Mishthefish

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Poland: Kraków & Auschwitz-Birkenau

The final stop with the girls was Poland. Krawków soon was added to my list of favorite places. Poland surprised me in so many ways- all positive. It is the most Eastern city I have visited and also the cheapest (score!!). Seeing Auschwitz-Birkenau had me relive history and taught me even more about the concentration camps, after years of reading and learning about the Holocaust. The highlights of this trip were definitely the Polish food, new Australian friends, and watching a Eurocup game in the fan zone since Poland and Ukraine were hosting the Eurocup games.

Krawków was such a pretty city. Favorites included:

The central square with a leaning clock tower, Basilica, outdoor market, and tons of outdoor restaurants and bars.
Buying amber rings
Seeing the whole city at the top of the Basilica
Visiting the castle
Walking through the Jewish Quarter and seeing the only active synagogue in Kraków
Going more than once to eat at our favorite Polish restaurant Babila Malikas
Eating perogies and drinking Polish beer
Partying with our Aussie friends and going to cool bars
Receiving gifts from the Aussies (including a cute mini kangaroo)

The Castle

Jewish Synagogue

Eurocup 2012

Central Square

Feast at Baba Malikas

Outdoor market by night

View from the top of the Basilica

Aussies & us

My experience at Auschwitz-Birkenau is hard to write in words. To say the least, it was very impactive. I had goosebumps the whole time I was there, knowing just decades before others were murdered on the same grounds. We had a really great tour guide throughout the camps, first at Auschwitz and then at Birkenau. Birkenau is much bigger and what I had imagined a concentration camp to look like from the Holocaust movies. I think everyone who has the opportunity should go and see it for themselves. It was a crazy experience but one of the best things I have ever seen. I learned a lot from the tours and got to enter into the gas chambers, torture rooms, and see the hanging wall.

Entrance to Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Gas chamber at Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Birkenau

Birkenau gas chamber remains

Birkenau

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Budapest!

Our next stop was Budapest. I had heard really great things about this city and we decided to spend my birthday here. Also, two of my friends living in Barcelona (Lee and Luisa) and I had planned to be there at the same time. We did a lot of eating, touring, relaxing, bar hopping, and hanging out around the Jewish Quarter. It was wonderful.
The first night we went to have dinner at Leitz Frank Square, a two-sided street full of outdoor restaurants and bars. We met my friend Lee there and ended up having a feast at Bohemia. We had duck liver, steak, breaded wienerschnitzel, a big salad, and a cheese dish, as well as big beers typical of Hungary.
Afterwards we headed to "A83" which is a boat party. A big boat is docked on the harbor and has a bar, dance floor with DJ's, and nice places to sit outside and enjoy the city view at night. We tried the famous polinka shots which we were not so found of, but when in Hungary right?
The next day we went to the Szechenyi Bath and Spa, which is the biggest thermal bath in Budapest. It was my birthday and all I wanted to do was relax and be in the sun. We went all day and even got massages, it was amazing. Later we had dinner in the Jewish quarter and went to a cool bar in an abandoned jewish building called Simpla. The Jewish quarter was full of life and bars. It was a great birthday spent with great people in a new city.
The next day we headed to see the Jewish synagogue and then took the free walking tour of the city. We saw both the BUDA and PEST sides. We went all the way up to the castle and got a great view of the city (also got lucky and saw 5 weddings) and ate delicious pastries (one filled with apples and the other with cottage cheese mmm mmm). It was our last night before the girls headed off to Italy, so we bought some hungarian wine and got ready for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Karma in the Leitz Frank Square and really enjoyed our meal (my new obsession was goulash). That night there was a huge thunderstorm, so after dinner we headed to our hostel. The girls left early in the AM and I went to tour the inside of the Jewish synagogue, see the cemetery, tree of life, the Jewish ghetto and outdoor market. It was beautiful and I was happy how the Jewish quarter was such a big part of the city. On the tour I meet some new friends and we headed to the Simpla bar afterwards. We watched the Spain vs. Italy game for the Eurocup 2012 (Wooooo viva España!). I had my last goulash for dinner with Luisa before before going back to Barcelona.

Hungarian feast!

A83

Szechenyi Bath and Spa

Simpla Bar

Jewish Synagogue

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Ibiza & Formentera

When most people think of Ibiza, they think party party. What I was most excited about were the pretty beaches. Two friends from the US visited me (Gena and Dana) and we traveled to a few places, our first stop was Ibiza. It was a beautiful island with an energetic crowd ready to enjoy the night festivities.
The life in Ibiza was something like this:
Lay out all day on the beach, swim in the water while dancing to the music from the beach parties, eat good meals, and get ready to go out all night long. Then head to the beach for sunrise. Repeat.

Our first night we went to a club called El Paradis for the fiesta de agua (water party) that friends had recommended to me. This was an incredible party and was like nothing I had done before. When I was told to wear a bathing suit and a dress I did not care for, I knew it would be completely different than the usual clubs I was used to. At first it was like any typical club, people dancing and go go dancers in 80's outfits dancing above your head. The dance floor was in the form of a circle and at around 4am water started pouring in from every direction and suddenly there was a pool beneath us. Bathing suits started coming out and people are dancing and playing in the water. It was great. One of the best clubs I have been to, hands down. After some hours in the water at the club, we headed to the beach in our wet bathing suits.

The next day we headed to Formentera by ferry. People had mentioned to me how beautiful this island was, but seeing it in person really had me blown away . As most of you know, I love going to the beach so when I see a beach like this, it's hard for me to leave. Its white sand feeling softer than ever and clear turquoise/blue water made it breathtaking. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. We also ate a delicious meal in Formentera- fresh caprese salad and pizza. As we were leaving, we had the chance to see the sunset which was very pretty.
Unfortunately we only had time to stay for the day and had to return to Ibiza for our last night out. We went to a club called Space which in my opinion was just okay. The next day was our last day, spent it on Playa d'en Bossa again enjoying the sun. My friend who lives in Ibiza came to visit and we all had lunch before heading back to Barcelona to get ready for our next trip.

Formentera