study – Page 2 – Megan Gilman

What a weekend! Another wild experience, very different from most of my trips so far – so another LONG recap!!

This weekend I decided to travel through a number of Eastern European cities. Alone. Why? I’m not really sure, to be honest, but this seemed like a good way to experience each city to its fullest capacity, have some time to myself, and explore things I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to otherwise. I booked a non-refundable, one-way ticket to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, so that I couldn’t back out, and from there I planned my backpacking journey through Eastern Europe.

It started Thursday morning with a very early three-hour flight to Prague. Going into this weekend, I was still exhausted from the previous weekend’s trip to Morocco and hadn’t had enough time to get settled back in Madrid, so getting to Prague was a bit hectic. I wasn’t able to plan too much beforehand, so I kind of just showed up and decided to wing it from there. I went straight from the airport to the Prague Castle, and that was the start of my journey. I didn’t know much about Prague beforehand, but the city has so much history and is so rich in culture. There was SO much to see, so I spent the entire day walking around and making the most out of my 24 hours in the city.

After seeing the castle and it’s neighbor, St. George’s Basilica, I walked over to a highly recommended cafe, The Farm, to get out of the rain. This little restaurant was the perfect welcome to Prague. I had a latte and the yummiest french toast, and I was able to relax for a while, recharge, and plan the rest of my day. After lunch, I walked through Letenske Sady, a nearby park, and it was so nice to see so much nature and leaves changing color – it’s still hot in Madrid! The famous Prague metronome is also in this park, with an amazing view of the Vltava River. I then crossed the bridge into Old Town, which was so cool to walk around – it truly felt like late fall in a medieval style town, and there were even some Christmas decorations out. Here I saw the famous astronomical clock, the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, and the Old Jewish Quarter. I also tried Trdelnik, a rolled pastry covered with cinnamon sugar and filled with ice cream – so delicious!

On my way to my hostel, I passed over the Charles Bridge, which truly amazed me. Not only the view over the river and the cityscape in the background, but the energy of everyone walking around and bands playing as you cross over – it was all so cool to experience. On the other side of the bridge I walked by the John Lennon Wall as well, which is now covered over by graffiti (mostly focused on peace and love), but still such an interesting part of history. For dinner I tried a traditional Czech restaurant that was an underground tavern type of place. I got a caprese plate, and potato soup (a traditional Czech dish).

Friday morning I woke up early to catch a train to Vienna, Austria, so I grabbed a quick breakfast on the way and set off on the four hour drive. I arrived around 2pm, so I stopped first at a local cafe to get a quick lunch, and then set out to explore the city. Vienna’s city center is very modernized, with lots of shopping areas and restaurants. I walked through here a bit, and also stopped to see St. Stephen’s Cathedral and Mozart’s House, both of which are in the city center. I then took a long walk toward the outskirts of the city and spent some time in Augarten, a large park in Vienna. After a long couple of days of traveling and walking, it was nice to sit on a bench and relax for a bit (especially now that the weather was warmer too).

On my way back toward the city center, I walked through Karmelitermarkt, a small street market, and then I passed the Soviet War Memorial, which was so remarkable. I checked into my hostel early that evening and rested up since I’d have lots of walking the next day! Saturday morning I had a few more hours to explore before heading to Budapest, so I started out at another recommended cafe, Café Sperl. This was a very traditional style, classic looking cafe, and the food was so delicious. I then spent some time walking through Naschmarkt, which is a street market almost a mile long with over 100 vendors. Here they sold food, textiles, souvenirs, and other antique goods. Soon it was time to catch my bus to Budapest, and three hours later I was in Hungary.

Upon arriving to Budapest, I immediately began sight seeing since I only had limited time here. Budapest is split into two sides by the Danube River: Buda and Pest. I arrived on the Buda side, which happens to be the hilly side, so I got the hiking out of the way on Saturday. I started by hiking up Gellert Hill (which was much higher than I expected!) to see the Liberty Statue. Once I finally got to the top, the view was so worth it. I spent some time here as the sun began to set, and then I walked about a mile down the river to Buda Castle – another incredible view! The castle was right next to the Budapest History Museum, so I was able to explore both. The buildings were built so elegantly, and the foliage was so colorful – it gave me a taste of a Boston fall 🙂 At the top of the castle were walkways and bridges that stretched out over the edge, so you could really tell how high up you were. Being able to look over the entire city and see the river stretch for miles in both directions is a view I can’t even begin to put into words, and pictures can only somewhat show. Standing at the top was so peaceful, and I found a wave of appreciation for all of the hidden treasures this world has to offer.

On my way to my hostel, I stopped at a street food market called Karavan to grab a quick dinner, and they had every food truck you could think of here! I then got a long night of sleep, because by this point in the weekend I was so exhausted. Sunday morning I had a few more hours to explore before my flight back to Madrid, so I spent the day on the Pest side of the river. I first walked through a farmer’s market right by my hostel, located in Budapest’s most famous ruin pub, Simple Kert. I passed by the Dohany Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe. I then walked over to St. Stephen’s Basilica, and then the Hungarian Parliament, which are tied for the tallest buildings in Budapest. The Parliament building might be the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. It was right on the river, and it was so large and so old fashioned, with vines of red and orange leaves all around it.

I then made my way to the Chain Bridge, which, yet again, had more amazing views. By this point I was starving, so I stopped at a small cafe for a cappuccino and a cinnamon bun (they’re so good in Hungary!). I walked along Váci Utca (Váci Street) for a bit, which is the main shopping area of the city. Finally it was time to say goodbye to Budapest and head to the airport.

This weekend was definitely a major learning experience. First, I learned that I hate being alone. I’m glad I was able to experience all of these incredible places, and I’m glad that I learned I don’t like traveling alone, but it would have been nice to have friends with me. I thought a solo trip would be something I’d really enjoy, but I’m definitely looking forward to traveling with my friends again! In the end, I think my favorite leg of the trip was Prague, because I was able to see all parts of the city (which were so beautiful) and stay occupied all day – that being said, I don’t think I would go back because I do feel like I saw everything. Budapest is a close second, and I think if I had friends to share more experiences with, I would have loved it a lot more, so that is definitely a place I want to return! Vienna was amazing as well, but I just didn’t vibe with the city as much as the other two.

I’m so grateful I was able to do so much in one weekend and gain so much more knowledge of Eastern Europe. After a long period of non-stop traveling though, I’m ready for some time back in Spain!

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xx,

Megan

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El Escorial y El Valle de Los Caídos: Madrid, España

Hi everyone!

I’m back again from another busy weekend of traveling. This trip was much quicker, but the weekend as a whole was still very packed. The last few weeks I’ve been leaving for my trips on Thursday mornings (I only have class Monday-Wednesday), but this weekend I didn’t leave until Friday, so it was really nice to have a day to relax in Madrid before taking off again.

Starting on Friday, I had another day trip for the art class I am taking here. We drove about an hour to El Escorial, a monastery and the former residence of the King of Spain. This was kind of like one big museum, with an old library, different historical rooms, and a chamber where all of Spain’s former kings and queens are buried. It was very interesting to walk through the various rooms that were actually used by former kings, and see all of the artwork and artifacts left there.

We then drove a few minutes to the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos), a Francoist regime monument. This monument is already highly controversial, and just two days before our visit the Supreme Court of Spain declared that Franco’s body would be exhumed from the site. This made our visit even more interesting as the environment was changed and the controversy escalated, and as freaky as it was to be inside the monument, I am glad we were able to go before his body is removed and the history is ‘gone’.

Immediately after returning to Madrid we went straight to the airport and took off Friday evening for Munich, Germany. This was the second weekend of Oktoberfest, and by far the busiest. We didn’t land until about 11:00 PM, so we headed straight to our campsite for the weekend. Yes, that’s right – we camped. After a last-minute cancellation on our AirBnb and failure to find a hotel or hostel that wasn’t booked, we resorted to sleeping in tents at the Festanation Campsite. I wasn’t too worried about this to begin with, it actually seemed like a fun idea, but once we got there, the campsite completely exceeded my expectations. I went in thinking we would be sleeping in a tiny tent on the dirt ground in the freezing cold, but the company actually had great accommodations, I was so comfortable the whole weekend, and I would definitely stay there again if I were to return. It was definitely cramped and not the warmest, but for camping in the middle of Munich, Festanation did a great job.

Saturday morning was a very early wake up and a quick change into our dirndls and lederhosens before taking the train to Theresienwiese, the festival site for Oktoberfest. We only had to wait in line for about a half hour before the gates opened, and from there it was a crazy rush to the tents. There was one tent, the Hofbräu Tent, where pretty much all college students studying abroad went to, so of course we went there and met up with other friends from home and from BC. I had been told lots of stories about the festival before going, so it was pretty close to what I expected, just much much bigger.

We hung out in the HB tent for most of the day, which was really fun to be with everyone and experience the event. Early in the afternoon, we walked around outside for a bit, got some food, and went on some rides. My diet the entire day consisted of different types of soft pretzels, but they were so delicious. Coincidentally enough I’m allergic to beer so I wasn’t fully able to enjoy this part of the festival, but I tried all that I needed to get the full experience, and despite the pain that came afterwards, I think it was worth it.

Later in the afternoon we went back to our tents to rest, and then we put on warm, comfy clothes and went back to Oktoberfest at night. We got dinner and walked around some more, and it was way less crowded at night, but definitely a bit more crazy, since everyone that was left had been there partying all day.

Overall, Oktoberfest was SO much fun and I’m so glad that I went (despite how expensive the trip was). That being said, I’m glad we only did the festival for one day, because it was so exhausting and I think another day that busy would have been too much. It was such a cool place and environment, and I do want to go again when I can spend more time and money on the weekend, but for now I’m so glad I got to do it with all of my friends while abroad.

Sunday morning we explored the Munich city center for a bit before our flight home. The city isn’t too big so it was easy to walk around a couple plazas and see all we needed before leaving. Getting home Sunday afternoon rather than Monday morning was definitely a better move, since I could unpack and get organized for the week before going back to school. As quick as the weekend was, it was still very tiring and I’m glad to have a few days in Madrid to catch up before my next flight on Thursday!

I’m finally catching up on my vlogs from each trip, so feel free to check those out on the Videos page. Additionally, if you’d like to receive email updates when I post new blogs, please subscribe below!

xx,

Megan