Thanks for the Prague love -- for loving Prague and liking my blog/pictures of Prague.
I'm a little tardy on the Milan photos currently so I thought I'd break up the monotony with CNNGO's 10 Best & Worst Airport Lists for your reading enjoyment.
10 Of The World's Most Loved Airports
10 Of The World's Most Hated Airports
Previously I'd posted links to Sleeping In Airports' site with their best & worst lists and a number of the same aiports appear on CNNGO's lists. I'm a little biased towards the latter only because they list HKIA (Hong Kong) in the #1 spot, which echo my sentiments. It's coming up to midnight and 22C in Hong Kong right now, my friend Jason has just flown thru HKIA very recently and I wish I were there too.
As for the worst airport, I'll save my breathe trashing Charles de Gaulle and let everyone else do that for me. The appearance of Heathrow still makes me think of the time I almost missed my flight to Lisbon in 2006, I will have to repost that tale here sometime. Suffice to say that place is big enough you can run a marathon through it, and I kind of did.
I am a little discouraged (though not completely surprised) to find New York's JFK on the Hated list, as I'm trying to pull together a big trip for 2012 that will likely have me flying through there. (My back-up plan being a return to Paris, which will take me right into de Gaulle Airport...great...)
For better or worse, sometimes you just have to deal with a lousy airport as the price to pay to see a wonderful foreign land. Either that or stick to Hong Kong ;)
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Euroventures 2011 - Budapest
It was a 10am train going from Vienna to Budapest. Luckily I had figured out the day before that Wien Meidling train station was in fact accessible through Philadelphiabrücke metro station as opposed to my first guess - Meidling Hauptstraße which would have involved changing trains, plus I'm not sure if it's actually connected to the train station?
Much as I complained about my poor comprehension of Italian and German, that was nothing compared to when all the rail station signs changed to Hungarian! Most people I encountered in Budapest spoke English and were very helpful and nice to me, so that was a relief. My greatest language barrier moment came when I was standing in a small grocery store trying to figure out which bottles of water were carbonated and non-carbonated (I highly dislike the former). In Italy I quickly learned the key word to look for was 'naturale' and in German 'ohne'... Hungarian and Czech...no clue. To further complicate matters, carbonated water often comes in 2 forms, carbonated and a sort of mild carbonation (that's still pretty gross in large amounts). Eventually I figured out the solution is just to pick up the bottle and squeeze it (similar to way you might test to see if your friends have shook up your bottle of pop before handing it to you...what? didn't anyone have those types of friends in school? :P) The plastic bottle can be squished a bit for still and mildly carbonated water, if you shake it a little the still water bottle will still have the same amount of give, the mildly carbonated one will have a little more resistance. From there I just memorized the colour of the bottle cap and stuck with the same brand of water for the rest of the trip.
But in less mundane news, I stayed at the reliable Ibis City Hotel in Budapest, Ibis being a lower-budget brand of hotel that still offers a clean room, safe stay, and reliable service (wifi notwithstanding... I had some difficulties with it). We'd been told they would take euros in Budapest, but in fact that was not true. Tourist spots will take euros at a rip-off rate but everywhere else you will need the local currency. Luckily we weren't far from Vaci Utca (aka tourist central -- a street filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, and shopping) where there were Change places galore.
Despite being distracted by cute souvenirs, the Eastern-meets-Western European architecture, etc. I did keep in mind my friend Aniko's recommendation to see Buda Castle that day (as many places are closed on Sundays), it was pleasant hike up and there was much to learn about the rich history of Budapest from the Museum. It was interesting to see pre-historic artifacts outside of North America (ok, so I'm stereotyping but I always think Canada/US when I think of dinosaurs and cavemen), also to learn that one of the first inhabitants of Budapest were a Celtic tribe. I had been hoping to check out the House of Terror (it's more about Facism and Communism than serial killers), which I should've gone to Sunday because it was closed when I passed by on Monday. Still, I managed to glimpse other sites (including a education tour of the Dohány Street Synagogue) and really enjoyed wandering the streets of Budapest. In fact, it was probably my favourite city of this trip and certainly the most photographed.
Everything seems delightfully affordable in Budapest thanks to the favourable exchange rate. Despite all my previous joking around, I did pick up souvenirs that were not paprika (the only thing I knew Hungary was famous for prior to this trip). If you're strictly about the sight-seeing, 2 days or 3 days tops is enough in Budapest. However I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and would have no problem staying longer. I got my hands on a culture guide from one of the tourist stands and there are a number of smaller museums that I wouldn't mind seeing. So I hope to return to Hungary in the future.
Much as I complained about my poor comprehension of Italian and German, that was nothing compared to when all the rail station signs changed to Hungarian! Most people I encountered in Budapest spoke English and were very helpful and nice to me, so that was a relief. My greatest language barrier moment came when I was standing in a small grocery store trying to figure out which bottles of water were carbonated and non-carbonated (I highly dislike the former). In Italy I quickly learned the key word to look for was 'naturale' and in German 'ohne'... Hungarian and Czech...no clue. To further complicate matters, carbonated water often comes in 2 forms, carbonated and a sort of mild carbonation (that's still pretty gross in large amounts). Eventually I figured out the solution is just to pick up the bottle and squeeze it (similar to way you might test to see if your friends have shook up your bottle of pop before handing it to you...what? didn't anyone have those types of friends in school? :P) The plastic bottle can be squished a bit for still and mildly carbonated water, if you shake it a little the still water bottle will still have the same amount of give, the mildly carbonated one will have a little more resistance. From there I just memorized the colour of the bottle cap and stuck with the same brand of water for the rest of the trip.
But in less mundane news, I stayed at the reliable Ibis City Hotel in Budapest, Ibis being a lower-budget brand of hotel that still offers a clean room, safe stay, and reliable service (wifi notwithstanding... I had some difficulties with it). We'd been told they would take euros in Budapest, but in fact that was not true. Tourist spots will take euros at a rip-off rate but everywhere else you will need the local currency. Luckily we weren't far from Vaci Utca (aka tourist central -- a street filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, and shopping) where there were Change places galore.
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| Parliament Building photographed from across the river while lit up at night. |
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| The beautiful Dohany Street Synagogue |
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| Chain Bridge |
Everything seems delightfully affordable in Budapest thanks to the favourable exchange rate. Despite all my previous joking around, I did pick up souvenirs that were not paprika (the only thing I knew Hungary was famous for prior to this trip). If you're strictly about the sight-seeing, 2 days or 3 days tops is enough in Budapest. However I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and would have no problem staying longer. I got my hands on a culture guide from one of the tourist stands and there are a number of smaller museums that I wouldn't mind seeing. So I hope to return to Hungary in the future.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Euroventures 2011 - Prague
Prague is what I now call (after the fact) my 'ghetto' portion of the trip, please indulge me while I attempt to justify my (sometimes poor) decisions... While I was hardly in the lap of luxury this trip, I tried to strike a balance, spend a little more in some places so ensure comfort, and cut back in some other areas to even it out. For example Budapest is a very economical place to visit, so I got myself a decent hotel and ate 3 course meals in nice restaurants. Vienna was a longer stop (hard to believe 3 nights is "longer") so I got a private flat so that I'd be guaranteed a fridge, a means of making tea, and could scatter my stuff around without worrying about housekeeping messing with it. Prague was probably my 2nd cheapest destination overall, for 2 nights, and so I opted for a hostel that featured nice photos on its webpage. Now my tolerance for hostels has changed a lot over the years, at age 23, spending 10 days in the Cambie Hostel in Vancouver sleeping on a creaky bunk bed (I still got a private room, only child syndrome...) and sharing a bathroom was perfectly fine (granted I was also crazy enough to think it'd be ok to go traipsing about Vancouver in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey without getting heckled and looks of disdain). Nowadays I will not share a washroom, I hardly want to share a bed, am wary of all hostel bedding, and will bring my own pillow/pillowcase (I'd bring my own blanket if I could only fit it in my bag!) The Ragtime Hostel looked ok from its pictures (and to be fair, I've stayed at hostels that are far nicer that "hotels" so I'm not quick to judge), was a reasonable price, and hey, hostel = kitchen, which means I'm able to make tea and other food if I wish.
Before I even get into the hostel situation, let's add to the ghetto-ness of this trip by taking an overnight bus from Budapest to Prague on discount coach lines Orangeways. The decision to take the bus actually had nothing to do with money, train tickets are perfectly affordable however time was precious and trains from Budapest to Prague only ran into the daytime (overnight travel sucks, but it does save you time, also money) I couldn't afford to lose a day on the train. The Orangeways bus was ideal, 11:30pm to 7am (that's less than Toronto to New York on Megabus - esp since the bus arrived on time! Early even...) and of course it was cheap (about €20 and €1 to stow a bag beneath the bus). A bit of confusion with where to find the bus aside, it was a decent ride as far as overnight buses go - Orangeways doesn't not stop in the Nepliget bus terminal, but rather across the street at the corner of the football stadium. Luckily their brightly coloured buses are hard to miss. They do show movies despite it being an overnight ride, so if you're sitting right under the TV monitor (like me) and want to sleep (like me), don't forget your eye mask (like me :S). I was able to sleep after a while, plus I got to pocket the earphones they were distributing (mini win!) The bus does make a few middle-of-the-night stops, including one in Bratislava, Slovakia (one of the places I would've stopped if I'd had a few more days).
The Ragtime Hostel was a little challenging to say the least. First off, you need to check in at their sister hostel - Hostel Emma, at which point they took us on a 6 min walk (weary travelers, narrow streets, heavy bags... *sigh*) to an apartment building, up to the first floor to an unmarked door (have to say, some big dude leading me inside a non-descript building to a door with no signage whatsoever and beckons me to go inside... a little freaky!)... which turns out to be a converted space split into a number of rooms and one shared kitchen. That's it though, there is no reception on site. If you want anything you need to find your way back to Hostel Emma. The room itself was spacious enough, the private bathroom a good size, and kitchen had all the essentials. I'm not expecting any miracles for a good bed, the sheets are colourful but on closer inspection made me worry about their cleanliness a bit. The biggest annoyance at that point were the glass-window doors. The door to our room was glass with fabric covering, and it was the room next to the main entrance, I had some noise concerns off the bat. What was even more awkward the bathroom door was partially see-through glass! Uh...I'm not traveling with a partner here! Even if I were I'd still like some privacy while in the loo. Seriously, the way the doors were angled and line of sight, if we shut the bathroom door but opened the bedroom door, a person in the hallway would be able to see the person sitting on the crapper. *smacks forehead* Imagine my level of discomfort from the get-go. To make matters worse, that evening when I tried to take a shower there was no hot water! It wasn't even tepid or room temperature, it was near ice cold and temps were below 10C that night. Thank god it was a hand-shower, and so I washed my hair like I did as a child during Hong Kong summers...head hung upside down careful to aim the cold water only at my scalp and not the rest of me. Hot water finally came back around 1am and lasted for maybe 10 mins. I was so livid I nearly marched into Old Town to see if the Ibis there had any vacancies. However that would've meant forfeiting the amount I'd prepaid to Ragtime, so I stuck it out. The second night was better, the hot water lasted for almost 25 mins before it went tepid for another few minutes and finished off cold again. (I was 2nd to use the shower so I got all the temperature fluctuations.)
Enough with the accommodations though, the city itself was a much more positive experience. For all its shortcomings, Ragtime was very conveniently located. There was public transportation around the corner, a big Tesco supermarket that had a pretty good bakery section (I really enjoyed the random baked goods I kept picking up for breakfast, plus the delicious mango smoothies that were on sale), and it was a short walk to shopping and Old Town. It's a very walkable city overall despite the easy tendency to make wrong turns in the web of streets (it could've been just me, but next to Venice I thought Prague was toughest to navigate without a map - to clarify: I did have a map for both, but sometimes it's nice to put it away or else you wind up staring at it more than the beautiful buildings in front of you). There's lots to see and lots to eat, the first night I decided to get authentic and had Old Prague Ham and beer in the square. Then followed it up with a visit to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments, which was right next to the famous Charles Bridge. The clouds rolling in past the castle on the other side were extra creepy that night. I made sure to take lots of pictures. Of all my stops during this trip, I would have to say Prague most embraces the night. Stores were open pretty late by European standards, many tourist traps opened until 8 or 10pm, and of course there were a lot of little theatres with evening shows.
The second day was spent on the other side of the Charles Bridge in the Mala Strana (aka Lesser Town) area with visits to the castle and the John Lennon wall (I'm sure no one is surprised that this stop at the graffiti tribute to my favourite Beatle was one of my must-sees). Followed by the search for a highly recommended Asian restaurant - Maly Buddha - which was up a pretty long slope. It was all worth it though! I would go back to Prague just to have dinner at that place again. Their menu includes a selection of Tibetan, Vietnamese, Malaysian, etc. with a large number of vegetarian options to cater to those of the Buddhist faith. Tho the guidebook recommended pho, we opted for other Vietnamese selections. Even the starter soup was amazing, I think it was just some standard clear broth with vegetable. And the rose black tea I ordered was probably some of the best tea I've ever drank! It was the perfect meal to get rid of that rainy autumn chill I'd been enduring all day while exploring outside (that chill is also the reason I opted out of getting absinthe ice cream, which I had been planning to sample). Capped off the night by catching "Rock Therapy", a cute little blacklight show with puppets and live performances featuring music by the Beatles and some familiar iconography. It's not a highly polished and thought-provoking show, but entertaining all the same.
Prague is definitely a worthwhile place to visit. Having gotten most of the major historical attractions out of the way this visit, I could really see myself making a return trip with friends to do a proper pub crawl and hang out in absinthe shops. In the two days I think I saw most of what I wanted to see, another day and I would've gotten in a couple more art museum/exhibits. If you're gonna do a pub crawl, then maybe factor in another day for your hangover?
Before I even get into the hostel situation, let's add to the ghetto-ness of this trip by taking an overnight bus from Budapest to Prague on discount coach lines Orangeways. The decision to take the bus actually had nothing to do with money, train tickets are perfectly affordable however time was precious and trains from Budapest to Prague only ran into the daytime (overnight travel sucks, but it does save you time, also money) I couldn't afford to lose a day on the train. The Orangeways bus was ideal, 11:30pm to 7am (that's less than Toronto to New York on Megabus - esp since the bus arrived on time! Early even...) and of course it was cheap (about €20 and €1 to stow a bag beneath the bus). A bit of confusion with where to find the bus aside, it was a decent ride as far as overnight buses go - Orangeways doesn't not stop in the Nepliget bus terminal, but rather across the street at the corner of the football stadium. Luckily their brightly coloured buses are hard to miss. They do show movies despite it being an overnight ride, so if you're sitting right under the TV monitor (like me) and want to sleep (like me), don't forget your eye mask (like me :S). I was able to sleep after a while, plus I got to pocket the earphones they were distributing (mini win!) The bus does make a few middle-of-the-night stops, including one in Bratislava, Slovakia (one of the places I would've stopped if I'd had a few more days).
The Ragtime Hostel was a little challenging to say the least. First off, you need to check in at their sister hostel - Hostel Emma, at which point they took us on a 6 min walk (weary travelers, narrow streets, heavy bags... *sigh*) to an apartment building, up to the first floor to an unmarked door (have to say, some big dude leading me inside a non-descript building to a door with no signage whatsoever and beckons me to go inside... a little freaky!)... which turns out to be a converted space split into a number of rooms and one shared kitchen. That's it though, there is no reception on site. If you want anything you need to find your way back to Hostel Emma. The room itself was spacious enough, the private bathroom a good size, and kitchen had all the essentials. I'm not expecting any miracles for a good bed, the sheets are colourful but on closer inspection made me worry about their cleanliness a bit. The biggest annoyance at that point were the glass-window doors. The door to our room was glass with fabric covering, and it was the room next to the main entrance, I had some noise concerns off the bat. What was even more awkward the bathroom door was partially see-through glass! Uh...I'm not traveling with a partner here! Even if I were I'd still like some privacy while in the loo. Seriously, the way the doors were angled and line of sight, if we shut the bathroom door but opened the bedroom door, a person in the hallway would be able to see the person sitting on the crapper. *smacks forehead* Imagine my level of discomfort from the get-go. To make matters worse, that evening when I tried to take a shower there was no hot water! It wasn't even tepid or room temperature, it was near ice cold and temps were below 10C that night. Thank god it was a hand-shower, and so I washed my hair like I did as a child during Hong Kong summers...head hung upside down careful to aim the cold water only at my scalp and not the rest of me. Hot water finally came back around 1am and lasted for maybe 10 mins. I was so livid I nearly marched into Old Town to see if the Ibis there had any vacancies. However that would've meant forfeiting the amount I'd prepaid to Ragtime, so I stuck it out. The second night was better, the hot water lasted for almost 25 mins before it went tepid for another few minutes and finished off cold again. (I was 2nd to use the shower so I got all the temperature fluctuations.)
Enough with the accommodations though, the city itself was a much more positive experience. For all its shortcomings, Ragtime was very conveniently located. There was public transportation around the corner, a big Tesco supermarket that had a pretty good bakery section (I really enjoyed the random baked goods I kept picking up for breakfast, plus the delicious mango smoothies that were on sale), and it was a short walk to shopping and Old Town. It's a very walkable city overall despite the easy tendency to make wrong turns in the web of streets (it could've been just me, but next to Venice I thought Prague was toughest to navigate without a map - to clarify: I did have a map for both, but sometimes it's nice to put it away or else you wind up staring at it more than the beautiful buildings in front of you). There's lots to see and lots to eat, the first night I decided to get authentic and had Old Prague Ham and beer in the square. Then followed it up with a visit to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments, which was right next to the famous Charles Bridge. The clouds rolling in past the castle on the other side were extra creepy that night. I made sure to take lots of pictures. Of all my stops during this trip, I would have to say Prague most embraces the night. Stores were open pretty late by European standards, many tourist traps opened until 8 or 10pm, and of course there were a lot of little theatres with evening shows.
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| View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge |
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| Quoting the classics in artwork on the John Lennon Wall |
Prague is definitely a worthwhile place to visit. Having gotten most of the major historical attractions out of the way this visit, I could really see myself making a return trip with friends to do a proper pub crawl and hang out in absinthe shops. In the two days I think I saw most of what I wanted to see, another day and I would've gotten in a couple more art museum/exhibits. If you're gonna do a pub crawl, then maybe factor in another day for your hangover?
Euroventures 2011 - Vienna
I rented a flat not too far from the train station from www.airbnb.com, my first time using the site. I got pretty much what I expected at Rosemarie's flat, which was mostly spacious with 2 bedrooms and a open concept kitchen (that I did a little cooking in one evening). The bathroom was ridiculously tiny, to the point it was almost comical trying to get undressed and then squeeze through the gap into the shower. Not the end of the world though, and having a private flat is a very nice change from staying into hotel rooms. The location was very convenient with a big mid-range shopping mall half a block away that included a very large supermarket that I couldn't resist shopping in (I remember cheap mushrooms and Ritter Sport chocolate bars in flavours I'd never tried or even heard of!)
It was very comfy in the flat, almost too comfy because it took me a while to get motivated to go out (I was happy resting and going over guidebooks and maps spread out on the dining table!) thus my first day in Vienna wasn't very productive. The movie tie-in for my stop in Vienna was Before Sunrise (staring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy about young love, where 2 people meet on a train and decide to spend a day wandering in Vienna), so I strolled past a couple sites that they also checked out, hopped on a tram for the hell of it (damn, the new trams vs. the old ones... big difference! The Ring Tram looked so quaint as it chugged along on the tracks, the new tram that I rode, as soon as the door closed it jetted off and it felt like only seconds before I'd reached my intended stop... I'm sure the look on my face must've been pretty comical as I hurried off because I didn't know where 10 more seconds on the tram would take me)
While walking around Vienna, I couldn't help but compare it to life in Paris. A bustling city with a historic backdrop. Public transportation and heavy traffic rumbling on the streets amidst a backdrop of old buildings each showcasing unique moldings right above a high profile retail sign. As with every busy metropolis...there is shopping! Therefore I took a culture break and checked out the Danube Mall, where they had a regular Desigual store (see last entry for related note on one of my fav clothing labels) and put my Visa card to good use there.
On my last evening in Vienna, I had not seen close to everything I wanted to see (which was expected, I knew even before I arrived that 3 days would be insufficient but I had to get moving on). I'd meant to go to Cafe Sperl, a Before Sunrise location and classic Viennese cafe, in the late afternoon for some coffee and cake but didn't get into the area until almost 7. By then they'd begun serving dinner, which I was less interested in, so I took a peek and kept walking despite my growling tummy. Just around the corner I see a "Ra Mien" sign and the window is a picture of busy waiters and patrons at every table. I was sold. It turns out it wasn't the traditional Japanese noodle that I'm accustomed to, but more like what we, from the Canton province, know of as 'Ho Fun' however freshly shaved off this big hunk of whatever-noodle-is-made-of (please don't ask me to explain, I'll never get this right). Most importantly, it was delicious! The soup, the noodle, the ample amount of seafood... When I ordered chrysanthemum tea, they actually brought me a small tea pot with real chrysanthemum flowers soaking in it! You'd be hard pressed to find that even in Toronto. The noodle joint functioned as both culinary hotspot and a bar lounge at night, on my table next to the menu was the DJ line-up for the month. Awesome.
Vienna is a first-class city in my books with much to offer. You can hand me a ticket to fly back there anytime!
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