After three weeks of traveling we have our first night solo. Greece, Switzerland and Italy was a real family affair and it was great to be able to spend the time together in a foreign land and experience new things every day.

As we reflect on the first three weeks traveling we realize that having a fresh view of the world is a big part of what we love. It’s nice to still be amused or excited about the little things in life.  Whether it be debating with our niece and nephew about the merits of attending college while swimming in the Mediterranean and lying in a black volcanic beach; or discussing Europe’s infrastructure at 8,900 ft while standing on the top of the Swiss Alps watching 80+ year olds hike up to the very tip of the mountain top resort; or being scared shitless while climbing up a daunting mountainside…we all find something different in our personal journeys.

Next up is a short one hour flight to Prague where the beer is less expensive than water and the locals drink more per capita than anywhere else in the world. A party town combined with the Lindys (Dave and Krissy) meeting us and rain is sure to be the perfect storm, pun intended. It rained for two straight days but it doesn’t stop us from exploring the city and doing a walking tour of old town Prague. Who would have thought Prague is the home to the largest castle in the world and the oldest working clock.  The Czech Republic was occupied by the Nazis then liberated by the U.S. and Russia only to fall under the iron curtail until 1990. The city is so well preserved that as you walk down the cobblestone streets you can feel what life was like hundreds of years ago.

Almost all the buildings date back hundreds of years and still show the intricate design of their era even if the sign now reads Starbucks. Lots of Americans and Brits were traveling in Prague and we met several expats that came to visit and just never left. The female bartender, the west coast developer and our tour guide all had the same story of just not leaving after visiting. After back to back 4 AM nights we head to the train station without a solid plan of where we are going and how we are going to get there. The plan was to rent a car and head to Vienna or Budapest. Well, one out of two isn’t bad. Vienna here we come, by train.

Vienna is a fancy modern city with high end shops and is clean and well organized. The people are a bit gruff but that’s what they are known for. The bus tour after the 4 hour train ride was all we could handle day 1.

A quick nap and out to dinner at Purstner where we had an unbelievable traditional Austria meal full of wiener schnitzel, pork and spatzel with our waiter serving in lederhosen. We walked the cobblestone streets and bumped into an American bar, actually called “American bar” so of course we moved over from beer to enjoy some good old fashion Kentucky bourbon. Next up Budapest.

Budapest

We head to the train station and barely make the 11:42, it wasn’t going to the main Budapest station but that didn’t stop us. Three hours later we get off in what we think is a station just outside of the city. In the middle of nowhere we get off, find the subway and head toward the old town. Airbnb rescues us with a last minute booking, we end up arriving on their day of independence and also somehow end up getting an apartment smack in the middle of the festivities. After two days of great food, drinks and some touring we hit the famous Turkish baths before one more night in town.

Hungary lost 600,000 Jews because they sided with the axis of evil and allowed mass killings. Then once they started losing they tried to side with the good guys but Germany invaded when the local government attempted to flip. So Germany made Hungary an example for other countries and it was said to be the most brutal invasion as they killed almost the entire Jewish population. When railways to death camps were shut down they simply took people the the Danube river and shot them in masses. The Nazi’s had the Jews take off their shoes before being killed as they believed the shoes were the only valuable thing to take.

So then you have to ask yourself how do you have monuments celebrating the war veterans that fought with the axis? Well they do and are becoming very controversial.

Hungary has a very difficult past. The country was under real communism after WWII, you couldn’t mention certain people’s names and if you did the special police would arrest you, no protests or speaking out against the government, no ownership of businesses…so of course the people revolted many times. Their revolt attempts were brutally crushed many times; the most well documented was in 1956. Then finally in 1989 Russia gave in due to the will of the people. Hungry was the first crack in the iron curtain as they opened their borders as part of a revolt and Russia couldn’t do anything about it.

BTW, both Prague and Switzerland are very dog friendly, dogs go everywhere; restaurants, trains, shops….Wiley and Spike would be rock stars here.

Next stops – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro then Croatia.

PHOTOS

Budapest, Hungary

Vienna, Austria

Prague, Czech Republic