Malagueta Beach

This weekend I went to Malaga which is only about an hour south of granada! It's a touristy beach town and was so relaxing! Althought malaga has a lot to offer, like the picasso museum, the alcazaba, the cathedral (to name a few) Me and Ingrid were perfectly content laying on the beach for three days straight. After our exhausting and freezing week in prague, vienna, and budapest, we wanted to go somewhere to relax and lay in the sun! We had a four day weekend but we figured 3 days would be enough so we just went from sat-mon. Our hostel was in some ways very nice, in others, not so much! The lounge was cool and had internet and there was also a kitchen/lounge on the 4th floor where our free breakfast was (toast and tea). Right when we got there we put on our running gear and ran down the path that goes along the entire malagueta beach. We took a break about half way through and we layed on some big rocks at the end of the pier! We introduced ourselves to two guys that were about our age that were fishing on the pier. After talking for a half hour or so we went back to get cleaned up! One thing that was not so nice about our hostel were the bathrooms... the showers leaked, the door handles came off if you pulled too hard and because the locks didn't work right, I got locked in the bathroom! I had to knock for ingrid to help me and she had to get the receptionist haha. apparently this happens a lot because she knew exactly what to do. (during my 2 night stay, this happened to two other people...) Later that night a pub crawl was organized by our hostel and we went to four different bars that night with other people from our hostel and hother hostels in malaga. it was a fun way to meet people from not only the US but germany, england, austrlia and spain. Unfortunately I was pick-pocketed that night and someone stole my camera from my purse :/ But besides that (and getting locked in the bathroom) everything was great the rest of the weekend! There is a big street that goes through the city center and along it runs a beautiful park pathway (paseo del parque) with hundreds of palm trees and varieties of plants brought here from cuba!

We layed on the beach every day and it felt great to get some sun! One thing I need to get used to is that most spanish people are very open about being naked in front of other people. There was a couple with 4 kids who ALL changed from their clothes to the swimsuits on the beach in front of us. ALL of them, not just the kids. Not to mention numerous topless sun-bathers in a beach that was NOT a topless beach. It didn't bother me, but I was surprised considering that would never happen on a beach on lake michigan! :) Also, I've seen multiple parents in granada and malaga pull down their 3 or 4 year-old's pants and just let them squat or pee in the street like it's no big deal. The next interesting (and really creepy) thing that happened is while me and ingrid were walking back from the beach we passed a man about 40 years old that just all of a sudden reached over and pulled out one of Ingrid's blond hair strands. Lots of interesting things happening in good ole ESPANA! Because I didnt have my camera (and therefor no pictures) i'm adding a couple pics from online just so you all can see what malaga looks like!

Malagueta beach (where I spent three days straight)

Paseo del Parque

A view of the cruise/boat port and paseo del parque below it 

BudaPESHT

Budapest was much different than Prague and Vienna. It is a young democracy and the proof is everywhere. There are a lot of homeless people in Budapest, but it definitely had the most character. The town is actually referred to as two separate areas. Buda, on the west side of the river, and Pest, on the east side of the river. After our late night out at Praterdome in Vienna, we left at 7:30 am on Friday for Budapest. When we arrived we got McDonald's and then found our way to the hostel. Although it was snowy outside, the hostel was very warm and clean. We had to take off our shoes as soon as we got inside and put on the slippers they provided us. We took a nap at the hostel then we went to the szechenyi outdoor baths that night evening! It was just what we all needed towards the end of this exhausting vacation. There were three outdoor pools/baths. As you went from one to the other, they got hotter and hotter. Inside there were more baths and a few saunas! We were so relaxed after than we just got a late dinner (mexican) and then went back home to catch up on sleep.

Szechenyi Baths 

Heroes Square

The next morning we got up early to walk around some more and we went to the big market. This is where we had lunch and tried some traditional food (that I definitely did not like)...

In front of the green bridge 

Eating some food at the market

Market

We went on a communist free walking tour after which was really interesting and educational. I learned a lot about the history of their country and the tour guide had a lot of first hand experience. We passed by apartments that were built during communism that are very small with even smaller kitchens. They did this so that way people didnt get together in kitchens to eat and drink and TALK about their views on communism (or any new ideas to oppose it).

Standard communism apartment

We saw the only remaining soviet communist monument in Budapest. They promised to keep it as long as a cemetery for Hungarian soldiers was protected in Russia. It was actually right next to the american embassy... after walking down a path there was a bridge next the a statue of Ronald Reagan. Apparently the hungarians love Reagan. 

This symbolic bridge connects the communist monument to the parliament building on the other side. 

In many building you can see bullet holes still. In one building near the parliament, they filled every whole with a black knob.

For our last night (Saturday) we went to the castle hill and palace. It's on the Buda side of town and we were able to get a great view of Pest.

Buda Castle at the southern tip of Castle Hill

View of Pest (parliament building and bridge) from Castle Hill

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Vienna was definitely the biggest city of the three. It had GREAT shopping too. But due to the non-existent space in my backpack I had zero room to bring home any new clothes. We arrived on Tuesday morning around noon. The first day there we went to the the St. Stephan's Cathedral and we climbed up the tower.  After that we did a little shopping. We met up with a group of people from U of I who are studying abroad in Vienna and they brought us to one of their favorite clubs called U4.

Inside the cathedral. (fake stained-glass lights)

We climbed up as high as we could, but that was only about half way!

The View from the tower. You can see one of the main shopping streets in downtown Vienna.

The next morning (Wednesday)we got up early (ish) and walked around the city some more. We went to the Hofburg palace (Hapsburgs). And then we went to the parliament building.

All of the girls in front of one of the buildings on the palace grounds 

Parliament Building

We passed a really cool plaza that had been converted into an ice arena with different lanes and rinks called Weiner Eistraum. We wanted to skate, but didn't end up doing it because it was like 15 dollars to rent and skate (not to mention that it was FREEZING).  However, they did have food stands that had a ton of great sausages and other Austrian food! After so much walking we wanted to go inside and warm up. 

Skating Lanes 

One of the rinks

We went to the famous Demel Cafe and chocolatier, founded in 1786! It was so cute inside. We all got a slice of cake and some coffee. There was a huge selection of different chocolate cakes.

Inside Demel Cafe

I got the truffeltort! It was a dark chocolate cake with mousse inside.  It had coco powder sprinkled on top. 

That night we went to The lower building of the Belvedere Museum. After we went to dinner at Salm Brau. We relaxed that night and in the morning (thursday) we went to the upper building of the Belvedere and saw paintings by Gustav Klimt (including 'The Kiss') It was a fantastic museum!

Upper building of the Belvedere Museum.

After we saw Mozart's house, went out to lunch and then went to the Freud Musem! It was so cool to see where they lived and worked. 

In Front of Mozart's house.

waiting room

welcome sign

quote on the wall

For our last night in Vienna we went to the most popular club called Praterdome. When you enter you are given a gift card/ credit card. All your purchases for the night go on the card, and you pay it off when you leave. Sneaky way for them to make more money than they normally would!! 

Czech me out ;)

My first stop during my week long break (semana blanca) was in Prague, Czech Republic. It took about 14 hours of travel all together. We took a bus from Granada to Madrid, flew from Madrid to Zurich, Switzerland and then to Prague. Unfortunately we hit a bump in the road right away. Out bus left granada around 1:30 am and Ingrid fell asleep and didnt wake up for the bus. We were all worried how she would meet up with us, and if she'd make it to madrid in time to catch the flight with us. Half way to madrid around 4 am I realized I had a missed call from ingrid and she said she was going to take a (very expensive, last-minute) flight from granada to madrid. Luckily, she made it just in time. From there on, everything went off without hitch. :) We took swiss air which is officially the best airline EVER. (the fact that they had amazing swiss chocholote probably has something to do with it...) But really, great service and great food (no mystery meat).

When we finally made it, we were instantly greeted by painfully cold air... In fact, we happened to be there on the coldest weekend in prague since 1929 (lucky us!). Our hostel (charles bridge economic hostel) in prague was by far the best one i've been in. It was clean, newly renovated and the staff were amazing!! We were able to help ourselves to free bottled water, tea, coffee and hotwine whenever we wanted it. (Hotwine is a warm punch with alcohol and wine). Me and the 6 other girls I traveled with stayed in a 7-person room that was HUGE. There was a great lounge with a new computer, couch, refrigerator, etc.

Our hostel room

Charles Bridge

The first night we explored a little on our own and then went to get an authentic czech meal at a place that someone from the hostel recommended (olympia). I got a dumpling, chicken and cheese meal. It was delish!

Czech Dinner

Another great thing about our hostel is how centrally located it was, We were right next to the charles bridge and a very cool 5-floor club called Karlovy Lazne. (right on the otherside of the bridge). We went to that club after dinner with some guys we met in the hostel that are from Belgium. 

Karlovy Lazne

Hanging in the lounge with the Belgian guys 

On Sunday we did a 3-hour walking tour around the city. Luckily we took a break half way through to warm up and get lunch. I learned that Hugo Boss (designer) actually helped make the nazi uniforms and used POWs as slaves to make them (yikes :/). He was a nazi sympathizer and the ironic part is that his store is in the JEWISH quarter of Prague. We saw all of the tourist sights of prague on the tour, including the prague astronomical clock.

Astronomical Clock

Prague Castel in the background during sunset

That night we went to a small bar called cafe-pub atmosphere. It was really chill and we just stayed there for about an hour. After, we went to U-Sudu which was an underground bar. It was really cool, but SOOO smoky I could barely breath. 

Cafe-Pub Atmosphere

U-Sudu with Ingrid

On Monday we went to the famous Prague Castle and Palace. We bought all access tickets and spent hours going into the different exhibits and rooms. I loved walking down the Golden Lane.

Outside the palace

Golden Lane

After that we went to the John Lennon wall which is covered in graffiti. 

Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies

That night we went to Beer Factory. There were hundred of students 16-22 at the club that were on a trip together from Denmark. They all looked like blond models. They were CRAZY. The way the guys danced was realllllyy funny and were definitely entertaining to watch.We tried to take it easy that night because we had to get up early the next morning for our bus to Vienna! Overall, prague was an amazing city and I definitely recommend visiting if you ever get a chance. Given that it was SO cold and I still loved it, says something about how wonderful the city is!

Sevilla for the weekend!

This past weekend I went with Ingrid to Sevilla. We took a bus from granada at 6 am and arrived around 11. We drove through a bunch of small towns on the way which were cool to see (even though we slept through most of it). Unfortunately the weekend temps were below average but it was still in the 50s most of the weekend with constant sunshine!

Sunrise during the bus to sevilla

Metropol Parasol - Plaza de la Encarnacion

Friday: Right when we got to the bus station we realized that we forgot to get directions to the hostel and/or bring a map of sevilla. so it was a bit of an adventure trying to find our way to the hostel by asking around. When we finally arrived we got our room which we really liked - nice bathroom and very clean. The mattress was more comfortable than the one I sleep on in Granada every night. We went to the cathedral, climbed the giralda tower, took a nap, and went to the san slavador church. That night we went to a restaurant just down the street from the hostel and split a pizza and salad combo. Sevilla is such an international city. One table next to us was a group of 8 germans, another was 4 french people and another table was spanish. That night we met up with some people we knew and also met new friends. We went to a bar on calle betis which is one of the fun ones to be at! (along with calle alfalfa)

In Front of the Catedral

Inside the cathedral

La Giralda Tower

Saturday: We tried not to sleep the day away so we set our alarms to get up at a decent hour... Using my Rick Steve's tour book, we did a guided walking tour through part of the city.  After that we went to Plaza de Espana. It was windy but definitely warmer than the day before. We layed in the sun for awhile just relaxing in the plaza before we went back for our gourmet lunch (mcdonalds). After siesta at the hostal, we got ready for the night. On our way to dinner this guy approached us, talking in english, asking where the best bars in sevilla were. I thought he sounded like he was from germany but he claimed he was actually from spain and just used that question as an excuse to talk to us so he could practice english. That's one thing I've noticed here is that many people our are are so eager to learn english they end up 'using you' just for the experience with english. King of funny. We did get a little weirded out by the guy because he immediately asked us to come up to his apartment and have drinks (obviously we said no....).We went to a great italian restaurant on AlfAlfa plaza called la mia tana. I had a gorgonzola and pear salad. best. thing. ever. :) On our way back to the hostal guess who we ran into... again... in the exact same spot? you guessed it! This time me and Ingrid had most of our faces covered with our scarves because we were cold and he still recognized us "Same girls? same girls? hi!" it was very entertaining but we pretty much just said hi and kept walking. He had crazy eyes... Later in the night we met up with two of the guys we met the night before. We went to la cerveceria internacional (over 200 beers to choose from).

Another view of the cathedral with one of MANY horse carriages for tourists. 

Plaza de Espana

La Cerveceria Internacional

Sunday: Our bus didnt leave until 5:15 pm so we had all afternoon to continue exploring. In the morning we went to a cute cafe and sat outside in a plaza with our croissants and coffee. The we headed  to the Real Alcazar gardens for a couple hours. So beautiful! Also, there were random peacocks throughout. I decided to get a pic with one :) Afterwards we went for another gourmet lunch (Mickey Ds). We spent the rest of the afternoon walking by the river and laying in the sun. It was 60 degrees!

Cafe for breakfast

Outside of the Real Alcazar

La Real Alcazar

Los Jardines del Real Alcazar (the gardens of the royal Alcazar)

This weekend was the perfect start to my travels for the semester! This coming weekend is the start of semana blanca. (The first week long break of the two). We fly out of madrid and into prague early in the morning on saturday... my bus to madrid leaves from granada at midnight! needless to say I dont think i will be sleeping much during this break! We will be busing to vienna on tuesday and budapest on friday! I know it will be super cold but it should still be a great time!
I will be in austria during valentines day, so I guess that's better than sitting home alone single :) I am upset however that I won't be home to see the movie "the vow". I guess i'll just have to wait until it's on DVD when I get home in may!
:)