Middle Europe

Harmon and I decided to throw in a few new countries this trip, namely Hungary, Romania, and Poland. During our time in these countries, we discovered that they prefer to be referred to as "Middle Europe" and never "Eastern Europe." I think they can take offense to the latter. 

It was a whirlwind trip, starting with a night train from Munich to Budapest, night train from Budapest to Brasov, night train back to Budapest, and then a night train to Krakow. Crazy I know. 

Budapest: Harmon and I both agree that Budapest surprised us. It was fun, active, and surprisingly clean despite the rickety public transport. We were not surprised by the delicious goulash and chimney bread, as we had experienced that in Prague...

We also discovered a "milk bar" in Budapest. Back in the time of Soviet occupancy these "bars" were for serving out the allotted milk ration. 

Now they serve delicious milk products and pastries...

The Fisherman's Bastion... My favorite spot in Budapest. You have this awesome view of the city, especially of the Danube River and the beautiful Parliament building. 

Apparently the Hungarians went crazy in the 1800s and built quite a few buildings, like the Bastion, Royal Palace, and Parliament building for the 200th anniversary. 

Romania: We decided to see Romania in a day! Not possible, I know, but we decided to try. We visited the towns of Brasov and Bran. Bran is known for Bran Castle, or "Dracula's Castle." 

Truly Vlad Tepes may have only visited the castle, it was never his. However this doesn't stop tourists from flocking! It is a castle in Transylvania, and that was enough for me to be spooked!

It was a sweet castle! It devoted most of the space to describing life in the castle and its various occupants. It even has a secret staircase behind the bookshelf! It also devoted an entire floor to describing the vampire myth and evolution of Dracula from the man Vlad Tepes. Very interesting!

And of course Harmon and I ate delicious food, namely some walnut chimney bread that was sweet, warm, delicious, and truly in my dreams every night since. In Harmon's own words, it was as though a flock of ravenous wolves came across a small animal. 

Brasov was surprising a well. What a cute town!

Note the "Brasov" sign on the mountain.

We took a cable car up the mountain to see the small Romanian town at sunset. It was glorious. 

Poland: Poland was a somber stop. We stopped at Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest Nazi concentration camp and the site of the most deaths.

The main gate, with the words "work is liberating" across the top. 

Words just can't really describe how you feel here. Harmon and I couldn't find the right words... Harmon said "moving" and I think that might fit best. It's never easy seeing the evil humanity is capable of... That people could actually do this to other people is appalling. I left with a goal to somehow be a little better. There should be no person that I cannot somehow uplift, whether it be by a smile, kind word, or act of service I can make a difference. No matter how small. 

From Auschwitz (in Osweicim) we spent the rest of the day in Krakow. 

Wawel Cathedral. Rick Steves refers to it as the "Westminster Abbey" of Poland.

Wawel Castle

And to finish off our time in Poland we had borsch and pierogi. 

What can we say? We love food.