Hopped on a Bus

Monday morning 5:20am wake up call to catch a bus at 6:30am to Bratislava, Slovakia. I had to walk to the metro, take the metro six stops (I lost count and took it seven stops, had to run to the other side, wait five minutes and take it one stop back), and got on my bus at 6:32am. The bus driver grabbed my ticket, shook his head, I took a seat, and he closed the doors and we were off. I was the last one on the bus. I really didn't think I was going to make it. My two friends were taking a train at 7:30am because the bus was sold out when they tried to buy tickets. So, I got to Bratislava around 8:55am and didn't really know if I was at the correct stop. The bus driver said we had a twenty minute break, but I was almost positive we were in Bratislava. I went into the bus station and asked the lady at the information center if I was at the Bratislava AS bus stop. Sure enough, I was. I went to find the restroom and of course I had to pay money for it (so common and so absurd here in Europe). I didn't have any euros on me, so I had to hold it. I walked about fifteen minutes to the hostel that I had booked and when I got there they said I couldn't check in until 1pm. They let me use the restroom which was all I really cared about. After grabbing a map and mapping out everything I wanted to see in the day, I went to meet Ana and Sarah where we planned to meet at 10:15. I was so lost and getting so frustrated because I could barely read the map on my phone, which didn't coordinate with the map in my hand or the street names. All of a sudden I look over and see a girl running with a tiny little backpack. It was Ana, thank God! And Sarah was trailing behind her. I yelled over to them and I was so relieved that I found them. Honestly, I didn't know if I was ever going to find them. We started off by climbing up a hill to see the Slavin Memorial. We had no idea where we were. At one point we were walking and Sarah goes "okay, so we're at the corner of Namestie Slobody and... Namestie Slobody... what?" Literally an intersection with the same street name. We didn't know how to get there but eventually we started looking up a hill for a giant monument and we finally found it and just worked our way up the hill. After seeing the monument and an incredible view from the top, we made our way down the hill and over to the Bratislava Castle. We walked up a set of stairs that were covered in ice and we thought it was the entrance to the castle, but it wasn't. We walked around some more and came to a dead end. So we went back down the stairs we came up and walked around some more until we found more stairs. We walked up those and still couldn't find the entrance. We literally did an entire 340 degrees around this castle until we came upon the entrance. If we had kept walking a little bit further straight instead of walking up the first set of stairs we climbed up, we would have been at the entrance. Shaking my head... but the walk around the entire castle was awesome because we got some really good views of the city and of the river (the Danube river that flows through Budapest also flows through Bratislava). Here's some pictures of what I saw so far:
Slavin Memorial:

Bratislava Castle:

From the top of the castle, we were able to look over the river and see the UFO Lookout Tower on the top of the bridge. We walked over to the lookout tower because we read that we could take a lift to the top and see wonderful views, but once we got over there it was going to cost about 5euro to go up to the top and we just thought it was too expensive just to look out over the city (a view we already got from the castle).

St. Martins Cathedral: We were allowed to go inside and I started taking pictures and some guy yelled at me in five different languages "no pictures!" oops, sorry!

St. Michael's Gate:

 Sarah and I with a little statue in the Old Town city area. We found a total of four around the city - not sure how many there are in total.

Once we were in Old Town, Sarah and I decided to grab lunch since it was around 1pm. Our two friends, Miguel and Miguel (both from Portugal), met up with us at St. Martin's Cathedral and Ana hung out with them while Sarah and I got lunch. We ate at some Italian restaurant - I just got tomato soup and a side of spinach. After lunch we met back up with Ana and the Miguels. We wanted to see the blue church so we walked over to see it. We couldn't get inside, but this is what it looks like on the outside:

St. Elizabeth's Blue Church - it's name says it all - bright blue pastel church on the outside!

After we saw this church, we headed back to the Miguels hostel and hung out there for about fifteen minutes. The bartender gave us free shots of gin, apparently because he felt bad about Miguels jacket getting stolen. Since the city was so small and easy to see in just a few short hours, Ana and Sarah decided to take a 6:30 train home instead of a 7:50. I was staying the night there, so that I could go to Vienna on Tuesday, but Frederique, Dianne, Helene, and Lukas were all arriving in Bratislava by bus around 6:15pm. So when the others went to the train station, I went to meet the new group at the bus station. It worked out quite perfectly! I met with the others and we finally went back to the hostel to check in. We stopped at a grocery store to buy breakfast for the morning, and then I walked them over to Old Town. We were trying to find a restaurant for dinner and we ended up eating at the same restaurant I had lunch at. It was good and the menu was huge, so I thought it would be good for everyone! I ended up getting a salad this time. After dinner, we walked around a little more but the city was dead. It's a small city, and it was also 'holiday' - day after Easter, so not much was open. We went back to the hostel and hung out for a little and then we all went to sleep. None of us really slept that well and we aren't sure why. I was afraid I was going to miss my bus, probably because I got so close to missing the bus to Bratislava. I tossed and turned all night and finally it was time for me to get up and get ready. I was the only one leaving early in the morning to head to Vienna; the others were heading to Prague later in the afternoon. I made it to the bus station with twenty minutes to spare, but I would rather be early than late! The bus ride to Vienna was quick - about an hour and twenty minutes! I had mapped where the bus was going to drop me off, so I kind of knew which direction I was going. I made a plan for everything I wanted to see and hoped I would get through it all in the one day I had there! I got off the bus and it started snowing. Brrr! I thought it was going to be snowing all day, but it only snowed for a short time and it was light snow. My first stop was to the Belvedere Palace. It was gorgeous and the gardens outside were beautiful! I didn't go inside because I didn't think I had enough time to do the inside tours of anything. Here are a few pictures:

 As I was walking to my next destination, I came upon this. Not really sure what it is, but thought it was cool.

Yes, I found a Forever 21 in Vienna! I thought I would never go in there, but later in the day when I had some time to shop, I decided to go in to see a pair of boots I saw from the window. I had been limping around all day because the boots I brought here are destroyed and give my feet really bad blisters when I wear them for too long. I was in need of a new pair of boots so when I saw the ones at F21, and they fit, and they were reasonably priced, I decided to get them! Glad I did because those other ones will probably be in the trash soon.

Finally I found St. Stephen's Church! The inside was gorgeous:

Then I followed my tripadvisor application on my phone to St. Peter's Church:

I signed the little guest book inside - my name will forever be in St. Peter's church! Thought that was pretty neat! 

After seeing those two churches, I headed over to see the Imperial Palace. Around the palace, there were a bunch of different museums - it was like a Museum square.

Around the palace, I found a starbucks and made my way there to use the bathroom, get some water and coffee, and map out my next move. I knew I had to get on the metro, so I needed to figure out which line to take and everything. 

My next stop was Schonbrunn Palace - it was a little bit out of the way, but I had read it was well worth seeing. I found the metro stop once leaving Starbucks and tried to figure out the ticket thing. My credit card wouldn't work in the machine and I was getting frustrated, so I told the guy behind me to go. I don't think he understood because he just wanted to help me get my ticket. He kept showing me and explaining to me what all the buttons meant. He spoke broken English so it was hard to understand. Eventually I got a ticket and then he pointed me to where I had to validate it, and as he walked away I pretended to validate. There were no guards around and I was obviously a tourist with my backpack and camera, so if someone were to stop me I would have just said I didn't know where to validate. That way, I could use the ticket to travel by metro until someone stopped me without having to pay for a ticket each time. Luckily, I never got stopped! So I made it to Schonbrunn after much wandering around, and this is what I first saw! It was huge and beautiful! I walked up to the front and looked at the map. It showed that there were gardens around back, so I made my way to the back.

Little did I know that I would see this in the back:

I decided to climb that hill in the distance, up to that monument and I am so glad I did! This is the view of the palace from the top of the hill:

And this is the monument at the top of the hill.

On the side of the palace were gardens, but I had to pay for a ticket to get in. There really wasn't much to see on the inside so I just took a picture of what I could get from the outside.

Okay, this is really embarrassing and I can't believe I'm writing this on here, but when I was at the top of this hill I had to go to the bathroom SO BAD. I knew that there were bathrooms back at the front, but it was about a 20 minute walk back to the front. Also, the way I was headed wasn't toward the front but to the side of the palace to catch a metro train over that way. So, as I was walking out of the palace area, I was walking through paths that had all these woods around them. There were some occasional runners, but I thought that if I could hide myself well enough in the woods, no one could see me. Camp taught me well. I grabbed a tree and took a squat. No one could see me. And no one passed by either. Hope that wasn't TMI. I decided to take a picture of the woods, so yall would have some sort of understanding:

 After that little adventure, I took a train over to this market that sold a bunch of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and spices. A lot of the stands sold spices- here's a picture:

 I bought a few dates from this guy who was selling them because I wanted a small snack - I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was already 4 in the afternoon. After buying some dates, the guy said "telephone number?" And I was really confused so I said "what? you want my telephone number?" And he said yeahh... I laughed, looked at him, and said no! (in a "are you crazy?" voice). That was interesting and left me a little perplexed. Like did he really think I would give him my number? It was some old man who I will never see again in my entire life. Weird. After the market, I walked back to the shopping area near St. Stephen's church - I stopped at another Starbucks to check my bus time to make sure I was still planned to leave at 7:30. After starbucks, I walked around the shopping area - it was snowing a little again, but not too bad. This is when I stopped in F21 and bought those boots. After that purchase, I went to a thai place that I read about on trip advisor for dinner. It was delicious! I got tofu and vegetables in a curry sauce! Delicious! Best thai food I've ever had... but I haven't had much. haha! After dinner, I got on the metro and took it to where my bus was picking me up. I thought I was going to a bus station, but turns out it was just one bus parked on a side street! Once I got on the bus, it started pouring! So glad the rain held out until I left! The bus ride back went by pretty fast. It was about 3 hours and twenty minutes, but I slept for most of it. I was exhausted!

It was raining in Budapest, too but thanks to Meghan I had an umbrella to use to get back to my flat! This week has been rather relaxing after traveling Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I met with some group members to work on a presentation due on Monday. Thursday I had class all day and Thursday night I came home and all I wanted to do was just relax and watch online tv. I found a website that I can watch Criminal Minds episodes - I used to have a website where I would watch Criminal Minds but it stopped showing the episodes. I had made it to the beginning of season six (they are on season eight right now) and then I could not watch it for about a year now. I like to watch them in order because I know the background story. So, now I've just been catching up on season six watching episode after episode. I'm addicted. This morning, I made my way over to the Great Market Hall and did some grocery shopping. I decided to walk back to my flat with two huge grocery bags... not such a comfortable walk but glad I did it. I try to walk as much as I can here instead of taking the train. This afternoon/night I have been working on school papers and scholarship applications that are coming up. I've also been putting together my schedule for the fall at USC because I register for classes on Monday. I cannot believe I am registering for my LAST YEAR at USC. The time has flown by! The schedule I have planned now leaves a lot of room for me to work at the events office! Just what I wanted! I'm doing night classes on Monday and Wednesday, so that I can get more hours in the day at work. I can't wait - did I mention I love my job?!

This weekend I don't have much planned. Most Sundays there is a group of us that goes hiking, but I always miss it since I'm traveling, so I'll definitely go this Sunday to the hike, although the forecast is showing rain. Boo! Tomorrow is supposed to rain again, too. What is this Budapest?! I'm ready for hot sunny weather! I don't think I'll ever get it.

I only have two more travels planned and those will probably be my last. I am running out of money and can't afford another trip. I have a weekend in Prague planned mid April and then the weekend after I am going with four others to Krakow, Poland and then over to the Auschwitz concentration camp. I've heard great things about Prague, so I am so excited to travel there! Seeing Auschwitz will be an emotional experience, but I've heard it's definitely something worth seeing. After that, Emily comes in May!! And then I head home at the end of May! The time here has flown by. I can't even believe I only have seven more weeks here. I have no idea where the time went!

...Back to watching a Criminal Minds episode before bed. ;) I think I'll be caught up to season eight by the time I leave here.


xx