DA BEST of BUDAPEST

BUDAPEST is DA BEST

The last stop we hit up on our travels was BUDAPEST. We thought this was a random pick by us- it wasnt too far from Vienna so we thought why not, but apparently it wasnt as random as what we had thought.  Atleast 70 percent of the people staying in our hostel were doing the exact same trip that me and Breanne were doing. Anyways from Vienna on BUS it took us 3 hours to get to BUDAPEST.

                           

Even though Buda. + Vienna are roughly the same in size, Buda. has this very cozy feeling to the city. We stayed just by the KALVINTER metro stop and we could walk the entire city by foot. Really what I enjoyed doing most in Buda. was just walking around on the "PEST" side and looking at all the buildings and life. They have a JEWISH GHETTO (where now all the ruin bars are) that is very moving to see. The "BUDA" side (Buda meaning water) is where are the TURKISH BATH HOUSES are the CASTLE HILL & NATIONAL MUSEUM.

We also spent an evening walking through the DANUBE island on the river. (right in the middle of the BUDA and PEST sides) With Buda.s "rough" exterior + "funky" vibe the city is really quite breathtaking & romantic. You can see couples everywhere going for strolls, young artists scattered through the parks... Me & Breanne both agreed that Buda. is the "up-and-coming" Paris (for those of you who have been to Paris you must now go to Budapest + tell me if Im right or wrong!)

Make sure you walk over the bridges at night 

time when they light up and you can see the 

beautiful grandiose PARLIAMENT BUILDING with 

lights shining and everything! Its quite the pic..

SIMPLA was a really cool bar we went to at night time with crazy decor (just like our hostel LAVENDER CIRCUS that was great.) There are bikes hanging from the ceiling, street lights on the walls, spoons are chandeliers etc. etc. really whatever you could imagine is there! (For Edmontonians- its like a BLUE PLATE DINER times a thousand!) Its in amongst the other Ruin bars but more quaint and quiet..

This pretty much sums it up- 

enjoy being lazy and strolling around in the city! 

 We had 2 days in Budapest and 

I felt like that was enough time for myself, 

 but everybody is different!

Till next time ;)

xo.peace.

k

5 days in Vienna

5 DAYS IN VIENNA

Vienna is such an incredible city!! I actually rank it right up there with Berlin (and for those of you who know me- thats a big statement) 5 days in Vienna and I still would like to go back.

Vienna is a BIG city that has a lot going on (atleast in the summer time) there are MANY squares scattered throughout the city with events going on......

To start, when we were there outside their immaculate City Hall was the FILM FESTIVAL. They covered a beautiful building with a massive screen that played live concerts that were going on elsewhere in the city. Surrounding the park was like a Heritage Days (for you Edmontonians who are reading this) on drugs! Food stands from around the world set up to drink+eat at! It was great food + a wicked environment- one night the rolling stones played in Vienna and it was JAM PACKED!

Also PRATER PARK (Stephansplatz metro stop) has an amusement park you can go to- there is a massive ferris wheel that looks like it was built in the 18th century. The little "cabs" where people sit are like the steel section of a metro line...

Spend atleast one full day strolling through NASCHMARKET and surrounding area.... Nasch. is this fresh fruit, veggies, falafel galore! The atmosphere is wicked + the food is out of this world!

 Surrounding Nasch. are a lot of funky unique clothing shops, coffee shops&just 5 blocks up the way- if you have a shopping itch there is a big street with big brands all the same as in Karlsplatz but a fraction of the busyness !

At night we hit up WIEN & CO. and did a little wine sampling (you can ask for certain flavors and they let you taste a whole bunch) then you can stroll into the MUSEUM QUARTER that is bustling at night.. live DJs tons of different open bars + gelato...of course.

[our favorite wine!  incredibly sweet!]

Okay BEST OF ALL (and I dont think that many tourists know about it because its mostly locals that go) is DONAUSTADTBRUCKE metro stop. 

WE SPENT TWO FULL AFTERNOONS HERE BECAUSE WE LOVED IT SO MUCH! 

Vienna was scorching hot (35 degrees Celsius) when we were there and I do not handle the heat well....unless near a body of water. Hence our search for water. Dona. stop takes you to the "swimming side" of the river (the other side of the river is used for transportation of product & buisness.) Once you get off the stop - --PAY ATTENTION- 

-do not cross over the bridge to your left, keep walking down straight onto a passageway (there should be a tiny little cafe on your right hand side) as you continue there are about 10-15 docks set up in the river that people just go+relax on! You can totally swim in the river+it is an absolutely beautiful spot to chill & grab some sun... maybe a little too much for me as I came out looking like a tomatoe!

If you DO cross the bridge at DONAUSTADTBRUCKE stop you come to another cool place called "WAKE UP" If you enjoy wake boarding this place is for you! Its essentially like skiing toe-ropes but in water. There is a little circuit so as the boarders grab hold of the toe you can simply go in a loop or go off jumps- whatever your heart desires! Its even fun to just go grab a beer at the restaurant & watch!

We also felt we had to go check out the famous SHONBRUNN PALACE one day. This is nice place to bring a picnic + just relax on a patch of grass... its very pretty, but personally I felt very similar to the park in Paris - VERSAILLES. If you are big on parks & old building-monument jazz I would say go for it- but I wouldnt put it too highly on my own personal list of things to do. If you do have little jiggers, on the contrary, there is the oldest ZOO in Europe in this park you could hit up.. I didnt go in (personal reasons) but Im sure it would be neat.

4 future Vienna go-ers here is my list of MUST-dos to LEAST-dos:

1. LOCAL EVENT- whatever is going on in the city: go hit it up! The people are wicked + super friendly!
2. DONAUSTADTBRUCKE- grab your bathings suit +go chill!
3. NASCHMARKET- eat a falafel...omg so good!
4. WIEN. & CO. + MUSEUM QUARTER- do a wine tasting then go chill in MQ with live music
5. PRATER AMUSEMENT PARK- ride the ferris wheel...if you dare
6. SCHONBRUNN PALACE

OH YEAH! And this happened....::

  ->

          [chop chop chop away!Vienna!]

Like I said, I want to go back and this just touches on some of the stuff we did.  If you have any other questions (metro passes, places to stay, areas to stay etc.) fire me a comment + Ill try to help out!

xo.peace.

k

24hrs in Prague

We started in the Czech Republic...

[me + my friend Breanne who came to visit &travel with me! I am one lucky duck!]

24hrs. IN PRAGUE

So to start: coming into Prague we dropped all our bags and stayed in the "LESSER TOWN"- close to the castle district & a younger less touristy appeal. In the lesser town you can find a few vintage shops and lots of chill live music bars (good place to relax @ night)

side note: if your staying in the 

lesser town, old or new town 

then you dont really need a metro pass.. 

you can essentially walk everywhere :)

After dropping our bags we hopped on the metro & went into the NEW TOWN & walked into the OLD TOWN. As you walk you can stroll through a few open markets- mostly souvenir items but still a fun atmosphere. Plus you can find these MASSIVE licorices that are to die for! yummmmmm.... After a stroll through the markets you can sit down for a beer in the old town against the water and listen to some live music- im sure this is different in the winter time, but during the summer there is tons of music everywhere!

After that we walked more and just soaked up the ambience of the city! Around 7 we headed over to vegetarian restaurant called MAITREA- for you "anti-vegetarians" you MUST give this place a shot! It is unreal- not only for vegetarians but many options for vegans- my favourite was the raw cheesecake! UNBELIEVABLE!!

Now heres the icing on the cake- for 2 appetizers, 3 main courses, 2 desserts and 5 drinks it came to a grand sum of $45....omg...thank goodness Im not living in Prague or I would be a regular!

side note: if your travelling to Czech 

everything is relatively cheap-especially 

boose!  aka go out and get your gifts for 

friends and family here!

After we were stuffed we strolled the famous CHARLES BRIDGE. The bridge is held together with egg yolk from 1357! Its no longer open to vehicles just pedestrians and artists!  From the bridge you can see both sides of city lit up at night- awesome for pics :)  

take your time in Prague, be lazy and enjoy strolling through the city....

[pic from CHARLES BRIDGE in PRAGUE..not photoshopped, yes its that beautiful!]

side note: you can go up in the hot air 

balloon for 30 minutes and look out over

 the city!

up to come..WHAT TO DO IN VIENNA!

xo.peace.kirsten

Prague.Vienna.Budapest

New Journey!

Update: my girl friend Breanne just got in on Monday to chill with me in Karlovy Vary-

- it has been wicked having a familiar face in our cozy home!  

We have been relatively busy (for Karlovy standard...which is not busy at all) doing touristy things around town... we walked around town to the DIANNA TOWER, got PANDORA CHARMS, got a MUD TREATMENT and Breanne got her feet nibbled on by fish.... I'll let her update you on that one!

NOW we are off to.... 

PRAGUE ->VIENNA ->BUDAPEST

We really have no idea what each city has to offer but we decided this route because they are so easy to access and not too far away from each other!  

It is going to be a blind adventure (the best kind)!

Wish this "little" luck!

Updates on Prague, Vienna & Budapest TBA...

xx.peace.

K

Munich

i OFFICIALLY have internet now everyone.  And I could not be more thankful!  At the beginning it was refreshing not having any- but you start to realize how little things are alot more of an inconvenience without it!

ANYWAYS

Yesterday me, dust, chelsea & matt got back from Munich, Germany!  Although we were only there overnight we got to see Munich's beautiful downtown and really lucked out with the sunny weather!  We got in around 2 and strolled through the busy downtown surrounding Karlsplatz.  Later at night we hit up Hofbrauhaus brewery.  This place is da bomb and matt- you are da boss.  This place is right in the old town and is hustling and bustling place!  People are chanting, chugging, playing instruments galore!  Although my mushroom dish and chelseas spam dish (aka meatloaf) were not up to par- the atmosphere proved otherwise!

After a few beers we headed back to our "interesting" apartment we rented on airbandb... thats an entirely separate blog.  The boys went to the clubs that our apartment was cradled in the centre of and me and chels chilled with the dogs & some champagne- poifect!

Next morning, we unfortunately discovered that nothing is open on Sundays- except for bus tours that are fully booked.  So we strolled some more, i ate 3 blueberry muffin tops- tx dust- and then were on our way!

Our short trip to Munich was awesome & i cant wait to go back and see more

*coughoctoberfestcough*

August 10th, 2012

So per usual, summer hits and my blog goes dormant and then once I move to somewhere foreign- suprise suprise, active blog!  So here we go bloggin in Czech!  I am officially all settled in our quaint apartment here in breathtaking Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic!  Well almost all settled.... 

• still no internet (presently residing a second home in a cafe just 2 minutes away from our apartment)  
• no known address (we have an address of course, but communication with our incredibly sweet 70 year old something landlord is excrutiating-ly painful...).  
• a standard car that I am able to drive so I walk....everywhere

But essentially settled in.

Karlovy feels like a little gem tucked away in a valley that is blanketed by greenery.  People have yet to discover this little city's magic just an hour and a bit away from Prague!  Me and Dust are living at the top of a "hill" that overlooks all of the beautifully aged downtown.  Just a 5 minute walk and we are in a colourful downtown.  There is a tiny canal that runs through the center of downtown, framing it are all the thermal springs that people can taste- however I would advice otherwise....

Karlovy Vary is actually the "boiling city" so it is known for all of its hot springs and thermal treatments.  There is a LARGE array of different treatments you can receive here- mud wraps, seaweed wraps, thai massages, coconut aroma therapy...and other obscure ones I have never heard of!  Long story short- the town is very relaxing along with the people and although the English is sparse, the people are incredibly kind.

We are off to Munich tomorrow- another plus about living here is we are very central to lots of other countries!  And then back on Sunday night.  My girl friend is visiting on Monday so I will attempt another blog amidst our journeys!!

Just a little update- but my "wifi" is almost up! Update soon!



xx
K