a "midget lesbian" show for half price! I was intrigued thinking this was a once in a lifetime opportunity but Juz was not as moved by the two strangest (or greatest) words ever put together.
So it was goodbye Prague, hello Berlin to stay with my buddy Lincoln and check out the quality European city. Hopefully we'll get some rest as this is the calm before the storm, but if we don't that's also good.
posted by Dave Tran at 11:45 AM
2 Comments:
I prefer the 1st title "Blasting through history"
it had more zing...
have it your way.
Post a Comment
<< Home