world – Out and Abroad

Dear Belgium: A Love Letter to Chocolate Country

February 4, 2020outandabroadLeave a comment

Dear Belgium,

You are such a small country, one that is often overlooked, but one of my favorites. I stayed in Brugge for 3 days, a city that blew my mind with its architecture, history, beauty, culture, and food.

I never liked beer before visiting you, but you taught me that beer doesn’t always have to taste bad. My favorites were Kriek Cherry, Leffe, and Duvel, But Belgium, you are so much more than your beer, your chocolate, and even your waffles.

I started out my trip by sitting in a cute, authentic Belgian tavern, where I ordered Kriek Cherry and a cheese platter, which were amazing. We sat in a cute bar for a few hours talking to the nicest bartender I have ever met. He gave us recommendations on what to do the next few days, and we did all of them and he did not disappoint. We went to the Brugge Historium, where we did a virtual reality tour from the viewpoint of a person who lived in Belgium a long time ago. We got to see the transformation from a small town with a small population, to one of the most architecturally advanced cities I have ever been to. Then we did a real-life tour of the building, which ended at the Duvelorium, where we got a traditional Duvel beer. Of course, we had to walk around the famous, beautiful canals, while eating our body weight in waffles. Because we were only there for a short period of time, I am positive that we did not get to see everything worth seeing, but what we did see was amazing.

You are a lowkey country, with lowkey cities, but an amazing culture, cuisine, and sights. I am thankful for the short amount of time we spent together, and I am hopeful that I will be able to come back and see your entirety. See all of the tiny streets and canals. Eat all of the waffles. Drink all of the beer. And meet as many as your amazing people as possible.

Goodbye for now, but not for good.

Dear Vienna: A Love Letter to the City of Music

January 10, 2020outandabroadLeave a comment

Dear Vienna,

As a person who loves to adventure and fill every second of my day with something to keep me busy, I have difficulties slowing down and taking time to enjoy things. I often find myself worrying and hurrying to make sure I can fit everything I want to do into this short life. Until Billy Joel told me to slow down, that Vienna waits for me. Not only was he right about needing to slow down because I am too ambitious, he wrote a song that guided me to visit Vienna, a place where I found myself slowing down more than ever before due to it’s beauty, culture, nature.

For the past five months, I have been traveling around Europe, with my final city of the trip you. For the majority of them, I traveled alone but met up with friends or family for a day or two in the city, but Vienna was the first and only one that I enjoyed completely alone, allowing me to have some time to myself.

Because I visited in December, which I strategically planned, I made sure to spend plenty of time at the various Christmas Markets for which Vienna is so famous. The first one I visited was the main one, the one right in front of Rathaus City Hall, where I made sure to get presents for everyone, including warm honey roasted nuts for myself. I also spent a lot of time enjoying your beautiful churches and cathedrals, a perfect way to learn about the history, culture, and architecture. I made my way around St. Stephen’s Cathedral, St. Michael’s Church, Minorites Church, Votive Church, St. Charles’ Church, and St. Peter’s Church, but I’m sure I walked past several others. I also visited the Albertina Museum and the Belvedere, which was a beautiful estate with several art exhibits, and its own small christmas market. I made sure to try specialty foods, apple strudel and chimney cakes.

*City Hall Christmas Market, Vienna, Austria*

It is obvious to me now why there is an unmeasurable number of songs, movies, and other arts about you. Your laidback culture, nature-filled city (which seemed like an oxymoron until I met you), and your enriching culture were exactly what I needed to end my months of travel.

Thank you for sharing your culture, beauty, and experiences. Thank you for teaching me how to slow down and take it all in. Thank you for sharing your apple strudel, so I could convince myself that the apple part made it healthy. Thank you for being the perfect end to my experience in Europe, and reenforcing my love for travel. Thank you for waiting for me.

Bis später, Wien.

Dear Budapest: A Love Letter to the Pearl of the Danube

January 6, 2020January 6, 2020outandabroad1 Comment

Dear Budapest,

When I told people that I was going to Budapest, I was surprised to hear that many people are unaware of your existence. But not me. For whatever reason, I had planned to visit you since I made my plans to travel Europe for a few months. Maybe it was your food, maybe it was your Christmas Markets, maybe it was the Danube River, maybe it was the beautiful architecture everywhere I looked, maybe it was the overall perfection of the city.

*Shoes on the Danube Memorial, Budapest*

I had no doubt that Budapest would be one of my favorite stops in my travels, that it would be one of the cities most feautured on my Instagram. To no surprise, I was correct. I have trouble deciding which pictures to post and which places to share, even though I didn’t even capture nearly all of it because I loved it so much that I didn’t want to ruin it by experiencing it through a camera.

This was my most packed weekend in my months abroad, because there is so much to do in Budapest. I walked along the Danube River, and got to reflect on the Shoes on the Danube Monument for the 60 people who were shot into the river during the Holocaust. I obviously made a stop, a long one, to the Hungarian Parliament Building, and couldn’t help but compare it to other government buildings I have seen in my life. I hopped a scooter and rode up to City Park, where I visited Herde’s Square and enjoyed the Szechini salt baths. Because I am legally allowed to drink in Europe, I made a point to experience barlife before returning to the United States. Your ‘ruin bars’, specifically Szimpla Kertmozi, were some of the coolest I went to due to their insanely cool locations, variety of options, and friendly people. I walked across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side of the city, where the funicular took me up to Castle Hill so I could see the best views of the beautiful city. I also toured Fisherman’s Bastion and St. Matthias Church, which was hands-down one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen.

Even though I feel that I experienced a lot of the key things to do in Budapest, I do not hesitate to say that I would visit you again in a heartbeat, to explore parts I hadn’t done before or just to repeat everything I did already. Not to be cliché but, I’m HUNGARY for more.

Thank you so much for giving me a collection of stories to prove to people that sometimes the overlooked cities are the most beautiful. Thank you for being a walkable city so I didn’t have to blow through all of my money on transportation. Thank you for having amazing food. Thank you for welcoming me with open arms into a culture so different from anywhere else I had been before; I had the buda-best time.

Mindíg szeretni foglak.