Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Budapest & Prague - A Bit of History and Good Luck

We only had 1 day of classes this week because the other two days of classes were canceled due to a career fair at ESSEC. Thus, MC and I decided to jet off to Budapest and Prague for a few days.

Budapest, Hungary
Early morning on Tuesday, MC, Dana and I stumbled off our plane. We were exhausted from getting little to no sleep the night before, but we were all troopers and excited to explore Budapest. First things first, getting to an ATM to withdraw cash. Two hundred Hungarian Forints is approximately equal to one dollar. Easy enough. We calculated how many Forints to take out since we each wanted to withdraw $100 for our short 2 day stay. I withdrew my Forints from the ATM thinking "that's a lot of bills for just $100. Oh well." MC stepped up to withdraw money, punched in a few numbers and suddenly feels uneasy. We all re-calculated the conversion and at the exact same time, we realize that there was an extra 0. MC hit the cancel button furiously, but the Hungarian machine ignored her request, spitting out $1000 worth of Forints instead. We had a total of $2000 worth of Forints for 2 days. Tip #1: Get a good night's sleep before you approach an ATM.

The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful. One of my favorite parts of Budapest was the House of Terror (see below), a museum dedicated to those whose lives were lost during the Nazi regime (1944-5) and the Communist regime (1949-89). It was a multimedia experience which challenged almost all my senses and it really gave me a sense of the tragedies Hungary has gone through in the last 100 years. Check out the "Terror" word filtering through at the top of the building.


Other things we did in Budapest were a walking tour, a tour of the opera house, and a visit to the Jewish Synagogue (see below). This beautiful synagogue is the largest in Europe and the 2nd largest in the world. In the gardens behind, there are also several memorials to those that were killed during the Nazi regime. It was sobering to think that these terrible things only took place a mere 70 years ago.


Overall, Budapest was much harder to navigate because few people spoke English. The letters were so foreign, we couldn't even pronounce the words we wanted to ask, so it was quite difficult to get around. It didn't help that I was slightly sick andn medication. I have to say though, a smiling face and a Thank You goes very far. Tip #2: Learn how to say Thank You in the local language.


Prague, Czech Republic
We began our Prague trip with a visit to Kutna Hora, a small town just 1 hour outside of the city. Wonderful and friendly elderly women helped us figure out how to take the local bus in the town since it was not a very tourist friendly time of the year. It helped that all three of us had strong charades skills.

The morbid side of me wanted to see this famous church, which is decorated with human bones, in Kutna Hora. These bones came from an estimated 40,000 people who died during the plague. Oddly, I wasn't as creeped out as I thought I would be. It was more artistic than I imagined. Dana and MC were thoroughly disturbed.


For the next two days in Prague, we wandered the cities, visiting the Prague castle, taking a boat cruise, and going on another walking tour. Prague is definitely one of the most gorgeous cities I've visited and words don't do it justice so I'll let my pictures do the talking.

Old Town Plaza - where we ate most of our lunches


The Charles Bridge at Night



A scupture by David Cerny, a controversial Czech sculpture. Here you see two statues peeing famous quotes into a pond. If you text a message to a number, the statues will stop and begin peeing your message into the pond. David Cerny has another art "piece" where you climb a ladder and stick your head in the sculpture’s arse to see a video of two Czech politicians feeding each other slop to a soundtrack of "We are the Champions." Gotta love him sense of humor.


Last but not least, I must comment on the luck factor. It seems that people in both Budapest and Prague are in need of a lot of luck. This isn't surprising given their similar history of Nazism and Communism. After visiting both cities, I've come across 6+ statues that you can rub to obtain good luck. This includes sculptures of a lady, the knees of a child, and the belly of a policeman (this will give you luck in the pregnancy department).

You can tell which parts of the statue you should rub since these areas are usually golden from being polished so often. I am befuddled though, by these two statues below and who exactly decided that it would be good luck to rub these body parts. Tip #3: Think before you rub.

Yes, she is holding the underside of the horse.





3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fantastic trip! I'm so glad you visited the House of Terror -- I found that museum fascinating as well.

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  2. I agree - Prague IS the most beautiful European city. Hate to say it - it kicks Paris's ass! I loved my trip there in Decemeber... those warm pastries sold in Charles Square were unbelievable.

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  3. i love prague!! glad you liked it there too.

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