A Real Life Geographer

Step count high for the trip was achieved today: 26,764. We did this
by walking around Bratislava, Slovakia for the first part of they day,
and Vienna, Austria for the other part.
There wasn't much in Bratislava that we couldn't see from our hotel
but we had a nice time in the older part of town. Kristy found the
book she collects, The Little Prince, in Slovakian in a bookstore with
almost no books. Shannon is the one that really found it.
The first picture is of a building in the old square, I don't know
what, I just liked the roof. The next picture is of the most Slovakian
dose our lunch restaurant had, gnocchi in soft sheep cheese with
sausage. It was a very strong cheese but overall pretty good.
After lunch we caught the bus to Vienna and had a bad first impression
because of the transportation system and signs. That impression was
quickly changed and we spent our time in the city walking around the
town center. We were able to see a few churches and managed some
window shopping as well.
The third picture is from outside a large church that was the location
for a film festival. They were broadcasting an orchestra concert to a
crowd of thousands. In the vicinity they had several food booths that
smelled amazing. It reminded me of Taste of Chicago.
The highlight of the night was being navigator for Shannon, Trevor,
and myself while Kristy and Ty were at a different concert. We walked
around the main attraction buildings and had a fabulous time. Using
the map made me feel like the last three years of my college education
haven't been in vain. I think most helpful may have been my class
called map use and interpretations.
My second souvenir from the trip is a mirror compact with Gustav
Klimt's 'The Kiss' on the front. It's one of my favorite paintings so
I'm glad my trinket will be useful. There has been a lot of Klimt work
made into souvenirs here. Without doing any research I'm guessing that
he was born or lived here.
The content of this post is factual but the order it was presented in
might be a little less accurate. But you get the idea.

Rise and Shine, it's Bath Time!

Daily step count: approximately 21,000. Today started out great. We
woke up at 5:30 so we could make it to a traditional Hungarian bath
house for the 6:00 opening. Kristy, Trevor, Ty, and I thoroughly
enjoyed it. Shannon would have loved it but she didn't come.
The bath house had at least 10 different hot and cold tubs of varying
sizes. There was a large tub outside that was more beautiful than
anything in Vegas, or maybe even Disney. Wow, I know. There were
multiple saunas as well. We were brave enough to test out the 80-100
degree C for about two minutes. It felt like Hell. Even the slightest
sniff felt like my nostrils were on fire.
We made it back to the hotel and ate a delicious included breakfast at
our hotel. Luckily we got to store our backpacks at the hotel because
today was HOT!! We decided to spend our little amount of time on a hop
on-hop off bus tour which proved invaluable. We were able to see the
highlights of the city without the waking. Downfall: being in the sun
all day.
One of the stops on the bus tour was at Heroe's Square. It has An art
museum on either side and a giant statue in the middle. It was on the
list of things Ben Carlson told me to see so I'm glad I did.
My favorite thing from the tour was the castle. It was mostly a giant
permanent sand castle wall that surrounded a church. The church had
the most exquisite tile roof ever. It's even better than roof on the
church by the capital.
After the bus tour we went on a boat tour of the Danube. That makes a
boat tour in every country so far. Maybe we'll keep the habit. Another
thing we've run into in every country is missionaries. The pair in
France didn't stop to talk, the Belgian set was at church, and this
Hungarian set was interested in conversation. 3/4 were from Utah, and
1 from Cuba.
After the boat tour we ate a traditional Hungarian meal, goulash stew
and potatoes. We made it back to the hotel and got our bags and headed
to the train station across the street. It took a while for the ticket
lady to sell us the tickets to Bratislava but it finally happened. The
train didn't come on time and we finally made it out of the station
more than an hour later. We are sharing a compartment with a cute
Swedish girl who played Phase 10 with us.
We've been on the train for nearly three hours and I think we are
almost to Bratislava. Who knows what we'll do tomorrow before we go to
Austria but I'm sure it will be fabulous.
Good night my dears.

Hungary? No thanks, I just ate

Hello all! Today was our shortest walking day yet, only 14,754 steps.
We have an early wake up call tomorrow so today's entry will be short.
First stop was the Atomium in Brussels. It was in the 1958 World's
Fair. Then we went to church which was nearby. We wore headsets that
broadcast a live translation from French.
After church we went immediately to the train station to meet Ty's
brother and catch a bus to the airport for Budapest. With a few
glitches and some separation along the way the 5 of us miraculously
ended up on our flight. Kristy, Shannon, and I had some time to bum
around the airport which allowed me to find a favorite candy of mine,
crispy M&M's. Good luck finding them in the states.
After a pleasant flight we landed in Budapest and made our way by bus
and subway to our very nice hotel. We dropped our stuff off and went
out to explore the town. We ate at McDonald's and walked along the
Danube river before coming back to our hotel. Tomorrow should be
exciting. We are starting at 5:30 to go to the baths. I hope a swim
suit is a requirement and not just a suggestion. Hello! (How the the
Hungarians say goodbye, maybe).

A Day Full of Brugge

Day 4: 22,100 steps
Today we started off by going to the local grocery store to get things
for packing our lunches. Then we headed to Brugge with three of
Kristy's NATO friends for a day of enchantment. The city was A+. Total
medieval town with numerous buildings and even more chocolate shops.
The town is also famous for their lace. There were lots of towers and
gorgeous architecture everywhere. We took a canal tour to see a lot of
the city which is my new favorite way of touring a city. The top
picture was taken when we first got into town. This was before the
flash rain storm but during the continuous misting.

Bruxelles

Today has been mostly about food. We left Paris after finding Kristy's
friend Ty and headed to Kristy's apartment here in Brussels. After a
day of walking 24,500 steps I feel okay about eating a waffle with
whipped cream and strawberries as well as the best lasagna ever. Not
pictured are some tasty truffles and a Parisian crepe. The building in
the top photo is in the grand plaza and is a government building, not
a church. Brugge is on the agenda for tomorrow and now I'm going to
bed. Good Night bloggers.

Happy is the Wrong Word

Day 2: 22,330 steps and counting. Today has consisted of an amazing
breakfast at a bakery followed by a subway ride to Disney Paris. I was
nervous about not being about to get in free because I've been
disconnected from the Walt Disney World system. Turns out I didn't
need to be, Disney Paris is too! All they did was photo copy my work
ID and Main Gate pass and the three of us were good to go. They have
an Indiana Jones roller coaster here, a complete Pirates set and ride,
a beyond psycho-amazing Space Mountain (we all might have brain
damage), and Phantom Manor. At the Disney Studios park we went on
Tower of Terror, Crush's Coaster, a backlot tour, and the worst thing
ever: Armageddon Special Effects.
Throw in some awesome sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich, some crepes
and waffles from Gibson Girls and that pretty much sums up our day.
Disney Paris has a lot of smoking, very little written English (but
more than most places), and a beautiful castle that you can walk
through.
Thanks Abby for scouting this place out a few months ago. Your advice
has been greatly appreciated. Only a few more minutes until the
firework spectacular.
Adieu mi amores!

Midnight in Paris

Ok, it was really 10:00, not midnight. I do recommend the movie
'Midnight in Paris' with Owen Wilson though.
Anyway, today was our first day here. Shannon and I met Kristy at the
airport and proceeded to walk 20,000+ steps throughout the day. After
making it to our hotel we took the subway into downtown Paris and saw
the Arc de Triumphe, walked the Champs, then walked towards the Eiffel
Tower and took a boat cruise on the Sienne River. It was the best way
to see the city because we didn't have to spend all day walking.
Next we ventured over to the Eiffel Tower and found some bland crepes
to eat for dinner. We people watched and talked for an enjoyable
amount of time before finding a sweet treat. We waited around for the
tower to light up and twinkle on the hour.
It was a most enjoyable day and I'm looking forward to sleeping very
well tonight.
On tomorrow's agenda, Euro Disneyland! Hopefully I'll still be able to
get in free. Until then my faithful readers!