quick catch-up

my last 2 weeks in strasbourg sped by. on the weekends we explored the black forest, heidelburg, wrote our papers for the hague, shopped, rode our bikes around town, and ate at a l'observatoire about 5 times a week, minimum.

i already miss it. but not the dorm and the classes, but all my people.

last friday i stopped in munich and then continued to garmisch-partenkirchen to recouperate at my half-brother's house. this involved playing with his 3 babies and searching for summer jobs. on monday morning i left on my whirlwind tour of central/eastern europe.

i spent a few more hours walking around munich and then took the train to vienna. still one of my favorite cities. after dropping my stuff off at my hostel, i went to the town hall for their food and music extravaganza. i ate some fabulous spetzle, drank a radler, and watched classical music on a giant tv screen.

tuesday i met up with ilana and her friend shiri to enjoy some more of vienna.

wednesday morning during breakfast i met a boy/actor from nyc, who accompanied me to bratislava. thank god i wasn't alone. we really had to maneuver our way around the post-soviet capital. all i can really say is that bratislava is nothing like vienna, prague, or budapest. after a day in bratislava, we made our way to budapest.

my arrival in budapest was far from glamorous. it was alreadz 10.30pm and i had to make my way, with no forinths, to my hostel. after being controlled on the metro i finally got to my stop, and then spent close to an hour finding my street, which was completely hidden due to construction. this hour was not fun for several reasons: i was sweating (p.s. i ran out of deoderant), developed a giant blister on the bottom of my foot due to sweat, and was stressed out about being either robbed or my hostel closing down before i got there.

lucky for me, the guy was waiting for my arrival. in the morning i went to meet ilana and shiri for a walking tour. they never showed up, but i miraculously ran into them randomly in the streets and we set a time to meet for dinner. i went on the walking tour. it was the best 3000 huf (approximately 12 euro) i spent all week. there were onlz 3 of us with our private tour guide. after the tour i went to one of the famous baths and then met the girls for a nice dinner.

yesterday i had a very rough start. the atm machine i went to use to get cash to pay my hostel ate my card. because it's expired. so i had to use my credit card to get a cash advance. ugh. then i stood in the wrong line for my train ticket and missed the 11.10 train and had to wait another 2 hours. so i didn't get to salzburg until 8pm.

salzburg is beautiful. it rained all last night and this morning. now the sun is shining and the sky is bright and crystal clear as i prepare to head back to garmisch.