Writer: Jourdon Miller
This past week, we were given time for an independent travel workshop. I got to travel to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Prague, and Budapest all in one week. Taking 5 flights to 4 different countries in one week was not something I ever expected to do in my lifetime.
Amsterdam was our first destination. My initial shock before even making it to the city was how many people spoke English. All the airport signs were only in English. People walking into restaurants were greeted in English. English was more prevalent than Dutch.
Amsterdam is an interesting place to wander when you don't know where you are. As we were trying to find our hostel, we stumbled upon the Red Light District. Even at 9 in the morning, the street was alive. I reached the street first so I got to enjoy watching my friends slowly look up and realize what was around them. Outside of that street, Amsterdam is absolutely beautiful and full of historic charm. Almost every street is divided by a canal, making for gorgeous views at every turn.
We really wanted to tour Anne Frank's house but it was booked a month out. So if you are interested in touring the Anne Frank House, book early!
Amsterdam is an interesting place to wander when you don't know where you are. As we were trying to find our hostel, we stumbled upon the Red Light District. Even at 9 in the morning, the street was alive. I reached the street first so I got to enjoy watching my friends slowly look up and realize what was around them. Outside of that street, Amsterdam is absolutely beautiful and full of historic charm. Almost every street is divided by a canal, making for gorgeous views at every turn.
We really wanted to tour Anne Frank's house but it was booked a month out. So if you are interested in touring the Anne Frank House, book early!
My next trip was to Copenhagen. It was very different from what I expected. It felt contemporary and urban but also very foreign. Also the language was pretty goofy sounding which was entertaining to try and replicate! Everything here was very expensive. We were not expecting things to be so expensive. The first night there, we went to an extremely exotic restaurant called TGI Fridays and my chicken sandwich was around 20 dollars. But still very good of course.
We rented bikes and rode around the town with sore butts and tired legs from riding in Amsterdam. We got to see a few buildings and parks done by Copenhagen's famous architect Bjarke Ingels which was really cool! We found a really cheap apartment which was in a great location in town. They always say plumbing in Europe is weird... and this held very true in our apartment. The bathroom was essentially split between three rooms. The toilet was located in the kitchen pantry, the shower was situated in the laundry room, and the sink was just the kitchen sink. It was an interesting little place but served us well in this amazing city!
We rented bikes and rode around the town with sore butts and tired legs from riding in Amsterdam. We got to see a few buildings and parks done by Copenhagen's famous architect Bjarke Ingels which was really cool! We found a really cheap apartment which was in a great location in town. They always say plumbing in Europe is weird... and this held very true in our apartment. The bathroom was essentially split between three rooms. The toilet was located in the kitchen pantry, the shower was situated in the laundry room, and the sink was just the kitchen sink. It was an interesting little place but served us well in this amazing city!
After Copenhagen, we made our way to Prague. I absolutely adored Prague. The city was huge with so much to see. We got to visit a few contemporary gems of the city such as Frank Gehry's Dancing House which contained a very interesting exhibition to say the least. We also got to see the Lennon Wall which is a wall covered in colorful graffiti with John Lennon's face as well. People can rent really old, beautiful red cars there so there were always nice cars in front of the wall. Once we got to the older district, I was in love. The castle grounds are stunning and the castle gardens was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. If the beauty wasn't enough, this place is ridiculously cheap. We figured that out inside a grocery store which was actually not a good thing because we then bought an absurd amount of food. A normal meal at a restaurant ran around 100 czk which was about 4 dollars.
I liked Prague so much, I plan to bring my family there for Christmas when they visit. It is supposed to be the best place in Europe to go for Christmas.
I liked Prague so much, I plan to bring my family there for Christmas when they visit. It is supposed to be the best place in Europe to go for Christmas.
Our trip ended in Budapest. I never thought I would travel here, but I'm glad I did. Along the Danube River, the city is absolutely stunning. Budapest was actually two separate towns: Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube River.
To start our trip off, we rented an adorable four person bike and explored Margaret Island. The bike was hilarious and also a struggle because one person had to steer and everyone had to pedal in sync.
At one in the morning, we went to a thermal bath that Budapest is known for. The baths are only open to women on Tuesdays and from midnight until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. The baths were really interesting and relaxing but also something you would never see in The States. The next day, we visited the castle grounds which was absolutely gorgeous. Because it was Halloween, we decided to tour the prison/torture chamber that Dracula was weld in underneath the castle. We were randomly let in for free because of some power outage and were thoroughly creeped out the entire time. The labyrinth had disturbing wax figures set up to show how life was in the prison, and with the power out on Halloween, it was definitely eerie. To end a spooky Halloween night, we were about 2 minutes from being locked in the prison/torture chamber overnight. The one worker had closed it up and was getting ready to leave when he probably heard us talking in the labyrinth and came to let us out. Had he not heard us, we would have been locked in all night. Talk about a Halloween night to remember!
To start our trip off, we rented an adorable four person bike and explored Margaret Island. The bike was hilarious and also a struggle because one person had to steer and everyone had to pedal in sync.
At one in the morning, we went to a thermal bath that Budapest is known for. The baths are only open to women on Tuesdays and from midnight until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. The baths were really interesting and relaxing but also something you would never see in The States. The next day, we visited the castle grounds which was absolutely gorgeous. Because it was Halloween, we decided to tour the prison/torture chamber that Dracula was weld in underneath the castle. We were randomly let in for free because of some power outage and were thoroughly creeped out the entire time. The labyrinth had disturbing wax figures set up to show how life was in the prison, and with the power out on Halloween, it was definitely eerie. To end a spooky Halloween night, we were about 2 minutes from being locked in the prison/torture chamber overnight. The one worker had closed it up and was getting ready to leave when he probably heard us talking in the labyrinth and came to let us out. Had he not heard us, we would have been locked in all night. Talk about a Halloween night to remember!