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| Zagreb, Croatia |
Zagreb is a cool city. Kelly and I stayed in a four star hotel there for four days or so, which was very nice. Somehow, Kelly found a four star for the same price as the three star we stayed in the first night, so we moved (there aren’t any cheap hotels there). Zagreb lacks the ultra-quaintness of Dubrovnik, but is very cool for a bigger (though still not very big) city. We mostly stayed close to home, read, and explored our direct surroundings. There was a Subway (Sandwiches) conveniently located next door. I wouldn’t have expected to be glad to see a Subway, but I was. Talk to me about a truly large soda with ice. Ah, the American things I’ve taken for granted. How all of Europe has not yet discovered ice leaves me dumbfounded.
The beauty in Zagreb was to be found in Plitvice National Park, filled with waterfalls. Kelly and I were both frustrated to find hordes of people in the park. The place is huge; we must have walked 5 miles or more and covered only half of it. But still, almost everywhere we went there were big crowds, frequently coming to a bumper-to-bumper human gridlock. Eventually we adjusted our expectations and had a good time. The waterfall pictures should speak volumes.
From Zagreb we headed to Budapest, which was the first city we’ve been to that I didn’t like. It’s not that it’s a horrible place or anything. I just didn’t find anything I really liked about it. The people were noticeably less friendly than in Croatia (tough act to follow, Croatians are known for their hospitality). The city itself is dirty…not Naples dirty, but it gets second place. The buildings are all covered in a layer of dirt that hasn’t been spray-washed in years. Though Kelly did agree with my assessment of Budapest, I could have been a bit biased, as my back, neck, and shoulders were killing me. I had injured them over the previous days, and the pain really kicked in while in Budapest. One of the sweetest things was I bought some anti-inflammatory prescription pills, 30 of them, at the local pharmacy for $3.50 without a prescription. Yes, we in America are being raped by drug costs.
A Budapest parade described to me as a “Love Parade” also took place while we were there. It was basically a Mardi Gras style parade, with loud music, celebrating masses, and trash covering the ground. I would have loved to participate, but again, my back. Kelly and I watched it from our hotel, which was facing a main stop for the floats. The volume of the music was outrageous. In our 7th floor room with the windows open, we were a full block or two away, and the music sounded as if a stereo in our room was being played at uncomfortably loud volume. Also, there were lots of whistles being blown. Whistles should really be outlawed except at sporting events.
That night, Kelly and I took a one hour cruise along the Danube. While walking along the Danube in the evening, I condemned it because it was dirty looking and smelled like a sewer. I took it back at night (when we cruised), because the smell had gone and the city did look pretty with everything all lit up. Kelly and I shared a romantic tour of the city’s beauty; it was very nice (and included a free drink!).
After two days in Budapest, we decided to stay two more to explore the castle and the Turkish baths (and heal my back). Just after the decision was made, we found out our hotel was all booked up. We always mistakenly say we’ll stay 3 nights, then when we tell them to add days, they’re full. Instead, we really should overstate our stay and shorten it when we want to leave. Anyway, even though we had just decided to stay two more days, we immediately packed up and left Budapest. That’s just how spontaneous we are.
Leaving during my back pain episode proved a challenge. Kelly, bless her heart, carried both of the big backpacks to the train station. I mean we took a cab, but once at the station, she lagged behind me with her pack on her back, and mine being awkwardly switched from being carried in her arms to being worn backwards on her front. It was quite embarrassing and amusing to watch *everyone* in the train station stare in disbelief as I walked past carrying light bags, followed by my girlfriend turned pack mule. When we boarded the train, I rewarded Kelly with an apple and two sugar cubes.
We were off to Vienna, where I write from now. Ah, what a welcome change from Budapest. I sensed it as soon as we arrived, the vibe wafted past me immediately. Everything here is clean and efficient. Take the subway, for instance. Each track has accurate time displays showing when the next train will arrive. The trains look brand new, and are a cool rectangular shape. The doors clack shut with authority. There is no graffiti; the place is spotless. The trains are sometimes slightly crowded, but never jammed full. There is usually an available seat. Upon boarding an escalator, standers immediately shuffle to the right, leaving a perfectly open walkway on the left for walkers. In this organizational panacea, there is no diagonal cutoff, and places in line are respected. Unfortunately, everyone speaks German, but I mean you can’t have everything.
Kelly and I saw another chamber music concert last night. It consisted of music by Mozart and Strauss, contained opera singing and ballet dancing, and was the best concert we’ve seen yet. I would have sworn that I hate both opera and ballet. I really enjoyed both, however. It could be that I didn’t know I liked them, but I think it was more that the performers were that good (and that I was buzzed on Austrian beer). Also, I think opera sung live makes much more of an impact than recorded opera. The notes are so high, contain so much body, and reverberate so much, that it is hard to capture completely through a stereo system. If done incorrectly, it sounds shrill and annoying, which is my basic impression of opera. But not so live (and buzzed). Unlike our previous concerts, the space was acoustically delicious. Adding to the pleasure, their little opera faces were so expressive! I’ve never seen anything quite like it. They would emote whatever the particular song called for (jealousy or romantic interest, let’s say), but in addition to this emotion they also conveyed a huge amount of energy and happiness. More specifically, we were watching actors acting (very effectively) like very happy and energetic people acting like [whatever the part called for]. For me, it worked. I also thought I would never derive pleasure from a man in tights doing high double-kicking jumps, but I did.
In a couple days we will head to Prague, which we heard was really cheap. Perfect.
