Travel Diaries: Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in 1 week

February 27, 2018

Travel Diaries: Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in 1 week

At schools in the U.K. you get this week off half-way through the semester called a reading week. For us international students that basically means a week off to travel to as many places as you can! One of my favorite things is planning trips. While some people find it stressful I thrive off of it! I plan trips as my relaxation in between writing essays. When I heard about the reading week at the end of October I jumped on the chance to plan an elaborate trip to as many places as possible. I decided where I wanted to go (Central/Eastern Europe) and I reached out to some fellow international students (the Aussies that I'd traveled to Switzerland with) and we made a plan.

We decided to make the 9 day excursion a busy one! 2 full days in each place: Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. I have always wanted to branch out of Western Europe so I was so excited for this opportunity. Our plan ended up being a crazy hodgepodge of different forms of transportation to fit our college student budgets but it was a great experience non-the-less. We flew to Warsaw from Bristol, Inter-railed (an amazing pass to get in between different EU countries) to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, and flew back to Warsaw from Budapest to take our flight back to Bristol. It was exhausting but so worth it.

The Warsaw portion of the trip was quick and mainly to travel in and out of. We were all pretty disappointed we couldn't see more of what seemed to be an amazing city but we just didn't have the time in our schedules. We flew in for the first night and had to catch a train the first thing the next morning so we had no time for sight seeing.

After an 11-hour train journey from Warsaw to Prague we were well-rested and ready to start our adventure! We started off exploring Prague with a free walking tour. Free walking tours are my absolute favorite way to start off trips in any European city because they give you a sense of the history and most famous places but if it's boring or too long you can just leave because it's free (but don't forget to tip)! We ate the famous Czech pastry rolls, wandered the cobbled streets, hopped on a party boat at night to see the Charles Bridge at night, and did all the major sights. It was a great time and we were all sad we had to leave so soon.

The next stop was Vienna, Austria. This was probably the most hyped up place we went so we were a bit let down by it just because we were expecting so much. We embarked on another walking tour, saw palaces and museums galore, ate in a famous Viennese coffee house, and enjoyed the atmosphere. It felt like we were here the shortest time but it was short and sweet.

The last stop on our trip was Budapest, Hungary. None of us had heard many first hand accounts before so we went in with no expectations and were completely blown away. From its grand boulevards that remind you of the tree lined streets of Hollywood to all of the magnificent architecture, there was always something to do! We ended up exploring the city at night to see the incredible buildings lit up, spending the days wandering around the cathedral and parks and soaking in our surroundings, and we ended with a dip in one of their famous thermal pools. There was so much to do in this amazing city, I would definitely go back because two days was not nearly long enough!

The final day was full of waiting in airports in Warsaw (yes, airports as in more than one). We were too exhausted to get all the way into the city to do just an hour or two of sight seeing so unfortunately we missed out on seeing the city again. But we were content with how much we'd done throughout the trip and were ready to go back to Bristol to relax! Let me know what you've thought of any of these places you've traveled to and what I should do if I go back...