Full disclosure here: At the recommendation of my friend and reading recommender extraordinaire Elise, I bought Pachinko and Exit West to read abroad, knowing I would love them both. Rich brought On the Road by Jack Kerouac because it appeared on a list of recommended travel books. Books in English are not the easiest to come by in Budapest so I decided to give it a shot.
I’m glad I did. I was an English major back in the day, so it seems like one I should have read while I was in college. The gist for those of you who may be unfamiliar: it is a largely autobiographical novel about young American Sal Paradise and his pal Dean Moriarty who head out on road trip after road trip across America in the 1950’s.
On the Road is a tale of freedom, rejection of responsibility, friendship, youth, and rebellion. It served as a foundational work of the beat and countercultural movements. On the Road offers a snapshot of a distinctly American moment in time and shows a generation wildly pushing against expectations. Although written a few years earlier, it reminded me of The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. The protagonists in both novels struggle to find their way and their purpose in post-war America, experiencing loss and inflicting pain along the way.
Reading “On The Road,” On the rocks
I will admit though that reading about someone traveling with abandon, while you are very much not traveling with abandon, was stressful! At points, the storyline went something like this: “I only had $2 to my name to get from Denver to San Francisco but wow the girls here sure are beautiful. I bought the dark-eyed girl a coffee and beer, then drove our car into a ditch, wow- this was living!- and showered at the YMCA and called my aunt to wire me more money because we got to get to San Fran in 17 hours to see the gang again! Let’s go! Yipee!”
I wanted to tell him to save his money! Drive more carefully! Forget the dark-eyed girl! Forget Dean, who is not a real friend.
With “On The Road” in our glorious backyard in Rovinj, Croatia
But despite my anxieties, what I appreciated the most about this book was the wonderment and enthusiasm with which Sal and Dean approached each new place. They wanted to know the people, and they wanted to live. That is an attitude I can get on board with. I hope as we continue to travel we keep our sense of wonder alive, and, while avoiding driving cars into ditches, remain able to let in a little abandonment every once in a while too.
Dearest readers: please accept my sincere apologies for my delay in posting about Croatia. It’s not you, it’s not Croatia, it’s me– I’m blaming it on the lack of WiFi for the SEVEN hours we were on a bus Tuesday. Croatia is winning both in the World Cup and in our estimation, and I am excited to tell you more!
Day 11: Travel to Zagreb
Travel from Budapest to Zagreb was the easiest– we hopped on a FlixBus in Budapest and hopped off five hours in Zagreb. That bus had free WiFi, spoiling all future basic bus rides for me forever, and a bathroom. We walked about a mile to our AirBNB, bought some groceries, made some dinner (grilled cheese and Dalmation tomato soup) watched some World Cup. Beautiful.
Day 12: 24 Hours in Zagreb
I can’t be the only one who reads those wonderful New York Times 24 Hours in XYZ city. Well, we basically wrote our own/lived it on Saturday for Zagreb. I should also mention that Croatia was playing Russia at 8 PM on a Saturday that night, so nationalism (aka tourists in Croatian flag gear) was in full force.
The Mirogoj Cemetery
This cemetery was beautiful. Cemeteries are fascinating places to learn histories of an area. While predominantly Christian, the Mirogoj Cemetery has the distinction of interring individuals and families from a myriad of faith backgrounds including Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, and those who consider themselves irreligious. There was also a memorial and mass grave for more than 2,000 Croatian soldiers killed in World War I. Heartbreaking.
The Zagreb Cathedral
The gothic-style Zagreb Cathedral is the tallest building in all of Croatia. The church is so old that it was destroyed by Mongrols in 1242 only to be re-built again, with a wall this time, several years later. It experienced some earthquake damage in an 1880 earthquake, but it seemed that its greatest threat was really surviving through years of neglect and disrepair when Croatia was part of communist Yugoslavia.
The spires and bell tower on the Zagreb CathedralWhat the spires looked like at the end of Soviet era and how they will look once restored.The Gothic interior
The Museum of Broken Relationships
Yes, really. So the idea behind this museum is that we pay tribute to past history, civilizations, buildings, etc., but we do not always honor the most personal, and perhaps most deeply felt, losses in our lives and the lives of others when relationships end. Every obect in the museum was voluntarily donated along with a personal narrative. Some were funny, some were dark, all were moving.
People: Broken, deep, resilient, beautiful.
When I moved out, and across the country, I took the toaster. That’ll show you. How are you going to toast anything now?
The Golden Horseshoe and Botanical GarDens
Zagreb is green and has plentiful parks and outdoor spaces. They even have public workout equipment for adults!
In front of a pretty fountainAmanda with flowersRich pumps iron. Look at those guns.
Soccer in Plaza Ban Jelacic
I’m sure referring to Croatia’s World Cup game as soccer is about as insulting as referring to the University of Georgia’s appearance in the National Championship and the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Victory as “some football.”
We decided to take all of it in by watching the Croatia v. Russia quarterfinal World Cup game in the largest of squares in Croatia. After all, we had watched Germany’s World Cup game at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Italy’s Olympic appearance in Rome.
Mistake. Big Mistake. Huge.
First, the average age of the crowd was at least ten, if not fifteen years, younger than us. When I buy a beer, especially on my limited travel-for-a-year-on-savings budget, I intend to drink it. When our Croatian World Cup watchers bought beer, they might drink it or they might get so overcome singing along with a terrific pre-game anthem that they take the full beer and heave it cup and all into the air above the crowd.
Before the game. Only a little smoke.
Russia scored first. I could not actually see the game from my spot in the crowd, but I did see grown men cry.
BUT WHEN CROATIA SCORED- actual fire torch flame things, sparklers, air horns, all the beer thrown in the air, all at once. I started thinking about the anatomy of a human stampede (anyone else read this terrifying 2011 New Yorker article?) If you are not following us on Instagram, you should just to watch our saved Instagram story from Zagreb.
Mayhem after the goal
In our twenties, we absolutely would have stayed for the entire game. Thankfully, in our thirties, we walked home quickly and watched Croatia win in a shoot out from the comfort of our Air BNB.
Home Sweet AirBNB Home
Day 13: Travel to Rovinj
Hopped on the bus- no Wifi- but still easy breezy ride to Rovinj. The trip from Rovinj to the AirBNB? Not so easy.
So our backpacks are about 20 lbs a piece these days. I also carry a purse and whatever novels we are reading; Rich carries a smaller daypack with toiletries, first aid, odds and ends, etc. Our packs are SUPER manageable on short walks.
The problem was our AirBNB was 5 kilometers (~3+ miles) from the bus station, and we decided we would walk it.
Rich walking with a heavy pack.Amanda walking with a positive attitude and a less heavy pack.We even made a dog friend!
I’ll sum it up to say it was super challenging, but we were troopers who persevered with positive attitudes. Our AirBNB was beautiful when we got there, and we treated ourselves to a Croation Italian pasta feast with 1L of house wine.
Yum! Long walks should always be celebrated with pasta and wine. This face says pre-nap.
And after our pasta, we napped! For four hours. Four hours worth of sleep is still a nap, right? All is well that ends well.
Day 14: Relaxation in Rovinj!
So we loved Rovinj and wish we had booked on extra day there. As we mentioned, the town was a bit far from our AirBNB so once we were out we stayed out. We managed to log about 11 miles of walking during the day by the time we made it back home.
Quick highlights:
Until 1947, Rovinj was Rovigno, a part of Venice. Italian influences abound from the delicious pizza we ate for lunch to the colorful buildings reminiscient of other Italian fishing villages to the fact that the town is bilingual and you hear locals shouting Ciao to each other as you walk down the street.
Want to swim? Find a rock or some grass by the sea. You will see Croatians swimming everywhere. We started on rocks in the morning and found a nice grassy spot in the local state park after lunch.
The speed in Rovinj is chill. It felt like being at the Jersey Shore or Kiawah Island. People on holiday with no cares.
We had a bomb backyard at our AirBNB. I used basil from the garden to make pesto that we ate on pasta sitting outside our last night. Perfection.
Beautiful Rovinj with its Italian influencesAll smiles by the harborThe Church of St. EuphemiaWant to sunbathe and swim? Pick a rock!Our rock!Rich is SERIOUS about pizza.Feels like Venice to us!Our state park grassy spotBy the sea loving.Finally, our Croatian washing machine…And our Croatian dryer!
Connecting Pachinko, a family saga of Korean migrants in Japan, to travel in Iceland was a bit of a reach. Linking Exit West: A Novel , the second read of this trip, to our travels is no challenge at all.
Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid opens in a fictional war-torn country and follows the arc of the romantic relationship between the two main characters, Nadia and Saeed. As intense fighting breaks out in their city, Nadia and Saeed clearly cannot stay and so they look to magical doors, popping up all over the world, to transport them away together.
This is a story of human migration, and Hamid helps his readers understand what it is to try to start again in lands that do not want you. His prose is clear, and at the same time, lyrical. I re-read The English Patient way too many times in high school (weirdly without ever watching the movie), and Hamid’s beautiful, poetic language, which refuses to look away from destruction and loss, made me think of The English Patient throughout the course of this read.
I will avoid delving into American politics, but this is a book that shows deep empathy to the plight of a refugee. Rich and I are the most willing of travellers– we carefully and excitedly craft our route, we have loving families to whom we can return back at home, and our American passports act like our own personal magic doors taking us wherever we desire and back again. Businesses welcome us almost anywhere we go because we have money to spend.
And yet, there are still challenges. It’s cold; it rains; we get ripped off in the Market on up-charges with our lunch. Sometimes we are tired and cannot find a bathroom. We are sure the locals are laughing at us and our Rainbow flip flops.
Budapest, we love you. You are our favorite. Budapest, let us come live with you. We will learn Hungarian and never complain.
Alright, I might be coming on a little strong. Perhaps we were a little jaded by the coldness of Iceland. And the camping. And the hot dogs. But Budapest came through. I’m excited to share and tell you why if you have never considered a Hungarian vacation, you should.
Day 8: Dohany Street Synagogue, Lunch at the Great Market Hall, and Gellert Hill and the Citadel
The Dohany Street Synagogue
The Dohany Street Great Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe, and the second largest synagogue in the world. We weighed not going in because of a fairly steep entry fee- we are trying to be as budget conscious as possible- but our time in Budapest would not have been as meaningful without touring the synagogue and the cemetery in the garden. Our guide was amazing. He was knowledgeable and passionate– everything you would want in a teacher.
I was deeply moved by our visit and could write quite the lengthy post, so I will try to be as concise as possible, while also apologizing for glossing over important nuances and historical details. I am certainly no expert.
The synagogue was constructed from 1854-1859 and seats more than 3,000 people. At the time of its construction, over 200,000 Jews lived in Budapest.
In 1939, prior to German occupation, the Hungarian Arrow Cross party bombed Budapest but left the synagogue unharmed. Once Germany occupied Budapest, the Nazis used the synagogue as their headquarters (so evil) and broadcast radio signals from the top of the tower.
The Jews of Budapest were consolidated into a compact ghetto adjacent to the synagogue until many were forced on a death march to Austria and Germany, ending in concentration camps for those who survived the brutal winter. Between December 1944 and the end of January 1945, the Arrow Cross, Hungarian Nazi-sympathizers, killed nearly 20,000 Jews from the ghetto.
The garden outside of the synagogue which had been designed as an open space for community was turned into a cemetery with bodies piled on top of bodies. A current historical marker reads, “The park with the pool became a graveyard, a memorial to an era when all human feeling was lost.”
The Cemetery at the Great SynagogueThe Memorial GardenEach leaf of the giant tree contains the name of a Holocaust victim.
As William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It is truly evil how much death and destruction was caused by racist and nationalistic ideals espoused within our grandparents’ lifetimes.
Lunch at the Great Market Hall
Imagine the biggest market you have ever seen, filled with fruits, vegetables, meats, spices, and Budapest “street food.” We ordered way too much food and then ate every bite. Delicious.
One small glimpse of the Great Market HallView from the Second Floor of the Great Market HallWe do love Hungarian food! Pictured: stuffed eggplant, salad with feta cheese, and tzatziki for Amanda and goulash in a bread bowl, cabbage, and beans for Rich.
Gellert Hill and the Citadel
After our very big lunch, we walked up a very big hill to burn it off. Gellert Hill looks over the city, and it was quite the climb. My favorite part was a very active playground with steep slides that would most certainly not pass American playground regulations.
Gellert Hill: View from the TopStatue Overlooking the CityGreat Views on the ClimbA Hungarian Playground with Very Steep Slides
Day 9: Parliament, Buda Castle, St. Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Wharf, and Dinner at Mazel Tov
Parliament, Buda Castle, St. Matthias Church, and the Fisherman’s Wharf
I’m going to admit to not catching quite as much history here. The castle was raised, destroyed, and raised again. St. Matthias is covered in gold, and a Hungarian king and queen were crowned there. The Fisherman’s Wharf was a great spot to take pictures of the city.
Budapest continued to be beautiful, sunny, and in fine form. Also, Happy 4th of July, America!
The Front of ParliamentThe Fisherman’s WharfSelfie with a View of ParliamentRich at the Fisherman’s WharfA Fountain at the PalaceInside St. Matthias’sAn Outside a Church Selfie
Dinner at Mazel Tov
Mazel Tov indeed! The internet is amazing. Rich found the perfect Israeli restaurant, Mazel Tov, online.
I will let the pictures speak for the experience, but it was an amazing meal in a magical atmosphere, complete with a musician covering Taylor Swift on an acoustic guitar. The food was delicious and so reasonable– our appetizer, entrees, and two glasses of wine cost 9900 HUF, the equivalent of $36, tip included. Heaven. We are the luckiest.
Romantic Candlelight DiningUnder the White LightsDelicious! Vegetarian Cheese Dish with a Pomegranate SaladMazel Tov!Love.
Day 10: Szechenyi Thermal Baths
On Day 10, we lay by the pool! Did I mention we love Budapest? We walked for about 45 minutes and arrived at a beautiful bath made of smaller indoor and outdoor pools. Talk about age diversity- young and old were loving life in the water. And sporting all kinds of bathing costumes.
A Hungarian Bath House!LoungingMore LoungingRich tires of bath house selfies.
And for your final viewing pleasure, enjoy a little Hungarian humor with my favorite signs from Budapest:
Snoop Dogg FriendlyLife is short. Eat cookies.I don’t always have a fantastic beard…oh, wait I do! I’m a regular here.
I’ll try to keep this brief but wanted to include how we actual travel from country to country– we learned a lot already and wanted to provide some quick insights into what a travel day looks like.
3:30 AM Super early wake up time. I was jazzed- get me somewhere warm.
The last night of sleeping in a tent in Iceland. Hallelujah!
3:30 – 4:30 AMCook breakfast, wash up, take down and pack up the tent, roll up the sleeping bags, look forward to not camping for a stretch.
4:45 AMReturn camping equipment
4:45- 5:15 AMTravel to car return
5:15- 5:45 AMWait for shuttle to the airport
6:00 – 6:30 AMGo through security and customs in Reykjavik
6:30 – 9:00 AMMake it to the gate, blog, wait to board
9:50 AM – 2:20 PMFlight from Iceland to London-Luton
2:20 – 4:00 PMGo through security and customs in London
4:00 – 4:30 PMEat in the London airport
5:20 PMBoard for Budapest
So. Many. Lines.
5:45- 9:00 PMFlight to Budapest
9:00 – 9:20 PMCustoms in Budapest
9:30 – 9:50 PMUber to AirBNB
It was a long day.
A few lessons we learned:
When you travel with a backpack, you have to travel as light as possible. This probably seems super obvious, but for us, it was having one extra set of a few toiletries (shampoo, soap, etc.) that got us in London. We each had one gallon sized Ziploc with our 3 ounce liquids which the less-than-friendly security women had us consolidate into two quart-sized bags a piece– which required us to throw out some toiletries in line. When we got to Budapest, we discovered that soap is cheaper here than it is in America so we should have just planned to buy it here anyway.
Avoid families in security lines. They are not the fastest. And they argue.
Grab a custom form and keep it moving. The customs line in London was crazy long. Before queuing up, as the British would say, we stopped to fill out our entry form, and then my kind-hearted husband loaned one of my good pens to another traveller to fill out his form. By the time he finished using it and we got in line, people we had previously been behind were twenty people in front of us. Also, we were carrying 20lb packs on our back. Next time, we know to fill out the forms while we wait.
Use the turtle feature of our backpack! Our backpacks have this fantastic feature where the straps in the back zip up into the bag itself. There’s no way we should have both been able to carry on our bags on the cheap airline we were flying, but this turtle trick totally got us through undetected. Not having to wait at baggage claim when we got to Budapest was a godsend.
When we made it to our AirBNB, we could have kissed the ground! Instead, we showered (GLORIOUS), watched an episode of Handmaid’s Tale, and slept like babies in honest-to-goodness actual beds.
Catching up on the Handmaid’s Tale
We love Budapest! Excited to share about this wonderful city soon!
