Europe: Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary

June 8-10: Vienna

Man oh man has this trip started off with a bang. When traveling the world, it seems many people only highlight the good/fun stuff and post only the positive parts on social media. Well I'm here to tell ya there are days where traveling isn't all peaches and cream. This was one of them. I arrived at the Denver airport on Friday, June 8^th 2 hours before my flight departure. I stood in line to check in with Norwegian and it was taking much longer than usual. When I finally got up to the desk, the lady said something no traveler ever wants to hear: “We can’t fit you on this flight.” My mouth dropped. “What are you talking about?” I asked. She said that they overbooked the flight and they actually downsized the plane so there was no more room. Everyone around me was receiving the same bad news - completely dumbfounded - and started to get pissed off. The staff told us we had to call a hotline number in order to re-book and make it to our destination. Well that wasn’t the way I wanted my trip to start out now was it? I called the hotline number because apparently the people at the airport desk could not help us. I’m not thinking too highly of Norwegian right now. I waited on hold for about an hour before I actually got through to somebody. During that hour, me and a few other folks chatted about 

A picture of great times to come

how ridiculous this was and if we would ever be able to talk to someone. We noticed that there were flights going to London with other airlines in about an hour. If we hadn’t been put on hold for an hour or so we might have been able to make those flights and then transfer later. Once I got through on the hotline, I asked the guy if he could put me on a different flight. He said that he had to check the options and put me on hold. I was on hold for about 20 minutes and then I got disconnected. Awesome. Your customer service is on point, Norwegian. The main lady at the counter was working her butt off to try to help us, I will admit. I think she felt really bad for us. She ended up emailing whoever was in charge and was able to work some magic. However, this occurred over the course of 2 hours. We received our new flight schedules and none of us were happy because it pushed us all back at least 24 hours. I asked the lady if she could email the person in charge and tell him/her I found a United flight leaving tomorrow morning at 7am that would get me to Vienna at 8am Sunday instead of the 7pm they have me at now. She emailed them and they rejected my suggestion saying that it wasn’t in their system. BS. I was the perfect combination of livid and exhausted at this point. Norwegian Airlines claims that they will give us 600 euros for our troubles. I’ll believe it when I see it. If it is true that means my flight to Vienna ended up being free and I actually made some money. That’s the silver lining. I can’t believe that I will miss all the fun activities my family and I have planned for Sunday! The Choir Boys during church mass, a tour of Schronbrunn Palace, a tour of the Imperial Treasury, and a Mozart concert. I'm really upset that I won't have too much time in Vienna itself. I'll only have one full day because we’re taking side trips to Bratislava and Budapest. Finally accepting the fact that I couldn’t change my new flight schedule, I called Brisa to ask if she could pick me up from the airport. She was amazing in that she freed up her schedule to pick me up. We talked during the drive and I vented which really helped. When I walked through the door, Sebastian was very excited to see my unexpected return.

Today is June 9 and my flight doesn’t leave until 7pm. It is with British Airways now. I'm going from Denver to London to Vienna. I plan to arrive at the airport 4 hours early just to be safe. Thankfully Zwelani is able to drive me to the airport. Fingers crossed to see what happens next.

Okay, so I made it successfully onto the British Airways flight from Denver to London and the flight took off on time at 7:30pm! It was pretty uneventful. Before boarding my flight, I sat down at a bar and killed some time – I had about 3 hours until departure. The bartender was very nice to me and very witty. We had some good laughs. He was impressed that I was attending the World Cup. The two people next to me on the flight were an Indian couple and kept to themselves. I watched a couple movies and then slept off and on. The food was on point. The personal TV screens were not. They were very tiny and the quality was not great. When I landed in London there were no issues whatsoever, but I had a 4 hour layover. What to do, what to do? I decided to walk around a bit and explore. The Heathrow Airport is like a giant mall, so there's plenty to see. Eventually I ran out of shops to walk through and I followed the example of a few other people who were napping on the chairs. I laid down for a nap and I think I got a solid 40 minutes in. Score! When I woke up and went to the restroom, I noticed I had a super sexy backpack mark on half my face. Ohh, so that’s why people were looking at me funny! For 40 minutes of sleep, totally worth it. I texted Dad from the airport using WiFi to make sure everything was set-up for my arrival. Last time (Spain) our group didn't coordinate so well and I was left out on the streets to fend for myself! Haha. Not happening this time! He said that I could check in while they were watching the Mozart concert. About 30 minutes later I got a text saying that the owner doesn't allow two check-ins and I needed to wait for them at a nearby restaurant. Well that's a bummer. But I guess not too bad. Then Dad said I couldn't take the bus like I had planned because the owner has a deal with the taxi company that takes his visitors from the airport to his apartment (sounds like he is running some sort of sketchy operation) and it would cost 34 euros. 34 euros! That's crazy especially since the bus would only cost 8 euros and it would take the same amount of time. Plus, I remember how much of a mess it was when Dad and I flew to Manaus, Brazil and the lady wasn't there to pick us up; we couldn't find her for about an hour. So I was a little apprehensive about this plan.

The plane from London to Vienna was much smaller. It also didn't include meals or TVs. It was about to take off, but we were delayed slightly because the pilot said there was a lot of air traffic above France and he needed to wait for it to clear. Other than that, the flight was uneventful. Maneuvering through the Vienna airport was a breeze and walking through Customs was very quick. I walked out to grab my bag which also came out very quick. Vienna knows what’s up! Then I walked out and saw tons of people waiting. It was like they were welcoming us from winning the Olympics or something - it was that many people. And half of them had little signs with people's names on them. I looked 

Another picture of great times to come

around and I couldn't find my name. When I first walked out into the Olympic welcoming, I had the option to either walk to the right or to the left. I went right to begin. After unsuccessfully finding my name that direction, I walked back through where I came and went to the left. I did not see my name that way either. There were also people with mini signs scattered around the general area so it wasn't very organized. I walked around for about 10 minutes and could not find anybody with my name. I decided to text Dad to see what was going on. He said that the person should be there and to keep looking. I kept looking for another 20 minutes and couldn't find him. I then asked Dad if he had the correct flight information. “You flew on Austrian Airlines from Paris right?” Womp, womp. “No, my whole schedule got changed remember? I flew from London to Vienna with British Airways. That's why I texted you in London that landed in London.” Aye yi yi. At that point I told him that I was just going to take the bus and he agreed. But as soon as I walked outside I got a text from him saying that the driver was there. I walked back in and I lost Wi-Fi so I couldn't text him back. But I did spot the guy with a sign with my name on it. He was with all the other fancy looking airport taxi people that I walked by several times earlier. And he definitely was not there before. He and I then had to walk to a counter to pay for the cab. So formal. We walked down a long hallway that I figured was leading to Narnia because it took forever. We finally got to the van which was huge and very hot inside. At this point I was wishing I had ignored the owner’s request and just used the bus. Next time we should tell the owner thanks, but no thanks. I was dropped off at the restaurant about 30 minutes later. I forgot to mention that there was a change in plans when I arrived. Apparently, I was to pick up a key from the nearby restaurant instead of waiting for my family to meet me. I walked in and asked for the key in a hopeful manner because the place seemed more like a café than a restaurant. I wasn’t quite sure if it was the correct place. The bartender girl was very sweet and exclaimed “ah the key!” and handed it over. Her English was really good. I found the apartment which was relatively easy because of Mom’s awesome directions/photos through text earlier today. I am completely exhausted and drained. Time to take a shower and get ready to go out and get some food.

Oh my gosh I just finished taking a shower and I feel amazing! It was so magical. The pressure of the water coming out of the showerhead was like a massage on my skull and I feel so much better. Thank you, Vienna water pressure! Saving lives.

When my family arrived around 10pm we decided to go to the restaurant where I picked up the key. It was called Café Aera. We walked there and I told them my horrific flight stories and the taxi situation. They showed me all their pictures fromthe previous two days’ events. We then ordered some beer and delicious food. I ordered an Austrian pancake which turned out to be like an omelet mixed with a lasagna. It had ham and tomato and lots of cheese. It was delicious! And very filling. We came back to the apartment after about an hour and a half and just relaxed. This Airbnb apartment is huge. The living room is bigger than my entire apartment and we have a little balcony area, a kitchen, and three bathrooms. It’s a huge step up from our first place in Spain when all 5 of us shared a small bathroom. However, it doesn’t produce the family bonding experience like the one in Spain did ;) When Dad texted me earlier asking if I needed anything from the grocery store it was right after all the stressful happenings, so I joked and replied “Vodka, Rum, Beer” and then “Nacho cheese Doritos and orange juice.” The last two were in a separate text because those ones were serious. When they came back they had actually bought all the items I requested! So now we have a whole refrigerator stocked with alcohol haha. Aunt Kathy and I busted into the vodka and had vodka on the rocks before we went to bed. Tomorrow Mom, Aunt Kathy, and I leave the apartment around 7:30am
to catch a boat at 9am to Bratislava. Adventure here we come!

June 11: Bratislava
Aunt Kathy and Mom woke up around 6am, but I had no idea because I didn’t hear anything. There are so many doors within this apartment that all the noises are shut into the specific room. I love it! I did have to nudge Aunt Kathy in the middle of the night because she was snoring. But that’s typical. I woke up around 7am. Surprisingly I got a good amount of sleep. I don’t even think I’m jet-lagged. We shuffled around, got ready for the day, and then walked down to the canal where we would get on the boat to Bratislava. Dad decided not to come on this adventure because he wanted to explore Vienna instead. I was leading the way and we walked through a nice green space with bike paths on either side. It reminded me a lot of Munich. When we approached the right area, which was only 10 minutes away from our apartment, we walked down closer to the canal and waited for the boat. Once 8:30am hit we were checked onto the boat and interestingly enough our passports weren’t checked. I was quite surprised because we were going to a different country after all. We then sat in our designated seats. We had some of the best seats on the boat, with views right out the front window. The boat crew said we had to sit in our seats until we hit the river and then we could walk around and go up to the upper deck (open air). After about 15 minutes through the canal, we hit the river junction. Hello Danube River! That was our cue to walk up to the upper deck. It was awesome because there was so much wind to keep us cool. If I haven’t mentioned already, it was insanely humid and hot today. The name of the game was “finding shade and walking in it as long as you can.” Or finding a restaurant or bar with air conditioning. We sat on the upper deck for a while and pointed out interesting sites on the side. Overall there wasn’t too much to look at. We did pass a small city that had some old castle ruins on a mountaintop so that was cool.

After about an hour and 15 minutes, we arrived at Bratislava. The anticipated UFO Tower that I had researched was in sight and it wasn’t as tall as I imagined. That was very exciting because then I knew we could go up it and see the beautiful view and I wouldn’t be afraid of heights! We docked the boat and still no one checked our passport or stamped it. We were a little bummed about the no stamp part. We then created a game plan which started with the UFO Tower since it would get busier later in the day. Aunt Kathy was a little hesitant at first and Mom and I assured her that we’re both afraid of heights too. I’ve been trying to conquer my fear for years now and I’m not sure if it’s getting anywhere, but at least I’m trying. We got to the UFO Tower by using the pedestrian walkway underneath the bridge spanning across the Danube river. When we reached UFO Tower we paid the 7 euros to go up the elevator. The path to the elevator was a little sketchy because most of it was under construction. It seemed like we were in a fun house which didn’t help calm our nerves. We reached the top and the lady waved us to the observation deck after checking our ticket. I asked her if we could stay in the bar area for a bit first and she said, “Of course! I’ll remember you and you can go to up to the observation deck later.” We sat at the bar and there was a very attractive man with a tie and stubble beard. I liked this view already ;) We ordered some drinks and talked while absorbing the amazing views below us. The tower is about 300 feet tall and I wasn’t feeling uneasy at all (hey, that rhymed!). We looked out and saw the castle, some church steeples, the bridge, the Danube River, and a more modernized area of the city in the distance. It was interesting because you could see a clear divide between the historic part of the city and the new built-up part. We were the only ones at the bar which was fantastic because we felt like we owned the place. After about an hour, we walked up to the observation deck and I was feeling a little uneasy at this point. It was about 4 flights of stairs. We got to the top and I needed a little time for my fear to dissipate. Then we took some photos and enjoyed the views.

Now onto the next destination! Kava Bar. As we walked through the cobblestone streets it was relatively easy to find our way around. We walked through the side of a little castle and then crossed over the road using a pedestrian bridge. We stopped at Kava Bar and Mom and Aunt Kathy enjoyed some iced coffee. I had a warm latte. It was really hot inside the little café and we opted to sit outside on the bar’s window bench. This was supposed to be a great place for coffee and pastries. Therefore, we all got a coffee and a pastry. We then walked up the sidewalk towards the castle. Aunt Kathy wanted to tour the inside. We climbed a great deal which was good exercise and Aunt Kathy joked that this was another mountain hike like I led them on in Barcelona. Not even close, people! We found the map of the castle and walked towards the ticket booth. However, when we got to the front we could not find a ticket booth. We walked around and around and then into the castle area as far as we could. We even 

walked into the gardens behind the castle. Actually, before that we walked down to the museum shop and it was closed. That wasn’t a good sign. It made me think that they were closed altogether. When we got to the gardens it was beautiful and it was free to walk around. We took that time to research the hours of operation, using our phones. And what did we find? It was closed on Mondays…womp womp. Just our luck. We started taking some selfies and then this man asked if he could help us. He took our photo and it was crazy because in one of the photos it shows us looking away from him, but the angle of the camera is pointed right at us.When he was taking the photos we were looking at him the whole time as he was moving around so we were bewildered. It was like magic! And we still haven’t formulated a reason for how that happened. 

Slightly disappointed that the castle was closed today, we walked back down to the main plaza in the historic district of Bratislava. We came across some of the famous statues and the one of the man coming out of the ground through a manhole. This area was very pleasant to walk through and there were a lot of cafés and bars with chairs and tables outside their doors. We then went to Beer Palace Restaurant & Pub because it sounded amazing. They didn’t have much beer to choose from which was slightly disappointing. Aunt Kathy asked Mom and I to recommend a beer for her because she wasn’t sure which one she would like. So we chose Hoegaarden. When the man came back out with our three 

beers hers definitely looked the biggest because of the glass. It was almost like a goblet. I was laughing so hard as he walked toward us. When he placed them down in front of us Aunt Kathy’s eyes got really big. It was priceless. Mom and I finished our beers and Aunt Kathy had maybe a centiliter of hers. So Mom and I “selflessly” helped her finish it. After this we walked about 15 minutes to Slovak Pub which was supposed to have amazing traditional Slovak food. We walked in and it was a huge floor space with lots of wooden tables and some of them were near open windows. We opted for a spot near the window because it was so hot. We then ordered a platter meal which had three different items on it - two different types of Haluskys and a pierogi sampling. I was not a huge fan of the three portions on the platter. However, Mom was raving about one of the Haluskys and Aunt Kathy was raving about the pierogis, so I’m glad they enjoyed it :) Mom and I also split garlic cheese soup which was insanely delicious. I was not expecting that. 

After that we went to KC Dunaj which was a hot spot for nightlife, but it had a rooftop bar and opened at 4pm. When we arrived at the door on the street there were no signs telling us how to get up to the bar (Actually, there might have been one, but I think it was all in Slovakian). So we found the elevator and we hit the highest number on the button panel which was 5. We got out on the 5^th floor and it was a very sketchy, dark area. We walked around to a window, looked down, and saw a cool rooftop bar. Found it! That’s where we needed to go. We walked down one flight of stairs because it seemed like it was on the 4^th floor. However, after we walked down we couldn’t open the doors. And it didn’t seem like it was the right area (what’s a trip with Julie without a little bit of leading the party astray before the big finale??). We hopped back in the elevator and hit 4. It seemed promising because the 4 was 

indented on the button panel. We found the bar and walked outside. There was hardly anyone there. Mom ordered a beer and Aunt Kathy and I ordered water. I felt dehydrated. I didn’t know how Mom was doing it! After that we went to our last stop which was Regal Rooftop (by the way Mom’s phone was the one chosen for directions and it kept freaking out. The arrow would spin around and I would get confused where we needed to go). When we reached the front door of Regal Rooftop there were signs and images of a strip club. Oh boy! This should be interesting. We walked in and the two guys didn’t seem to know English, but eventually they figured out that we wanted to go to the rooftop and guided us the right way. From the rooftop we could see the castle, some steeples, and the UFO Tower we were in earlier. It was a really pretty view. Again, we opted to sit in the shade. There was only one table in the shade and it was the prime spot. 

After about an hour we walked back to the boat dock. We meandered through the historic district again and it was lovely. We entered the boat and all of us were completely exhausted. We had different seats this time around and the boat wasn’t full. Mom and Aunt Kathy took naps while I dozed in and out. We arrived back in Vienna around 8pm. Dad was supposed to meet us at 8pm, but he was at some beer garden nearby. So we went up to the restaurant above the boat docks and sat down. I wasn’t too hungry at this point. We told Dad where to meet us and eventually he joined our table. I then decided to go back to the apartment and take a nap because I was planning to go out salsa/bachata dancing later. I got the recommendation from a guy on Facebook because I joined a group that did bachata every second Sunday in Vienna. However, they stopped doing it every second Sunday last month. Poor timing! So I asked the group for recommendations and this one guy, Andy, sent me a bunch of events (Thanks Andy!). Dad and I walked to Café Francais for the bachata event which took about 12 minutes. We walked in and it was simply a small cafe. Huh? Then we realized there was a depressed section in the corner that led us to the club. Super secretive! We walked in and it was very small and HOT. I was already sweating. I found Andy and we danced a few songs together. He was very sweet. There weren’t many guys there, but they were all very good. After a couple hours, Dad and I walked back to the apartment and went to bed around 1am. Budapest tomorrow!!

June 12: Budapest

Today we woke up bright and early to catch a 7:42am train to Budapest. Dad came with us today. Eventually we boarded the train and we split into two groups because Aunt Kathy and I didn’t want to face the opposite direction of the train's movement. I can get a little queasy. So Dad and I shifted over to the seats across the aisle. A local Vienna guy sat next to me and we all struck up a conversation because he was originally from Russia - we discussed the World Cup. The announcement on the train came on every time we made a stop and at the end it said, “Thank you and enjoy your ride on OBB." The way it was said sounded exactly like the song “Ay Bay Bay” so I started singing it and the Vienna guy next to me started laughing so hard that he choked on his juice. He coughed for a full minute after that. Morning laughs provided by Julie! We are due to arrive in Budapest at 10:30am. It's a very smooth ride so far.

We arrived in Budapest right on time and noticed that the train station was much older than any of the other train stations we had seen. In a sense, it looked like it was about to fall apart. I liked it because it gave it some character and made me feel like we were in a movie back in the olden days. We then decided to go to the castle in Park Városliget (City Park). It was called Vajdahunyad Castle and it was about a 20 minute walk. We saw a Burger King immediately near the train station and also a Starbucks. So cultured here. Once we reached the park, we found some bathrooms to use and they were a little sketchy because you had to drop coins into a slot and then enter the restroom. Mom, Aunt Kathy, and Dad all used it for the price of one. We kept joking that someone was going to come find us and send us to Budapest jail because there was a sign that said it was under video surveillance. We are rebels! The bathroom was really close to a neat biergarten with lots of colorful chairs and trees. If we had time I’m sure we would have stayed for a bit. We continued walking through the park and eventually stumbled 

upon the castle. It was quite the sight. It was in the middle of the park and it created a contrast with all the trees. It even had an iron gate that you tend to see in movies. Where were our swords and shields?? We walked around, took lots of pictures, and then signed up for a tower tour. I was getting a little nervous because the tower tour required climbing up 150 stairs. We started the walk up the stairs and it wasn’t so bad. Aunt Kathy and I began counting the stairs to get an idea of when we were getting close. After counting 70 steps, the “tower section” began and so we figured we needed to start our count over. Eeek! About 70 more steps after that I started freezing. This wasn’t a good sign if we were only halfway. Because my fear was sinking in, I started walking very slowly and holding up the group. I looked down and everybody behind me was bunched up. Ah geez. I said to Aunt Kathy, “I don’t think I’m going to make it!” and began feeling a little uneasy. I saw a plateau above us that was very close and I decided I would let everybody pass me there. To my surprise the plateau was actually the very top! Phew! That was close. It wasn’t as high as I thought and our initial count of stairs was the correct one. We walked around for a bit and absorbed the views. We could see the “Buda” side of the city which had the Royal Palace. We also saw the “Pest” side (the side we were currently on) and Parliament. We took some photos and eventually walked back down. 

Next on the list were the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. They were very beautiful especially due to the 

contrast of the blue water against the yellow buildings and it was packed with people. It was definitely a highlight for many visitors. We continued our exploration by finding a place to eat. Someone told me to eat at Mazel Tov, but I can’t remember who :P. I told the group that it would take 20 minutes to walk there (secret: I actually had no idea how long it would take. I was just guesstimating). We started to walk and it was extremely hot. It was definitely taking longer than 20 minutes and Google approximated 40 minutes. Oopsie. We continued to walk in the blistering heat and take in all the sights. We arrived at Mazel Tov and it was a really cool setting. It was a long hall with vines hanging from the banisters and it felt very open because the windows were letting a lot of light in onto the tables. As we made our way toward the back there were trees that were also growing inside of the 

place and then perpetuating through the windows above us. I really liked the atmosphere. The restaurant served mainly Middle Eastern dishes. Mom ordered a Hungarian Spirit called Cherry something or other and that was the only Hungarian item we had besides Dad’s beer. I ordered a delicious berry lemonade. It was super refreshing and the best thing to drink after a long walk in the killer sun. Aunt Kathy and I both ordered shawarma. When Mom’s spirit shot came Aunt Kathy took a sip and her face squished up like she licked a lemon. It was funny and we all wished we had videotaped it. Then I took a chance on it. Mom started her video camera just in case. It smelled super strong so I was expecting the worst. I sipped it and it actually wasn’t so bad! It tasted a little bit like whiskey, but I didn’t hate it. “Oh that’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be.” Everyone laughed and Mom was slightly let down by my reaction. After we made it to Mazel Tov Aunt Kathy gave me a hard time about how my time estimates were way off.  She said that when I said 20 minutes I actually meant 45 minutes. She mentioned, "From now on, whenever you give us a time estimate I'm going to add 10 minutes to it!" This was a fun to argue/joke about. After about an hour at Mazel Tov we decided to go to a ruin bar called Simpla Kert. Ruin bars have become super popular recently. Essentially they are bars with a bunch of eclectic things, similar to a garage, that add character to the place. Apparently, most of them have a theme and the one we went to was the first one ever established. We eventually found it and it was only a couple blocks down the street. We walked in and it was very distracting. There were old, rusty bikes hanging from the ceiling, wooden pallets, weird kangaroo statues, lawn chairs, wooden chairs, and many other really random items. It felt like we were plopped into an I Spy book. The place was huge and it had separate rooms with different themes. 

After this we decided to go to Hungary Parliament because it was high on Aunt Kathy’s list. We took the metro since it was the fastest way to get there. We popped out of the metro station right at the base of 

Parliament. It was a very huge and impressive building! We then walked indoors to try to get a tour set up. The information desk told us that all the tours were completely booked and that none were available. Well that was a bummer! We redirected our route to the Royal Palace across the river (to the “Buda” side) hoping that we could get a tour over there. We ended up taking a taxi because it was the fastest route. The driver drove us over a bridge and we glanced over the water which was gorgeous. The driver thought we wanted to go to the church when we actually wanted to go to Royal Palace (aka Buda Castle). We said Buda Castle when we got in the vehicle, but I guess he didn’t think it was the same thing as the Royal Palace. We told him we wanted to go the opposite direction and eventually he took us there. When Dad asked if he accepted credit card he looked upset. Apparently, he only accepted Hungarian money. That was another thing to note in Budapest. They used their own currency, not the 

Euro even though they are in the European Union. It was quite troublesome. Anyway, the taxi driver wanted Dad to pay in Hungarian money and we didn’t have enough. So eventually he just accepted credit card, but it took a bit for him to loosen his restriction. Finally exiting the taxi, we walked down to the Royal Palace and saw the guards being switched out. The sight from the castle wall was incredible! You could see Parliament across the river, numerous bridges, and mountains in the distance. All three elements together looked just like the iconic photos you may see on postcards. It was amazing. We then went up to the information desk and they said that the last tour had just started at 5pm. Drats! Missed it by 4 minutes! We were not having much luck today. I felt bad for Aunt Kathy because I knew she wanted to see at least one of the two. She took the news well and was still in good spirits. We were able to walk around the castle grounds though which was really nice. We took a lot of photos and continuously looked at the view across the river. We couldn’t get enough! As we kept walking we heard some traditional Hungarian music and there were 

people dancing below. I guess they were getting ready for a festival. After exploring the grounds a bit we grabbed some ice cream that was way overpriced but very refreshing. We then walked up the street to find dinner. We wanted a place that had authentic Hungarian food. We stumbled upon a restaurant that to me looked Italian. I noticed that the view from my side of the table was a great one for a picture of Mom 

and Aunt Kathy and the church. So I said, “Sisters, look here for a photo.” Aunt Kathy ignored me but then she said, “Oh I thought you were talking to some sisters/nuns on the street!” Oh yeah, I’m just gonna yell out “Sisters!” to two nuns walking by on the street. How random! Haha. After dinner we decided to walk around the church area, but before we left, the waiter asked Dad how to pronounce Pulisic’s name on the back of his jersey. That was pretty hilarious. An American soccer player is finally making waves internationally! As we explored the church grounds I saw a married couple taking pictures on the ledge nearby. It was really beautiful. The woman’s veil was blowing in the wind and you could see Parliament and the river in the distance. And the guy was looking very dapper.

It was time to head back to the train station and Dad wanted us to take the bus there. We walked down many many stairs and eventually found the bus stop. Aunt Kathy was apprehensive that the bus was actually coming. Dad and I read the sign for the schedule (which by the way, it’s so fun to try to figure out your way around a foreign city like a local!) and it came right on time - about 5 minutes after we arrived. The bus was a little rickety and it was very quick. I think Mom and Aunt Kathy wished we had taken a taxi haha. We arrived at the station about 45 minutes early and I wanted to get some Hungarian money. Dad kept calling them Huffs because “HUF” was the acronym shown on the bills. But they’re actually called Hungarian Forints. It was funny because I went even further and called them Hufflepuffs. I would say things like, “How many Hufflepuffs is it? It’s only 4 Hufflepuffs. How many Hufflepuffs do we have?” In the station I walked up to a gyro stand to buy a water with Aunt Kathy’s 2,000 HUF bill so we could split it into a couple different bills. On the train we ended up sitting next to two girls in a 6-person cabin. It made me think of Harry Potter because we had the sliding glass door and everything. I began to wonder if the food trolley lady would come by soon with our chocolate frogs! It was a long ride and I dozed on and off. It felt much longer than the ride in this morning. We got back to Vienna around 11:30pm. Mom and Aunt Kathy are going to Melk Abbey tomorrow while Dad and I stay and explore Vienna. It’s supposed to rain all day which is sad, but we’ll figure out something.

June 13: Vienna
I had my alarm set for 9am since it was going to be a rainy day so it wasn’t like I was going to be anything. Dad came in at 8am and mentioned that the weather forecast had changed and it wasn’t supposed to rain until 1pm. Yippee! That was very exciting because then we could see everything in nice weather rather than being miserable in the rain. We headed out around 9am. I suggested that we walk a route along the canal that went through Stadt Park. Stadt Park was really amazing. It was very beautiful and calm and peaceful. And it was right next to the canal. Dad kept raving about how amazing the park was and that he was glad we decided to create our own walking route through the park rather than use any of the other walking tours our pamphlet suggested. Oh and he was searching for the Mr. Mime Pokemon on PokemonGo because apparently it’s only available in Europe. After the park we walked to Saint Stephen’s Cathedral which was in the heart of Vienna. After walking around 

Stephansplatz, we tried to find Mozarthaus. Dad, Mom, and Aunt Kathy had been there for a concert earlier in the week, so Dad knew exactly where it was. Or did he? We walked around forever trying to find it. It was like a mystery. We walked into the Mozart Figarohaus Museum, asked the man at the desk where it was, and he said that the museum was Mozarthaus and Dad said it wasn’t. We eventually found the location where they watched the concert and considered the search a success. After Mozarthaus we walked to Hofburg Palace. There was a lot of walking involved, but it wasn’t very hot so it was pleasant. There were amazing structures and buildings all over the place. I hadn’t been too impressed with Vienna until now. This area was incredible. We had been walking for about an hour and a half at this point and so we decided to take a break at a café. We chose one with the best pastry images on their menu (an excellent way to choose a café by the way - I highly recommend it). We sat down and I couldn’t decide which pastry to order. Too many delicious options! I then chose a layered pastry with jam, icing, and soft breading (kind of like angel food cake) while Dad chose apple strudel. Dad wanted me to order a chocolate pastry but I suggested we get this one instead and he thought it was the best decision after one bite. It was one of the best pastries I have ever had!

After the café we walked through the Palace grounds and saw some cool statues. I then targeted Volksgarten which was a large rose garden. We walked in and it was extremely gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of the famous Portland Rose Garden that Abdallah took me to. Rows upon rows all we could see were roses and it was just amazing. It was very colorful and we could see the historic buildings in the background. I went up to EVERY rose and smelled it (Ok not really, but if I had all day I may have!). I still remember vividly the one that smelled the best – it was one of the first ones. It was definitely a highlight in Vienna for me and I would recommend it to people who love roses or
flowers. 

After this we walked towards Karlsplatz so that we could catch the train to Schonbrunn Palace. Dad, Mom, and Aunt Kathy had been there before and said it wasn’t too great but I still wanted to see the gardens because it is a highlight for most tourists. We jumped on the metro and it was a very quick trip to the Palace. We walked around the grounds of the Palace and ran into a group of Rotary Club children who were from different countries. They were holding different flags on their backs from Brazil, Chile, etc. It was cool. We walked around and came across a huge fountain that look like a waterfall. Then we made our way to the main garden area. It reminded me a lot of Nymphenburg Palace (the place that Kenneth and I went to in Munich). Almost identical actually. Maybe they’re brother palaces. Dad 

mentioned that we should hike up to the top so that we could look down and see everything. Sure, why not. Before we hiked up, there was a sign that said something in German but then translated into English it said, “Danger for your health caused from caterpillars.” What??? I didn’t understand. How could caterpillars be dangerous to your health in such a way that they need a warning sign? Anyway, we continued to walk up and kept our eyes peeled for “dangerous caterpillars”. From the top you could see over all the land and then see the palace in the distance. It was very pretty. After this we walked down and I was getting pretty tired at this point. We stopped at a biergarten just outside Tiergarten Schonbrunn (“Vienna Zoo”) and enjoyed some beers. Brett (my Australian friend who we met during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil) was messaging me because of my posts about Budapest on Facebook. He’s then said, “Congratulations, 2026!” I immediately knew what he was referring to and thought “Oh my gosh did we win the World Cup in USA for 2026?!” I told Dad and he didn’t believe me at first. I looked it up and the news was covering it substantially. United States in 2026!! What a joy! The best news to receive on the eve of World Cup 2018. We then walked to the metro stop to head back to the apartment. It was great that it hadn’t rained yet, but at this point the forecast predicted that it was about to rain. We made it back to the apartment and I took a quick nap.

We met Mom and Aunt Kathy at Café Demel for pastries at 6pm.We then walked to Melker Stiftskeller for dinner which was recommended by Dad’s Vienna friends for authentic Austrian food. The restaurant was located in a cellar and it was a neat vibe. The food was pretty tasty. The waitress asked where we were from and I mentioned Colorado. She said, “Did you know that Colorado is one of 5 states that ends in o?” We tried to figure out the other 4, but we could only think of 3. Then she said, “Oh. Well maybe it’s not 5, it’s 4!” She was funny. Thankfully the apartment was only a couple blocks away because after dinner we were all stuffed and moving like slugs. We finished the night by drinking some of the alcohol left in our refrigerator. Mom and Aunt Kathy fly back to the States at 10am tomorrow and Dad and I fly to Moscow at 1:30pm! So pumped for the next part of this adventure – soccer mayhem!