Budapest

Buda-pesht! The train ride from Munich to Budapest was eventful. For some reason we didn't have allocated seats (perhaps because the ticket was so cheap?) and 3/4 in out of the 7 hour train ride we got kicked out of our seats. The frustrating moment when the woman (who had our seats) was complaining to other passengers (who clearly understood Hungarian) and then laughed. But it didn't phase me too much and I didn't mind sitting on the door step and watching the train cross the countryside. In fact, there were a lot of people without seats which was interesting.

Gellért Hill Cave Church

Budapest was sunny for the duration of the week that I was there however it was also super cold. The average temperature was at around -5. Brr!!

And what is a visit to Budapest without visiting the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath. Due to timing issues, we ended up going in the morning of NYE. It was an interesting experience, especially the outdoor pools. It was -7°C that morning however the water was at a comfortable 38°C. It was very cool that ice was forming on my strands of hair that were exposed to the cold air. To be frank, it was a little awkward going at that time since it was full of locals (men) and getting in and out of the baths in my bikini was a little ... uncomfortable. NYE/NYD was eventful for personal reasons however what was interesting was the amount of illegal fireworks and other things of that nature. Coming from Australia where it is quite strict, I was a little taken aback to see people just lighting fireworks on the streets. My Dutch friend was saying how that is normal and people even light bins on fire back in his hometown ....

My favourite things that I ate there were: kürtőskalács (picture above), goulash and lángos (deep fried bread) with sweetened cottage cheese. I just love how Hungarian cuisine is so carb heavy!

Germany - Munich

Munich was kind of a blur on my last visit since Sunbear and I only spent 1 day in Munich (we went on a day trip to Dachau and Neuschwanstein Castle).  All I do remember is that I enjoyed my time there.




My asthma was flaring up and walking into a church like this did not help at all!









I think that the English Gardens must look stunning in spring/ summer and it was crazy seeing the "city surfers" in 5 degree weather. Brr. Munich was also the first time I saw snow on my grad trip which was lovely!


My first snowman!


And of course a visit to the super touristy Hofbräuhaus.







I wanted to order something different and randomly selected the "Boiled Beef of Alpine Ox - boiled in a broth of roots and served with boiled potatoes and fresh horseradish". It was pretty horrible because of the horseradish. Ah well.

Overall Thoughts
I love Germany! I would love to return one day in the warmer months.

Germany - Berlin & Dresden

Now jumping back to the middle of my trip. More photo heavy than my usual posts.

I didn't originally plan on visiting Germany again since I had spent quite a bit of time on my 2013 trip. However, my travelling partner wanted to visit and I was open to the idea. Germany is one of my favourite countries and I'm not really sure why. I think it may a combination of the way that life works (efficiency), the people and the culture.


Last time I visited there was snow everywhere. This time no snow but just dreary weather.

Reichstag Building - German Parliament


I also wanted to visit/ trespass into Spreepark as my one and only chance before it got knocked down. However a few months before I left Sydney, a fire destroyed quite a lot of the buildings/ rides which was disappointing. In the end, I didn't go.









One of the highlights in Berlin was finding a place that developed BW film for not only a reasonable price but also within 5 hours. That is insane! So happy that I found the place (although I still need to buy a negative scanner). A close second favourite was eating at Yarok and trying Syrian food for the first time. I just love how multicultural Berlin is.

Next stop (for a day) was Dresden! This was a super cute city and it was also where I discovered that Lift (soft drink) comes in other flavours apart from lemon! At Maccas I tried the Apple lift and I also had chicken wings... I also invariably (and regrettably) ended up at Maccas almost every Sunday throughout my trip since everything was closed.










Dresdner Handbrot ergo the best thing that I have ever eaten. I would love to eat this every day.




Dresden Frauenkirche - the second prettiest church I have ever visited! (St Mark's Basilica in Venice is my all time favourite).

Final Days in Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) has an interesting history. It is the third church to be built on the site, having been used as a church originally and later as a mosque. It is currently a museum and at the time of my visit (Jan 2015) was undergoing restorations inside. From 537 to 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral however was also also a Roman Catholic cathedral between 1204 to 1261. The building was converted into a mosque from 1453 to 1931 after Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. It was opened as a museum in 1935. Consequently, there have been continual efforts to remove the plaster to reveal the original interior.






Slow removal of the plaster that was placed after it was converted to a mosque.





Very close to the Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı) is one of the largest cisterns that lie under Istanbul. It was built in the 6th century; it is incredible to think that it is that old! The cistern is 143m long and 65m wide with 336 marble columns, spaced at 4m intervals.







There are two Medusa heads and it is a mystery as to why they are there. There is a rumor that they were moved from a building of the late Roman period. The cistern wasn't as cool as I thought it would be and was both a little underwhelming and a little creepy. But still worth a visit.

There are so many mosques in Istanbul and so many more than I had expected. I visited my second mosque - Rustem Pasha Mosque- (which was a little difficult to find) and unlike the Blue Mosque, it was blue-r and almost deserted.

Not Turkish food but one of the best burgers I've had in my life was at Virginia Angus near the Grand Bazaar.

Testi kebabs are a combination of meat and vegetables cooked in a claypot. It originated from the Cappadocia region and is an experience as it is sealed after filling it with the ingredients and breaking it is the only way it can be opened to be consumed. As it is an Anatolian specialty, naturally it was on every menu when I was in Göreme. However I didn't try it when I was there (rookie error) and searched high and low in Istanbul on my last night. As mentioned before, food in the old area was quite expensive and the testi kebab I had at the restaurant was significantly more expensive than what I would have paid for in Göreme. But nonetheless it was super tasty and interesting to watch how the claypot was cracked open. Plus I also got a free shot of amaretto from the bartender!


Overall Thoughts
What was interesting was to compare and contrast the different areas in Istanbul. The old town, Sultanahmet, was so different to Beyoğlu and Beşiktaş which were a lot more modern and reminded me a little of the suburbs in the US. Actually, in the old town, it reminded me of Hong Kong with the sheer volume of people and the tight alleys. I also visited one of the largest shopping centres in the world (Şişli Kültür ve Ticaret Merkezi) which was insane.

Turkey was an incredible country with amazing people and food. Although I didn't enjoy Istanbul as much as I would have liked, I loved all the other cities/towns that I visited. Turkey was so different to every other place that I have visited and I really loved the country despite all the mishaps. I definitely want to return one day to explore more of the beautiful country, notably the south west region.