happy Friday...here's what we did last weekend.

After a speedy, exhausting weekend, I've added two more countries to my growing list (even if there are no stamps in my passport to prove it...thanks, EU).

Friday - April 10th
Feeling like pro-travelers, we headed to the hlavni nadrazi train station to catch our train to Budapest. Feeling like pro-travelers, we sauntered up to the arrival/departure board. An icky feeling crept up when we didn't find our train on it, which was scheduled to depart in fifteen short minutes. After looking at our tickets once more, we felt like idiot-travelers once we realized we were at the WRONG station! We hauled ass down to the Metro and prayed that it could get us to the holesovice station with time to make a dash for our (unknown) platform. I may have leveled an old lady (accidentally!!!) and Rob definitely smashed some toes, but we sprinted up just in time...phew.

We arrived in Budapest around 11pm, and found our hostel without incident. Aside from the sketchiest rusty ol' subways imaginable (I really felt like I was starring in a horror film - green spooky light, shaky cars, screeching brakes, the whole nine), Budapest welcomed us warmly. This was my first experience in a dorm-style hostel, and overall it went quite well.

why is the subway station better lit during the day than at night?!?

Saturday - April 11th
I didn't know squat about Budapest before arriving, except that they had thermal baths. Um, yes please! After meandering around the city and a park or two, dipping my fingers in the Danube River, checking out the mile-long line at Parliament (head inside? nah, I'll pass, again...thanks), and eating delicious hummus and falafels, we made our way to the baths. Being Easter weekend, the city was deserted. We did find lots of scantily clad people at the thermal baths....people watching abounded.

the ATM literally spit out a 20,000HUF note (~$100USD), which naturally, no one would accept as payment...nice.

for 2800HUF ($10USD) admission, you can spend as long as you'd like in the warm pools and thermal baths. Rob LOVED the lazy river, and I loved that the water was warm and there weren't little kids around to pee in it!

walking through a park, I spotted this kid and decided to go paparazzi on him...

...so Rob decided to go all paparazzi on ME, and here's what he got.

The weird thing about where we stayed was that during the day, it was bright and clean and legit. As soon as the sun went down, though, the less savory side of society made its debut. I'm certain I witnessed both a drug deal and a hooker at work. It was really weird.

that's Parliament on the left and the castle on the right

Sunday - April 12th
We hit the Buda side of the city, the side with a castle and the citadel. If Pest was empty, its because everyone and their mother was at the Buda castle. Everyone. The castle was gorgeous, and the views were amazing. We walked along the Danube River and enjoyed the day before hopping on a train bound for Bratislava.

no trip is complete without a jumping pic. a jumping pic ON a bridge = win.

Bratislava is a big little city. It was super quiet since Easter was upon us, so we had a mellow afternoon. Dinner, my compliments to the Slovak Pub, was chicken and spinach pirogies and this gnocchi covered in smoked melty cheese and bacon. Heavy? Yup. It knocked us both right out...

Monday - April 13th
Sunshine = the urge to shop for me. Don't ask me why. Don't ask me why we spent 2 hours in one stupid store and I walked away with one shirt. Don't ask. Seriously. Just don't. : ]

Since the day was bright and sunny, it put us in the mood for some iced coffee. We found a cafe, and ordered iced coffee. We got an oddly thick concoction that tasted and felt like ground up coffee beans. The cups were only half full, but they did the trick. Coffee's different in Europe, though. I miss BF.

this guy rocked!

We'd heard about Devin Castle, some ancient castle ruins, and decided to check them out. They sat along the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, and were pretty gorgeous.

if you click on this to blow it up, you can see a little doorway carved into the side of the cliff. this led the entire length of the castle underground, and was built for safe passage for the royal family if they were under attack. no ladder though...hmmmm. the towers to the left are called 'the nun' and 'the virgin'. now you know.

We met up with Rasto, an old friend of Rob's, and his girlfriend Silvia, for a drink that night, which was really fun. We'd all planned to go somewhere off the beaten path, but being Easter Monday (apparently also a big deal in Europe), lots of bars and cafes were closed.

Tuesday - April 14th
After breakfast and a bit of wandering about the big little city, we hopped on a train to head back to Prague. Luckily, there's only one station in Bratislava, so we couldn't possibly go to the wrong one! Our trip back was uneventful, and we were glad to be back in Prague...