"See ya"

I write to you today from Poland. Yesterday, we left Budapest which is currently standing in 2nd place for my favorite city we've visited so far. So: Buda & Pest:

We made our over night train to Vienna and actually got some sleep in the couchette car we booked. There were 6 of us in the car: two young travelers like ourselves, the sweetest older German man who insisted talking to us even though we couldn't understand a single word he said, and a silent man who wanted to watch his hip-hop music videos loudly when we all decided to go to sleep. It was an interesting train ride to say the least. But, the benches turned into beds (actually, very roomy beds) and we woke up to Vienna's countryside. I wish we were staying for a little bit in Austria. I WILL be coming back to visit. With daybreak, we arrived in Wein and took the next three hour train to Budapest.

When we arrived in Budapest, we were completely bombarded in Hungarian; a.k.a: the hardest language ever! Our tour guide on our free walking tour the next day said it was ranked 7th as the hardest language to learn underneath other languages I had never heard of, so there you go. They have 42 letters in their alphabet for Pete's sake! After being given the run-around to find a phonecard to call our hostel, we just decided to hoof it and hope for the best. But, first, we had to change our money from Euros to whatever Hungarian money is called. I have absolutely NO idea how to pay for things in Hungary. Ask Elise. We went to the ATM to withdrawal money and then into the bank to ask how to get to the Metro only to discover that we withdrew an obscene amount of money because their prices are so misleading. We both withdrew the equivalent of 500 US dollars- oops. Well, when the price for your dinner is listed as being 1,000FT, you don't know what to withdrawl, right?! Luckily, we were able to exchange it back the following day into Polish money, but we did lose some in the process. Oh well, live and learn...

Regardless of being completely overwhelmed immediately (this was all half an hour off the train), we were in great spirits and had fun navigating the Metro to the center of town to find our hostel. Lucky for us, we meet the nicest people who just ask us if we need help. We must look completely incompetent and lost standing there with our map trying to pronounce these tounge twisters... After coming up to the surface for air (the train station was 4 floors under ground), we played a few rounds of "Walk up and down this block again and again to find our hostel" only to breakdown and call the host. We were directly across the street from the door. The hostel was great! Tiger Tim's was perfect! The main hostel was all booked for the two nights we were there, so we got to stay and the newly renovated apartment down the street with our two new Dutch friends. It was just the four of us with all the privacy and quiet we wanted at night and we were still able to hang out with the many friendly guests at the main building in the evening. We went to dinner at a Thai/ Hungarian restaurant with one of the guests we met up with. Hungarian stuffed mushrooms are delicious and their Thai ain't bad either. Then, we went out with the whole hostel for the pub crawl! Elise and I danced and socialized all night with people from all over the world. It was awesome. We even heard some Michael Jackson as if our night couldn't have been any better. I love staying in hostels. Not only are they great for going out at night, but the people are fantastic! You automatically have something in common and everyone is excited to be there with you. Our introduction to Budapest was perfect.

Our first full day in Budapest was spent playing Frisbee & reading at the park, visiting the House of Terror, and swimming in the baths! The park we visited is an island in the Danu dedicated to Margarete for something important Margarete did, whoever she is- we didn't quite catch that part. It was a great park with many flower gardens, large lawns with trees to provide shade, and a soundtrack that played the intro to Jaws complete with the screaming woman who was pulled down in the water to her death. Yeah, I'm not kidding. After about 2 hours or so, we made our way back into town to visit the House of Terror. It sounds like a cheesy carnival ride, but it is actually a museum with contemporary exhibitions about the Nazi/Communism rule in Hungary. The "House" part is specific because the museum was built from the converted private house of the Nazi and then later the Communist leaders in Hungary. They had interactive maps of what room used to what while each room now describes different terrors and horrors of fascism and communism- including the torture prison in the basement. Most of the museum was in Hungarian so unfortunately we didn't get to hear many facts because of the language barrier, but, the museum was VERY visual and really, English wasn't needed to translate the devastation. The museum was intense, but very well done. After seeing something so heavy, it only made sense to go find the baths and wade in the warm pools and saunas.

On our way to the baths, we bumped into the Square of Heroes (a bunch of statues dedicated to those who fought against fascism and communism) and Budapest Castle. Both were interesting, but we really wanted to go swimming. The baths were so great! It was the biggest bath in Budapest with 6 pools, a whirl pool which nearly ripped our suits off from the force (very funny), and a sauna. Our sore, stiff muscles were loving us for taking a break and relaxing. Because we were so relaxed from the baths and we realized how tired our bodies were, we didn't do anything that night. We walked to the grocery store for chocolate and then watched South Park and Scrubs with the Dutch boys, our great roommates. It was wonderful to zone out.

Up early the next day, we rushed to the meeting spot for a free walking tour. Elise and I both greatly enjoyed it. Our guide was entertaining and shared both historical and practical information about Budapest. Walking from sight to sight, we sorta had a private question and answer time with her and we learned so much about the city. I can't imagine what is would be like to be on the losing side of two world wars and be a victim of Communism. The city is still rebuilding from the Iron Curtain (and there is a lot to overcome), but our guide made sure not to give us the impression that all was gloomy in Budapest and that actually the people are very happy! Which, with how friendly and helpful the people were that we encountered, I would agree.

Lunch was delicious hummus and falafel and then we BOOKED it to the train station in hopes to make the fast approaching train to Poland. We're awesome. We made the train. Unfortunately, the couchettes for the over night were booked, so we had to pay a little extra for a sleeper car. Translation: hotel on tracks. We had a private bunk with a sink, sheets, and a chocolate croissant for breakfast. Yum. It was totally worth the extra 10 euro for a good nights sleep on the train. I'm getting a tickle in my throat and chugging Airborne like nobody's business, so it was nice to have some space to spread out and sleep.

Poland is beautiful! I love the countryside I saw coming in on the train. We got in at 6:30am, so of course everything is beautiful at sunrise, but, it really is breathtaking. I love the train rides because of their views and don't mind at all sitting for a few hours gazing out the window. We found our hostel surprisingly easily- always a plus- and explored the city a little this morning. We saw a castle and had some of the best hot chocolate in the market square. It's cloudy and looks like rain, so hot chocolate was perfect. And, the best part about Poland (we are specifically in Krakow), WE DID OUR LAUNDRY IN AN ACTUAL WASHING MACHINE! Based on the stench coming from Elise's soggy jeans that still haven't dried since Monterosso from being confined in a plastic bag, laundry was a must. And now our clothes will be fresh and dry! Really, I can not say enough about how excited we are about this. Not that we are gross and dirty or smell- we do have hygiene standards! But, clean laundry is one of those things I will never take advantage of ever again. Tonight, we are signed up for the hostel BBQ: Polish sausages and beer. Tomorrow: we are going to mentally and physically exhaust ourselves by visiting Auschwitz. It is something we both really wanted to do; it's why Poland is on our intenary, and we think it is important to see. So, tomorrow will be a heavy day. But, Poland is awesome so far and we are having a great time!

Elise says "hi"to everyone. She is currently reading her newly purchased British version of Harry Potter. I think she is actually more excited about her book than being in Europe...

Sorry for the lack of pictures. It is impossible for me to post pictures when the computer is locked up in a wood box and I can't attach my camera. Plus, it takes forever. I promise to post pictures when I can, but you may just have to wait in suspense until we return. Sorry.

Hope all is well at home! We miss you guys. But, really, homesickness hasn't set in yet- we're having a really great time!!! Wish you all could be here with us.

[p.s. "see ya" or however you wanna spell that; the Hungaian version actually means "hi". So, see ya!]