Little European and American Differences Pt. 1

There a lot of small differences between America and Germany. I knew the big differences before I came over here, but there are always little differences that will make you do a double take sometimes. The first thing I noticed was a lack of screens. All of the windows, except for windows on high floors in very tall buildings, open inwards. Air conditioning is not really a thing here because it doesn’t get hot very often, so they use windows to cool buildings when it gets hot. However, when they open the windows, bugs and leaves and other stuff can fly in because there is no screen to keep them out. I have noticed that this is a European thing and not just a German thing because I have not seen screens anywhere in Europe. I did find a door screen at the German equivalent of a Walmart, which I MacGyvered into a window screen for my room, but I have not seen anyone actually using a screen other than me.

Another thing that is different is the walk signals do not have an obvious button. I could not figure out how to get the signal to turn until I asked a German. She told me that you have to hit the little box to get the signal to turn. You can push the button on the bottom of the box to get the signal to make a sound for people who are visually impaired. I was just very surprised that there was no physical button that you were supposed to press.

When I had to make a presentation to German students, I was surprised when they knocked on their desks instead of clapping. I have seen this a couple times so it was not specific to the one situation. But, I have never seen that in the States.

Parks in Bremen

Today, I went to a few parks. There are several parks in the area and there is always a lot of traffic in each one. There is an abundance of vegetation both surrounding and inside each park. The rhododendrons are very popular in Bremen. There are 1024 species of rhododendrons and one park is home to 550 of them. Interestingly, it is called Rhododendron Park. That particular park is very fragrant with floral smells. I arrived the Rhododendron Park shortly after a rain and everything seemed so crisp and fresh. 

In every park I visited, there are always birds chirping, hopping on the ground and flying from tree to tree and a gentle breeze blowing. It is what I would imagine spring to be like in a climate with four seasons. The dandelions are in full bloom in the parks without the rhododendrons, and the daffodils recently went out of bloom. The large trees are full of leaves providing great shade for a delightful temperature to enjoy sitting for a while. Speaking of which, the parks also have plenty of benches. Each one had at least one person sitting, except for the ones in full sunlight. I also observed a couple of people lying on benches that appeared to be homeless, but they appeared mostly late in the day. There are plenty of waste cans for garbage and I never saw much little litter lying around. Each park has numerous pathways meandering throughout the area. The pathways were very busy with people bicycling, pushing strollers, families walking, small groups of people talking, the occasional jogger, and single walkers. Each park was full of active people, from infants to the elderly.  In the green grass space, I observed what one would expect to see. There were young women lying out in the sun, young men playing frisbee and groups of people sitting on blankets talking. Dog walking is very popular in the parks as well. Most dogs are on leashes but once in a while a stray dog would pass by unleashed. No one seems to mind when one dog would stop to check out another passing dog, even if they barked and played with each other. Overtime I pass a park, they seem to be much more active than the ones I have been to in Orlando. Some reasons could be how confine the homes are in the city of Bremen and another reason could be how comfortable the climate is in Bremen.

Fourth of July in Bremen

This was my first Independence Day spent outside the States. I knew it was going to be just a normal day in Germany, which it was. I did not have any American shirts to wear, so I was not able to fully show my Americanness. After work, though, I met up with some American friends for a drink in an Irish Pub (it was the closest we could get to an American restaurant or bar). I tried to get an American beer, but the only American drinks they had were drinks like Jack Daniels, so I had a margarita. Afterwards, we were hungry so we went to the McDonalds down the street. It was the first time I had been in a McDonalds since I had been over here. It was very good. I had missed those shoestring fries. I also noticed that it was more expensive here than it is in the US. After we ate, we went back to the pub to hang out for a little while longer. Our waiter was Irish, and he was surprised that we weren’t drinking more. He said, “You’re American? I thought you drank more.” He was also surprised that we were not doing more for Independence Day. We requested for the bar to play Mr. Brightside, and they were nice enough to do it. You could definitely tell which table requested it. After we were done for the night, I took the tram back with one of my friends, and I got back fine. We did have to leave at a certain time to make sure that we could take the tram back. Later at night, the trams run a lot less frequently. Basically, it was an excuse to hang out with some friends and have a good time, just without the fireworks.

Flugtag

On Sunday, I went to the Red Bull Flugtag. Flugtag means flight day or airshow. It is an event sponsored by Red Bull where participants make their own human powered gliders and are judged based off of distance, showmanship, and creativity. I had only heard about it last Friday because one of the teams was building their plane in the lab I am working in. Since I had not heard about it before Friday, I did not think it was going to be a big event. However, I was very wrong. It was a huge event! There were thousands of people there. It was held in the docks/harbour where it looked like fairly large ships could dock. There was a platform about 30 feet off of the water where the gliders would go off into the water. The whole event lasted from I think 11 to 5. It was very entertaining to watch. The competitors were dressed up to the theme of their plane. Each group started by speaking a little bit about their plane. Then some music would play, and the group would dance to it. After the music stopped, the pilot would get in the plane and the group would push it off of the platform. Most of the planes did not go very far. They basically just fell off of the edge. There was one plane that was actually shaped like a rock; you knew that it wasn’t getting very far. The group that was from Hochschule Bremen looked like they were going to do very well and actually fly. However, there was such a strong crosswind, that the plane was blown off the side of the platform. I was also able to meet one of my new friends and hang out with her. All in all, it was a really fun day.

Saturday Shopping Blog

Today, I needed to stock my room with food and necessities. Shopping in Bremen without a car is very different than shopping near campus in Orlando. First, Sundays are not the day to decide to stock up for the week. Most stores are closed on Sunday in Germany, and trams and busses do not run as frequently as they do Monday through Saturday. Second, either take your shopping bags with you or plan to buy them at the store when you check out. Third, make sure you can carry all the items you intend to buy with you the distance you traveled to get to the store. Unless you have access to a car, you do not have a car trunk to place the items in while you drive to your home. You either carry them as you walk, carry them on public transportation, or carry them while you bike. Fourth, there are no frozen food dinners that you can pop into the microwave. In my apartment, there is only a microwave and a hot plate. I do not have the ability to cook a frozen pizza so I have to find other foods to make. I believe shopping will have to take place over serval trips, It will be difficult to do a weeks worth of shopping during one trip to the store and carry everything back. So, I choose to get items that I must have to get through the next twenty four hours. I decide to buy items for the next three meals, and household necessities. I notice that at the local grocery mart, the toilet paper is only sold in a larger quantity as well as the paper towels. Since I need paper products, I will have to buy smaller items for my food choices, or choose to go out later to purchase take away from a local restaurant. My food selection for today is: yogurt, bread and cheese with pepperoni, strawberries, and the household necessities. Also, always plan to pay with euros. Some stores do not take credit cards from outside Germany. This particular store did accept my credit card. Then I ventured back to my apartment to plan my next trip to the store or what to have for dinner.

World Cup Match 6/27

I went to watch Germany play in a world cup match one day after work. I had to call some people in the US, so I was a few minutes late getting to where I was going to watch it. My lab mate had invited me to watch with him and his roommates at an outdoor restaurant by the river. It was packed when I was there! I could barely find a place to sit. My lab mate was really nice and bought me a beer which was much larger than the normal amount of beer I drink. This match was South Korea vs. Germany, and Germany had to win this game to advance. South Korea was already out of the tournament, so they had nothing to lose. The energy was very tense because Germany was either tied or behind for the whole game. It was anyone’s game until the end of the game when South Korea scored their second goal. However, I have never seen so much visual patriotism before in Germany. People were wearing the team jersey, people had flags painted on their faces, and I saw a car with the German flag on it. Germany did lose the match, which was sad because I wanted to experience Germany winning a game in Germany. I couldn’t go to the other games because there were other things that I had to do during that time. After Germany lost, everyone was very disappointed. Most people left, but I stayed behind with my lab mate and his roommates and chatted. Some of them barely spoke English, but I also could barely understand German, especially after drinking more beer than my usual. It was nice to sit around and chat with actual Germans because I do not have a lot of opportunities to do that here. 

Mercedes Tour

Yesterday, I went to Mercedes to do a tour of the factory sponsored by the university. I had to leave work early because the meeting time was at 2. I met the group of students at a bus stop. We got on a bus and stayed on it for about a half hour. We all got off as a group. We then walked over to the Mercedes facility. The main reception area was really nice. I took some photos of it. They had a really old car and a really nice new car. We then were lead to a theatre to watch a video about Mercedes. It was a mix between an advertisement and an informational video about the Bremen plant. In Bremen, they make all of a specific type of car (I think the C-Class). I think they also make SL, SLK, E-Class Coupé and the GLK there. I know the tour guide told us, but since I know nothing about cars, it kind of went in one ear and out the other. We then were given what were essentially walkie-talkies with headphones. Our tour guide was an old Irish guy. He was an interesting person. He was really interested in hearing how the Mexican students pronounced words, and he kept thinking I was Russian. He wanted to talk more about his family and have us sing than talk about the cars. We were not allowed to take pictures, so I have no pictures from inside the factory. It was an extremely efficient factory. The carriers with the parts that the workers were putting on moved with the assembly line. I thought that was very impressive. Also, there were carriers with parts that were autonomous. They followed tracks in the floor and went wherever they were told to go. I was impressed with how efficient it was. It was a very cool experience. It is hard to describe without pictures, but it was a clean, nice factory.

Amsterdam Pt. 3

The next morning, I only worked on my essays for my graduate school applications. One thing about Amsterdam is bicycles. Bicycles are everywhere and have right of way. Absolutely let look both ways for bicycles before you step out. At the central station, there are 3 levels of parked bicycles and they are stacking on top of each other. Biking is the primary mode of transportation in Amsterdam. There are only four metro lines, there are lots of tram lines, and I do not know about busses, so biking is the best way to get around.

On the train ride back, I found out that my last train to Bremen was delayed by almost an hour. I was going to buy a ticket for the train that was coming before my train but was also an hour late, but I realized that I couldn’t do it that last minute. I considered getting on the slower train with my semester ticket. I asked a young woman when I got to the platform if I could take the late train that was arriving in a few minutes instead of my late train that was arriving in an hour. She doubted it, but she said she would ask the conductor when the train got there. She did ask the conductor, and the conductor said to go ahead on. I ended up getting back to Bremen 10 minutes before my initial estimated time! Then I had to wait for 15 minutes for my tram because the trams do not run very often on Sundays. But I was able to get back in a reasonable amount of time. I also thought that it was easier to get to the train station in Amsterdam than the airport. In Bremen, the airport is surprisingly close to the city.

Amsterdam Pt. 2

After I got off the canal tour, I hopped on the bus tour. I did see a lot of the same things with much of the same commentary. However, by land I was able to see a windmill, the diamond district, more of the Heineken experience, a few gardens with beautiful hydrangeas, and several churches. The tours were a great way to get an overview of the city and to help me decide where I wanted to visit by foot. 
After touring for 5 hours, I was very hungry so I stopped at a nearby sidewalk restaurant. I had chicken schnitzels do for course a Heineken Pilsner. Everything was quite good and the people watching was great. 
After dinner, I walked through the city area and over canals. The homes can not be higher than 4 stories because the foundations can not support the house due to the soil composition. The ground floor is floor zero and then 4 floors above that, so you can see 5 levels of windows. 
I walked through the red light district before dark. I had learned, during the tours, that there is a difference between coffee houses and cafes in Amsterdam. You would not want to go to a coffeehouse for coffee because they serve marijuana; Coffee is served in cafes. Marijuana is made and served in many fashions, evidently. I saw marijuana lollipops and candy’s through windows. Amsterdam is the only City that is allowed to sell marijuana to non Dutch citizens and you have to be 18 to purchase. 
The red light district smelled of urine and old beer but otherwise had a few interesting signs. I decided to go back closer to dark to see the it during the more active time for the area. It was very interesting to see scantily clothes women sitting in windows waiting for someone to come purchase their services for a specified period of time or service. Supposedly, the red light district was created to make sure women could sell their services legally to keep it safer and more controlled. The women have frequent medical exams and are supposed to be kept in a safe environment. I understand the idea, but I was not able to talk to any locals about it. It seemed like most of the people there were Stag-Dos (Bachelor parties) from the UK. 
After I finished my stroll through the district, I stopped for gelato before heading back to the hotel for sleep.

Amsterdam Pt. 1

I arrived Amsterdam by train on Friday afternoon. It was a four hour train ride with only one change. Once I got to the train station, I bought a sandwich and headed to the subway station. Unlike German train stations, you have to have a ticket to get into a Dutch train station, so I had to make sure I was leaving from the correct end of the station. I then took the metro from the central station to my hotel in time for bed. I awakened Saturday morning and had a Dutch breakfast with buttered, but not toasted, sliced bread with chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) spread on top. It was almost like a homemade chocolate pop tart, but it was quite tasty. After breakfast and after completing my weekend German assignment, I went into the heart of Amsterdam. Since I had limited time, I decided to do a combo hop-on/hop-off boat then bus tour. 
I got on the boat near the train station where most of the activity was. I chose to take the boat completely around and not hop off so I could do the same with the bus. Both the boat and the bus had stops near the train station, so that was a great place to begin the tour. The train station overlooked the Harbour in Amstel River. That is also the location where river cruises leave from, if doing a Rhine river cruise. The boat tour had an audio narration of the sites that we could see from the boat as well as interesting facts. The narration was available by plugging earbuds into an outlet in the wall beside the table you were seated. The boat first went into the harbour then back into the canals. The canal portion was about 90% of the tour. Going through the canals, we were able to see several museums such as the Van Gogh museum, Rembrandt house museum, Nemo science museum, and national maritime museum. We also went passed the Gassans diamond facility where they cut and make diamonds. We also went passed the Heineken Experience, where Heineken Beer was born and is still made. We also went passed Anne Frank’s house. 

We were able to see canals lined with house boats where people live and have been able to live there since the early 80’s when there was a housing shortage. When people first began to live in the houseboats, it meant you were poor. However, today if you are able to live on a houseboat it is costly. There are 2 kinds of houseboats, one built on pontoons and the other is in an old ship. The city prefers the old ship because it aesthetically looks better.  

Train to Amsterdam

I am writing this on the train to Amsterdam. I had an hour-long train ride, then I switched at (insert name of town), now I am on a 3 hour train to Amsterdam. On my first train, it was very busy so I had to ask someone if I could sit next to them. It was in a four-seat configuration with a table in the middle. There was an older couple and a middle-aged man. I sat next to the lady. She started speaking to me in German. I asked her if she spoke English. They immediately identified me as American, which was a first. Most people think I am from the UK, for some reason. She told me in English that about the seat reservation system, which is what she was telling me in German. I asked a few questions about the train stuff while I was at it. They asked me questions about how long I was in Germany, what I was doing, etc. It was a great conversation. They told me about some of the history of the area we were traveling through. They told me about a major battle in Roman times about how a Germanic tribe held off three Roman Legions in the forest that we were going through. They also told me a little about them. He was very soft-spoken even though he and his wife were wearing hearing aids. He had worked in Huston. They had also been to Florida. They went to Boca on business trips. He actually knew the geography of Florida. He asked me where in the east coast of Florida I was from, I told him I was from where the rockets launch from, thinking he wouldn’t really know where I was talking about. He immediately identified it as cape Canaveral. Since he had spent time in Huston, he asked me why I wasn’t an Aggie. I told him that I didn’t have to pay to go to school, and he gave me the thumbs up. They were on their way to a family reunion. It was a really fun conversation for me. I think it was fun for them, too. Experiences like that are why I wanted to study abroad.

German Outside Dinning

Today, I ventured to find a new place to eat with outdoor dining. I found an area that spans the river in Bremen with numerous dining restaurants, all with outdoor seating facing the river. I had no idea about choosing a table, so I asked in the best way possible, with my small knowledge of German, and the waiter told me he spoke some English. Man, was that a relief. He told me to have a seat at any table that I would like. Evidently, German eating establishments allow you to take a seat at any open spot. Interestingly, if the dining venue is full, you may find a stranger asking if they can share the table with you. German people are likely to sit with people they do not know, especially at long outdoor tables. (Conversation with a table partner is optional.) If the restaurant has a sign posted for you to wait to be seated, you should realize it may be a more costly dining experience. There were numerous items on the menu that I was not sure of so I chose an entree that looked more like an American-German food. When the waiter came to our table and took my order, it was no different than a normal experience in the States. The food was brought by a kitchen person or another waiter, just like in the States, also. The diner plate was full of eight short sausages, a heaping pile of mashed potatoes with some brown gravy and a nice serving of sauerkraut. The food did not disappoint. I also ordered a pilsner from the brewery that the restaurant was featuring. The beer is about the same price as a bottle of water. After my plate was cleaned, I signaled for the check and the waiter brought his credit card machine to the table, I paid, and we left with another couple standing guard waiting to grab the seats as soon as we stood up.

London Pt. 4

My last day in London was exclusively about getting to the airport. I woke up at 4:30 am so that I could catch my 7:55am flight. I did not realize that the Underground does not start running until 5:30am. I thought it would start earlier than that so people could be at work by 6. Anyway, I got up and ready faster than I expected. I was actually at the station at 5:05, which was before they opened. I was able to talk to my grandma on the way to the station and while waiting for the station to open because it was only midnight on the East coast. I took the 5:35 Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale, where I changed to the Stansted Express. Because that was the earliest I could get to the train station, the earliest I could get to the airport was 6:44. For some reason, I was very stressed about making this flight. I do not know why. Once I got to the airport, I had to wait in a line at the Ryanair desk for them to check my passport. Ryanair is the only airline that does this. I had also flown Ryanair four times prior to this trip and no one had said anything about this to me before. But, I had to do it. Once I was done with that, I had to wait in a long line for security. It was so disorganized. I felt like I was cattle being herded. It took much longer than I thought to get through security. On my boarding pass, it said the gate closed at 7:25, and it was 7:20 when I got through security. I ran to my gate, which signs said was a 15 minute walk. I was able to get there in time and get on the plane. Once on the plane, we waited for some reason, so we ended up leaving and arriving late. I have been on four on time flights out of the nine I have taken in Europe. Once we arrived, customs was not a big deal, and I took the tram back to my room. I dropped my stuff off and was at work by 11:15. 

London Pt. 3

On my third day in London, we started off the day by having a light breakfast at the AirBnb. After breakfast, we went to the Tower of London. We went on one of the free tours given by the Yeomen (I think that is what they are called). We were able to learn more about the history of the tower. I did not know that it was not built as a prison. It was built as a royal palace for William the Conqueror, but it was used as a prison for high profile prisoners in later years because of the security that was already in place for its use as a royal palace. We saw the Crown Jewels, and they were very shiny, big, ornate, and expensive. It took about 40 minutes of waiting in line to see them, though. It was worth it, but it was a long wait. We also went in the White Tower and saw the armor that they had displayed and some other displays about medieval life. We had lunch at a café in the Tower of London because we were hungry and needed to eat. After we were done with the tower of London, we took a river ferry over to Westminster. Tyler lost 40 pounds in a bet with a street peddler, but it was his money so whatever. We took pictures by Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and Buckingham Palace because we had to because we were tourists. After that, we were tired so we went back to the flat. A little later, we went to an Italian restaurant and had some pizza. I went to bed early for my early flight the next day. 

London Pt. 2

On my second day in London, we woke up late because we had been out late the night before. We packed up all of our stuff because we had to move to a different apartment. The person we booked our AirBnb through canceled our trip the day before we were supposed to go so the only way we were able to have housing was to stay in two different places for the time we were there. After we left, we had breakfast in a place Zoe and Tyler went to the day before and said was good. It really was good. I had poached eggs and some type of cheese that I have never heard of before. After brunch, we went to the British Museum. It was so cool to be able to see all of the ancient artifacts that they have. My favorite was the Parthenon area. I loved being able to see the remains of that 2500+ year old temple that I had studied. It was so amazing to be able to see artifacts from the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. whom I have studied. It helps you understand that they were real people, not just stories in some far away time and place. After the British Museum, we had some fish and chips. They were ok, but we probably didn’t go to the best place. We were in a touristy area, after all. After lunch, we went to king’s cross station and took pictures with the trolley next to platform 9 ¾. It was a 40 minute wait to do that, but it felt like something we kind of had to do. Afterwards, we went to our next Airbnb and dropped our stuff off. We decided to see if we could get tickets to Hamilton that night. So we waited in line for about an hour. Zoe was the only one who was able to get a ticket. She got a prime spot for 200 pounds, but the guy who sold her the ticket was so nice that he gave her 100 pounds back! Tyler and I had some Indian food in the meantime. I am not sure what I got, but it was good. And then we met back up with Zoe and went to sleep.

London Pt. 1

This weekend I travelled to London. I left early from work for a Ryanair flight on Friday. Bremen’s airport being so close to the city center is very convenient. It was kind of a hassle to get to the flat in London, though. My flight was late, customs took forever, and after 15 minutes of waiting in line, the ticket booth was closed for me to get my oyster card to get to the flat. I was finally able to get to the flat, and then to Mamma Mia. However, we got in our seats with 3 minutes to spare. Mamma Mia was a very fun show. I had a great time. I now have to see the movie! After the show, we went to eat because it was late and we were all hungry. We ended up in a Shake Shack next to the theater where the Harry Potter play is. That was the second time I had had American food since I have been in Europe (the first was KFC in the Hamburg train station). After that, we went to a pub and I got a half pint of a London Pale Ale. I do not know anything about beers, but the bartender recommended it to me, and it was good. After all of that, we walked back to the tube station to take the tube to our flat. It was a good first afternoon/evening in the city.  

Weather

Seasons changing sometimes is not as noticeable in Florida due to our location in relation to the equator. However, I am in northern German which would be similar to the latitude of Ketichan, Alaska or northern Maine. Granted, the winters are not as harsh as Alaska or Maine but the daylight hours are similar. Tomorrow, the sun will rise around 4:45am and the sun will set around 10pm. Recently, daylight begins around 4:20am and it remains light until around 10:30pm. 
The temperatures are milder than the same latitudes in North America during the winter and similar during the summer months. 
When I arrived during the middle of May, the temperature was much warmer than a typical May. In fact, everywhere I have traveled since arriving in Europe, they have reported a colder winter and an immediate change in early May to summer weather. Today the temperatures are considered normal for the season. The low was 55 degrees F and the high was 75 degrees. Several days the highs have reached mid to upper 80’s and that is very warm for the area, and surprisingly it feels warmer than the same temperatures in Florida. The humidity is 58% in Bremen versus 100% in Orlando, Florida today.  I have no air conditioning in my apartment and that is common. I do however have a heating unit in the living space and another in the bathroom. On warm days, I leave the windows open for air flow. Since I am in the basement level, bugs tend to enter my room when the windows are open so I constructed and hung a screen over the windows to allow me to leave the window open but to keep bugs out. Most homes do not utilize screens over their windows so I had to be careful not to hang anything that would be obtrusive or permanent. I also purchased a fan for better air flow for very warm days. 
I have found that blue jeans and a t-shirt type top with a fleece jacket is versatile enough to plan to wear everyday. 

Budapest Pt. 2

After my parents arrived, we went to a traditional Hungarian restaurant. We wanted to try authentic Hungarian dishes. I ordered the schnitzel with roasted potatoes so I could compare to the same dish to the german dish. Both are very similar and tasty. My dad had the turkey cordon blue and the Hungarian goulash, which was similar to a beef stew. He would highly recommended it. And my mom ordered the paprika chicken with dumplings, which she also would recommend. Budapest is known for cooking with paprika, both sweet and hot. The secret is that you have to add a coupe of tablespoons to the dish before the food begins to get hot while you are cooking. All of the dishes were delicious.
Later that evening we took a river cruise. Budapest is second to Paris for the best night river cruise. I must admit that the lighted city was amazingly beautiful! I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed Budapest and how beautiful it is. It is also a clean and safe city and the people seemed very friendly. The next morning, we did a walking tour with my parents friends. We took the number 2 tram up and down the Danube river.  Interestingly, the number 2 tram is ranked the 7th most beautiful tram ride in the world by National Geographic. We also went to a cafe for coffee and strudel. We orders an assortment tray so we could have a good sampling of authentic strudel. We had apricot, apple, Plum, Sour cherry, Curd, Poppy seed, and a combination of the fruit with either curd or poppy seed. The poppy seed was the most unique. My mom, who eats about anything did not care for it, but I did enjoy it. The rest of the samples were good and I could really appreciate how thin the dough was as the foundation of the pastry.

Budapest Pt. 1

This weekend I traveled to Budapest. My parents were arriving Saturday afternoon and traveling with friends to take a Danube river cruise. They planned to arrive Saturday afternoon but due to the unreliable and not convenient plane schedule between Bremen and Budapest, I left Friday so I could tour the city before they arrived. My hotel was on the Buda side of the Danube river and beside the Chain Bridge, which was the first bridge to connect Buda and Pest. Today, the city is Budapest, a combination of the two old cities. The Buda side is the oldest and is also the side with hilly topography. The Pest side is newer and flat. The Danube river separates the two sides. I did not know that Buda and Pest were different cities until I went to Budapest.

Saturday morning I had arranged to take a solo tour of the city with a Tuk Tuk guide. Since I was only in the city for less than two days, I felt this was the best way to quickly see the city and learn about it. The guide picked me up and we drove around the city in a motorized type of carriage tricycle. It was quite fun and my guide was very entertaining and informative. 

Some recent history about Budapest is that Hungary sided with Germany during WWII but when they saw Germany was going to lose, they secretly sided to join the allies. When Germany found out, they moved into Budapest and killed all the Jews. The soviets came in and defeated Germany but also made Hungary fall under soviet communist rule. They remained under communist rule until 1991 when the last of the soviets left Budapest. During communist rule, no repairs to the WWII damaged buildings took place and all construction during that time was very plain and industrial looking. Since 1991, the city of Budapest has been restoring buildings and revitalizing the area. One area that has recently undergone changes is the Jewish area. Today there are museums revitalization happening there. The second largest synagogue in the world is in Budapest, and the Jewish area has developed an active nightlife. Many buildings that were in ruins have been pieced together with eclectic, hodgepodge decorations and turned into “ruin bars” which are very popular with the locals at night and very touristy during the day. A deeper look into the history of Budapest revealed how there are two very beautiful buildings on each side of the river. The one on the hill on the Buda side is the palace. It is very large, ornate and impressive from the outside as it towers over the river and the city, but it has been striped and emptied on the inside. It once housed the royals of Buda, but now there is no king or queen so the building is a museum. The much larger, ornate building on the Danube river bank on the Pest side is the government’s parliament building. The city has statues of historical figures scattered throughout the city to commemorate their contributions to Hungarian history. The Tuk Tuk tour was well worth the time and expense, and I would definitely do it again for an overview tour of a city, especially if I travel alone. 

Miscellaneous Budapest

I found it interesting that there are 44 letters in the Hungarian alphabet including 14 vowels. Also, in school, 3rd grade begins foreign language education, then in high school they learn a 3rd language in order to go to college. 2 foreign Language exams are required to enter college. 
Budapest has an excellent public transportation system and even if people own cars, they find public transportation a much easier and cheaper mode of transportation in the city. Electrical cars are becoming more popular because if you own one, you pay no parking fees, registration fee, charging station fees, or tolls. However, they are more expensive to buy but the government wants more people to own them. Gas is also 375 HUF per liter. 
I also learned that a 2 bedroom flat cost about 250k euro on the Pest side but the same size flat would cost 375k euros on the Buda side. To use public restrooms, you have to pay. The current exchange rate is
1 dollar equals 273HUF. However, to use the public restroom it was either 1.25 US dollars, 1 euro, or 250 HUF. It was advantageous to use the Hungarian currency if possible. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend and it was really great to see my mom and dad after being alone in Germany for a month.