Greetings!

Since my last post, I have been quite busy! With my Art and Culture class, I was able to tour the National Gallery on Castle Hill. We had a private tour guide that introduced us to Hungarian art. While there, we looked at a very special painting from a Hungarian artist. It was a landscape painting (see below) but while I was appreciating this fantastic painting I realized I had seen it before. Not the painting itself, but I had been to the location painted. I raised my hand asked the tour guide, and sure enough… The painting is of the Greek Theater in Taormina and Mt. Etna which can be found on the Italian island of Sicily. I was lucky enough to visit Taormina this summer prior to arriving in Budapest and it actually became my favorite city I have traveled to. Although the picture of me is from this summer, I thought it was so exciting that I recognized the town!

Painting of Taormina

Me at the Greek Theater in Taormina!

I was lucky enough to travel to Vienna for their famous Christmas markets! This was my second time in Vienna this semester, so luckily I was able to concentrate on the Christmas fun rather than view touristy things. We arrived on Thanksgiving day, so of course we had to have a traditional Austrian meal for our big dinner. It was an easy choice… Wiener Schnitzel!

For dessert, we went back to our hostel and had Ben & Jerry’s! Yes, real Ben & Jerry’s! I had searched all of Europe for my favorite Chunky Monkey, but finally found it on Thanksgiving Day! It was perfect timing. The next day we began our Christmas Market-Extravaganza! There are about a dozen markets in Vienna and we were able to see the 4 largest. The ornaments were beautiful, the handmade crafts were so intricate, and the food? The food was to die for. We ate so much this weekend, but it was worth every euro. We even had the chance to see Schonbru

We even had the chance to see Schonbrun Palace! There was a Christmas market there as well, but the true beauty was the view from the top of the palace hill. From there you could see all of Vienna. It was truly a breathtaking sight.

A view of Vienna including the Palace from palace hill!

While we were in Vienna, we heard a rumor that a Mexican restaurant in Budapest was offering “Thanksgiving Burritos”. So naturally, we were curious. Upon returning home to Budapest, we went straight to Arriba to check it out! Sure enough, they had burritos that were filled with roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry salsa. It even came complete with a slice of pumpkin pie. Although the thought of a Thanksgiving dinner wrapped in a tortilla sounds rather gross, we decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, it was delicious! It was the perfect end to our Thanksgiving weekend!

My traveling partner, Harry, and I eating Thanksgiving burritos!

I also had the chance to experience the Great Market Hall here in Budapest. It is open 365 days a year and is a major tourist trap! They sell produce, meats, and souvenirs. It has the feel of a local farmer’s market… but in reality the locals shop at a much smaller market on the Buda side. My friends and I plan on going there next week. Although the Great Market Hall is too expensive, you can find a nice traditional langos bread. Langos is basically fried bread that is topped with cottage cheese, sour cream, grated cheese, pepperoni, and vegetables. It looks quite disgusting honestly! I wasn’t brave enough. I instead got a jelly topped langos, which was delicious!

The Great Market Hall!

I hope you all are enjoying the remainder of your time abroad! I know I am!

Best wishes,

Molly

Greetings all,

I apologize for the lack of posts recently! I have had some things come up in my personal life and have been working towards peace with that.

In my last post, I talked about going to the Hungarian hospital. I was asked by Michele to elaborate on this experience seeing as it was such a culturally different experience than in America. I was recommended this hospital by both my program and my Hungarian insurance company. It was about 8pm when I  arrived. Upon arrival, I was not asked any medical questions. They asked me for my passport and my insurance card. After handing over the required documents, the nurse continued to ask me why I was in Hungary and how long I have and will be here. From there, she directed me down a long hallway and into a dorm style room. There were six beds, three on each side and there were people occupying four of them. The nurse asked me to choose a bed and informed me the doctor would come see me after 9am the next morning. It was then that I realized this was not a normal American hospital. I quickly tracked her down in the hallway and asked her for my documents back. I was entirely uncomfortable with the situation and decided to go home. When I got home, I found an English speaking “Americanized” clinic. It was so nice being able to go and tell the doctor exactly what was wrong. I felt so comfortable there. Although I wish I could have had the full Hungarian hospital experience, I am glad that I was helped quickly and efficiently.

Since my last post, I have traveled to Munich and Paris. Although I love traveling, it has become quite normal for me to miss Budapest. BP has truly become my home. My friends here have become my family and my routine has become comforting.

As the title for this post suggests, I have become “Hungry for Hungary” I have been attempting to absorb everything about this city and it’s culture. I have traded out my tourist spots for quaint, local restaurants, cafes, and bars.

At the Orchestra!

Also I have been attending local art performances. I was able to go watch the Hungarian Orchestra perform with friends. Our “cheap seats” tickets were even upgraded because it wasn’t a full performance.

With my Hungarian Art and Culture class we went to the Palinka festival at the castle and then to a Hungarian acting company’s performance. The musical was called “A Peasant’s Opera”. It was written and directed by a Budapest native. They provided “subtitles” for English speakers, so we could follow along! It was a hilarious and beautiful performance. For those who don’t know, Palinka is Hungary’s favorite liquor. It is a fruit based brandy, and quite honestly… it is awful! We had to be cultural though!

Palinka Festival

My culture class in front of Parliament before the Opera!

I have 38 days left here in BP and I am trying to make every last minute count. Currently I am in the coffee shop that is a favorite of Hungarian college students. I make a new friend each time I come to study.

I hope all is well with everyone who has made it to the end of this post!

Molly

Greetings fellow travelers!

I apologize for the delay in posting. I had a true Hungarian adventure that prohibited my blog updates… But to tell you that exciting story, I must first tell you about Prague.

Since I last posted, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Prague, Czech Republic. While there I was able to experience several new things. The first and most exciting was watching Don Giovanni, an opera written by Mozart, in the original opera house it was premiered in. It was such a thrilling and culturally rich activity. Not many can say they have been where Mozart had once conducted. It was a beautiful experience and the opera house was beyond words! So majestic and beautiful. Sadly, our seats were of the cheap variety and we couldn’t see the whole stage, but the music was outstanding.

My favorite part about Europe thus far has been the ease of travel. I have loved every minute of being in Budapest, but I also have loved every minute of being in Vienna and Prague. I love being so close to so many diverse cultures and being able to experience them firsthand. Back home, it is so easy to dream and wish that I could learn and grow culturally, but here… It is so easy to accomplish all those goals. I have learned so much about myself and so much about the cultures I am surrounded by. I am so excited to see what else there is to learn!

Now… To the adventure. While in Prague, I got really sick. My travel-mates did as well. So the atmosphere of the group was not as exuberant as it should have been. Although we made the best of it, being healthy would have been preferred. When I returned home to Budapest, I quickly realized this was not an everyday flu. I needed to see a doctor and get some medicine. Through my program I was recommended an emergency room. So without wasting time, I hopped on the metro and headed there. I knew they weren’t going to speak much English, but as a positive person, I was hoping for the best. I arrived at the hospital, alone, and quickly realized I was not in America anymore. Long story short, I was scared and alone, so I left and went to the American clinic on the other side of town. Having experienced the medical system, I feel like I know a little more culturally about Hungary. It was an eye-opening experience and it really makes me grateful for the amenities we are blessed with back home.

Although it wasn’t a positive adventure, it was still an adventure. I hope all is well with you all and wish you the best of luck in your classes!

-Molly

Greetings all!

I hope this post finds you all well. Classes have officially started for me, I am taking several very challenging math classes and I love that I am surrounded by other students who have my fervor and desire to study math. It is really rewarding to be working alongside some of the brightest math students in the world. Not to mention, my professors are some of the most brilliant mathematicians in the world.

My first day of school!

I have learned that Budapest truly is the land of festivals. Each weekend there is a new one… Beer Festival, Wine Festival, Horse Racing Festival, Chocolate Festival, etc… I have been privileged enough to attend all of these except the Chocolate Festival. It is amazing how many people attend each event. Since Budapest is the capital of Hungary and is the largest city, people from all over the country come to these festivals.

At the horse racing festival, we were able to taste some Hungarian specialties. We had pork that had been roasted whole and served with a very greasy sauce in a bread bowl. It was so hearty and very traditional of a Hungarian meal.

The really greasy pork dish! So delicious though!

We were also able to visit the Magyar (Hungarian) National Bank on the one day a year they provide tours. We had forints (money) printed with our faces on it! So I officially have my own currency. 🙂

My own currency!

I also was able to travel to Vienna this past weekend. It was such a beautiful city filled with the most friendly people you will ever meet. I was lost (imagine that!) and found a lovely old woman to ask for directions. Most people I have asked for directions just point at the correct bus, tram or metro I need to take. This woman escorted me to Belvedere. She hopped on the tram with me; seeing as she spoke zero English and I, zero German, I thought it would be a quiet ride. She proceeded to point important buildings and monuments out to me and tell me all about them in German. Although I couldn’t understand what she was telling me, I knew she genuinely cared and wanted to show me her city. Upon arrival at Belvedere, she pointed me in the correct direction of the entrance and hopped on the tram headed back the other way. Her kindness was astounding to me. I have never been treated so kindly as a visitor in all my life.

Belvedere was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. It is home to my favorite painting, “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. As it is his 150th birthday, they were having a special exhibition for his work. When I finally found the room with “The Kiss”, I was floored. It did not disappoint, it was so beautiful and perfect. I have never been so moved by something in my entire life.

Upper Belvedere, where “The Kiss” is housed.

My weekend finished by doing a bike tour of the city, visiting the palace and the famous Spanish Riding School. I have dreamed of being a rider there since I was a little girl doing horse 4-H. It was truly a very exciting experience. My weekend in Vienna was so wonderful, but on the bus ride home, I was excited to get back “home” to Budapest. It is interesting how your mind frame shifts. It wasn’t too long ago I was still considering myself a visitor, but now, I really call it home. At least for the next 3 months. 🙂

– Molly

Greetings all!

I hope this post finds all of you well and I hope all of you are enjoying your time abroad as much as I am!

The past few days have been filled with adventure! As promised, I grabbed my map and began exploring. While wandering the streets and enjoying the beautiful architecture that Budapest has to offer, I stumbled upon a brown door. This door had a sticker that said “Wifi Hotspot” but no other signs or markings. As an explorer, I did what any other explorer would do… I opened the door. After descending down a flight of stairs, I was really curious as to what I would find. My imagination could not have prepared me for the gem I found at all!

If you imagined Alice in Wonderland and a Tibetan Monk designing a tea house, this is what the outcome would be. What I found was the best tea house ever. There are tunnels to crawl through, a stair case made of broken mirrors, a rope ladder to climb to lofts, and the best part is you sit on the ground! It is beautifully decorated with rugs and pillows. I have spent many afternoons reading there. The atmosphere is one that I cannot explain… The music matches the setting perfectly and the staff is so friendly. They don’t speak English but they are very patient with me. Luckily they have a menu written in English and I am able to point to what I want. This tea house will be my go to spot when it gets freezing cold and I want to relax with a cup of tea!

I also had the chance to meet new friends that are in my program. We met at City Park in Budapest and explored there for a while. The Budapest Half-Marathon was going on, so that was really exciting to be a part of the audience! We found the finish line and cheered on the runners! We also got to explore Vajdahunyad Castle. The rumor is that the city of Pest featured art exhibits in the City Park. Ignác Alpár decided to build a “castle” out of cardboard that was reminiscent of the most famous architectural styles in Europe. It reflects the styles of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

The city loved it so much that he eventually made it permanent and built it out of stone! It now houses the Museum of Agriculture, so we didn’t go inside, but the outside is beautiful!

After exploring City Park, we went to the House of Terror. The House of Terror is a museum built to remember the terror that occurred during the Nazi and Communist occupation of Budapest. The building that the museum is housed in was the actual headquarters for both the Nazi and Communist party. It was very interesting, yet very hard to tour at the same time. It was very emotional for all of us that were there and I was very glad that I was able to learn more about the history in such a tangible fashion.

I was also lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in Budapest. My friend and I had a pancakes and Parliament day! The cafe we chose had the most beautiful view of Parliament. Celebrating my 21st birthday in Budapest was an opportunity I will cherish forever!

My classes started on Monday, so I am knee deep in Math! I am excited and inspired by the classes and professors. I can’t wait to learn more in the subjects I chose!

Until next time,

Molly