Chapter 2: Day 52: 14 March 2019
Today is the day! It’s the first day of spring break! I started the morning with a test, then a nap, lunch and putting the final touches on packing and getting ready to leave. After lunch Malachi and I got everything ready and about 1:30 left to catch the bus to the airport! When we got to the airport we went through security, got some food at Eat. and found a place to relax while we waited for our gate to be announced. We ended up sitting at a central gate and we were surrounded by men and women’s rugby teams. There were so many players it was very cool to see. When we were done with food we found our gate, waited for a bit more before boarding the plane.
As we were standing in line we saw a gentleman come up wearing a veil and white tutu which generally means that he is going on his bachelor party weekend. In Scotland it is a tradition for the groom to dress up like a woman and be paraded around for a night/weekend. It is always fun to see what outfits they come up with. Once we were boarded we were in our way. Our first stop on spring break will be Krakow, Poland.
When we landed in Krakow we caught a taxi to our AirBnb. As we were driving we couldn’t see much since it was late, but as we got closer to our place the city started to come alive and when the driver finally stopped we were right in the heart of Krakow. The location of our AirBnb was perfect. After paying the diver we tried to get into our place about 5 times with no luck, but then we reread the directions and it turned out we were at the wrong door. So, once we found the right door we were in. Our place is very small, but cute and as I already said a perfect location.
Once we had dropped off our bags and got settled a bit we decided to go find some food and explore the neighborhood a bit. Since we had just gotten here we did not know much of anything around us or if our location was good so we just walk a bit and found that we were only a few feet away from town center. Since it was late not much was open, but there were still a few stands open and little restaurants but the best thing we saw was a ton of horse drawn carriages all decorated like a fairy tale. We were both tired at that point and did not feel like committing to a ride so after walking around a bit more we found a cute hole in the wall food stand called Kabob, got huge tortillas (like a burrito) and headed back to the apartment. Even thought we wanted to keep exploring we knew that we should try to get some sleep since tomorrow would be a busy day. After our food we planned a bit of what we were going to do tomorrow and called it a night.
Chapter 2: Day 53: 15 March 2019
Today we got up around 9 and went out to get breakfast at a very popular place called the Milkbar Tomasza. This place was one of the number one rated restaurants in Krakow and we lucked out with being able to get a table right away before a huge group came in. I got pancakes (which are essentially crepes here) with chocolate and banana as well as some eggs and Malachi got a Panini. The food was delicious and our whole meal cost about $12 which made it even better.
When we were done eating we set out on our adventure! We had a whole list of sights we wanted to see today. We started at Rynek Główny which is the main town square in Old Town. After that we headed to Kościuszko Mound. Getting there was a bit of a struggle with a 45 minute hike just to get there and then about a 10 minute hike up, but the view was beautiful! You could see the whole city from there and it felt like we could see more countries. After the mound we went back down to the main town to check out Wawel Castle. We did not get to go into the castle itself, but we got to see the cathedral which was beautiful and the outside of the castle was decorated with beautiful colors. We walked around the grounds for a bit and after a while we went down to see the dragons den before finding our way back to our AirBnb. Before we went up we stopped to get some food! We got obwarzanek krakowski which are like big bagels that are sold everywhere on the streets as well as a zapiekanka which is an open-face sandwich made of half of a baguette or other long roll of bread, topped with sautéed white mushrooms, cheese and sometimes other ingredients, and toasted until the cheese melts and served hot with ketchup. All of the food we have had so far has been delicious!
When we were done with eating we got ready for our tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine! Minus that fact that I was a bit freaked out with how far below the ground we were the mines were beautiful and definitely worth the visit. Our tour lasted about 2 hours before we got back to the city. When we got back we dropped our things off at the apartment and wandered around trying to find dinner. We ended upcoming across a cute market where we got pierogies (meat and cheese & potato), kielbasa, a cinnamon Kurtoskalacs and chocolate covered kiwi! The food was delicious and the market had all kinds of food and trinkets to look at like black smiths.
After we were done eating we wandered back to the main square and found the line up of horse and buggies and decided to go for a ride. It was drizzling outside which made the ride even better. We to see most of old town and some places we had not been yet. Once we were done with the ride we were chilly and sleepy so we went back and called it a night.
Chapter 2: Day 54: 16 March 2019
Today we slept in a bit before getting up and finding breakfast. We originally wanted to go back to the same place we did the first morning, but it was very busy so we tried the place across the street called Cakesters. When looking at the menu outside it looked like normal food, but when we were ordering we noticed it was mostly vegan, dairy free, grain free and extremely healthy which is normally no big deal but when it came it was not the best. Sadly we were both disappointed with our meals, but food is food and we had to get on with our day.
One thing that Malachi wanted to do on spring break was your Auschwitz and Birkenau, so we booked a trip and that is what we did today. The tour lasted most the day with a tour and history of both camps. It was a very intense day filled with emotions, but I am very happy I was able to experience it. When we were done with the tour we got dropped back by our apartment and walked around for a while more trying to kill some time before Melissa and Shelby (two girls from the palace who were in Krakow the same time we were). We walked to Schindler’s Factory and the Jewish Ghetto. On our way back from there got a Nutella and Walnut Kurtoskalacs.
We decided to meet up with them after their tour and get dinner. We did not have a plan for food and since Malachi and I had our big bags we did not want to go in anywhere too nice, so we decided to take them to the market since they had not been there yet. We got the same thing as the other night for our main meal which again was delicious. I think the market was the best find for food, they honestly all the food was delicious. When we were done eating we walked the market a bit more and then the main square before saying see you later for all of 5 minutes when we met up again and helped them get to their bus stop.
Since we still had about 4 hours until our bus to Bratislava we asked if we could come hang out at their place for a while because we had already checked out of our AirBnb. We caught a cab over to their apartments and relaxed for a while, talking and laughing and enjoying not having to carry our bags everywhere. When it was time to leave we said our goodbyes and got an Uber to the bus station. Once we get there we had a hard time finding where the busses met, but we eventually did and were able to catch our night bus (that left at 11:59pm) to Bratislava, Slovakia.
Chapter 2: Day 55: 17 March 2019
Today was a long, but very fun day. Our day started right at 12:00a with a bus ride to Bratislava, Slovakia. The bus was very empty which was nice so we could sprawl out as much as we could. Since a bus is not that comfortable we tried to get as much sleep as possible in weird positions with our feet constantly falling asleep. We both managed to get a decent amount of sleep along the way which was nice since we were getting there at 7:00a and had no place to go until 11:00a where we could drop our bags, but couldn’t check in to our AirBnb until 12:00p. When we got into, Bratislava it was very foggy and hard to see anything so we really had to clue where we were. Once we got off the bus we went into the bus station where luckily they had bathrooms a few food stands open. While we tried to figure out how to get into town we got a wee pastry at a shop and snacked until we had our plan together.
We looked at the maps and decided we were close enough to city center/our AirBnb that we could just walk. We started walking and my phone told us to go left, but that did not seem right so we looked on Malachis phone and his said right so we started walking that way but then it told us to go in a circle. We were very confused since ever way we looked was the industrial park, so we picked a direction and started walk until the phone finally figured out where we were we were.
On our walk we saw many interesting paintings, architecture and many broken and abandon houses. When we got to the main old town of the city we still had time to kill before we were able to drop our bags off, so we wandered around for a while checking out the buildings and getting a feel for the city. After a bit we decided to try and find some place to eat, but since it was still early morning many of the places were not open yet so we looked up somewhere to eat and decided to try Schokocafe Maximilian Delikateso. Online it said that it was a cafe with breakfast, so we thought it could be perfect, however once we got there we quickly realized that it was only drinks and cake. At any other time I would have been very happy with that, but since we had been in the train for so long that has not eaten in a while we wanted real food. Since we still had time to kill we decided to just stay, get a hot chocolate and a slice of cake. When the hot chocolate cake out it was very thick and more of the a syrup than anything. But after a moment she came back out with a small cup of water and a dollop of whipped cream. We really had no clue what we were supposed to do with them so we added a bit to the drink which seemed to help make it more that we were used to.
The cake and hot chocolate was super okey. By the time we were done with food we had a bit more time before being able to head to our AirBnb to drop off our bags. We wandered around more and got to see the UFO bridge and more of Old Town. At 10:40 we looked up how to get to our place and made our way there. To our surprise it was not that far away from Old Town and all of the attractions we wanted to see. Our host greeted us at the door and showed us how to get in. He was very nice, spoke great English and even sent us a list of recommendations of what to see and where to eat. We dropped our bad off and decided to go explore the neighborhood we were staying in.
We hiked for a while up a hill trying to find a good view of the city when we came across Slavín which is a war monument. It was beautiful and had a great view of the city. We hung out up there for a while before making our way back down and finding a beautiful abandon house that we both wanted to get into, but knowing we should not we just took a few photos of the outside and moved on. We ended up walking back to our apartment to unpack some more and take off some layers because it was getting really warm out.
Once we got ready we went out and decided to try and find some food. We ended up going to a restaurant our host recommended called The Mestiansky Pivovar. There we each got a meal and split an order of pirogies. The food was delicious and that atmosphere of the bar was so much fun! When we were done eating we set off to see everything! We made a quick stop at Grassalkovich Palace (Presidential Palace), where the president of Slovakia stays, before heading up to see Bratislava’s Castle. When we got there the view was beautiful and the outside was so elegant, but we were saddened when we went inside and it was actually a museum and not still in original condition. We made a quick walk through the museum before deciding that there was more for us to see so we scurried off to our next destination.
The next stop on our adventure was supposed to be the UFO Bridge but we could not figure out how to get there so we ended up getting gelato instead. I got chocolate and peanut (peanut butter) and Malachi got vanilla and walnut. As we are our ice cream we wandered around seeing what we could and ended up finding the ‘blue church’ or Modry Kostol. It was a very pretty and small church. When we were done eating and did not have much else we wanted to see we headed back to the apartment for a bit and ended up watching Baywatch. We were both exhausted from walking so much and having to sleep in the bus that it felt amazing to sit down and relax our legs.
When the movie was over we decided to go get some food and ended up going to Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, which was another traditional joint recommended by our host. I was not all too hungry so I just got a beer and Malachi got an entree. The place was fun and relaxing and had good traditional Slovak foods. After the restaurant we thought about walking around a bit more, but we were exhausted so we stopped at a grocery store and headed back to the apartment for the night.
Chapter 2: Day 56: 18 March 2019
This was our last morning in Bratislava. We got up and got our bags all ready to go so we could grab them from the apartment when we needed to go. We really did not have a plan, so we wandered into old town to find a place for breakfast. After walking a bit we came across a restaurant called Le Papillon Bistro. It was a very small and cute place that offered breakfast which was hard to find. We both ended up getting what I called a boujee egg McMuffin. It was delicious and not horribly priced which is always a bonus.
When we were done eating we stopped back at the apartment to grab our bags and headed to the train station. Since it was not too far away we decided to save money and walk. It was fun to see some parts of town we had yet to see. Once we arrived at the train station we got on the train and were on our way to Vienna!
It was about 2:00p when we arrived into Vienna and we were both starving, so we decided to stop at a restaurant in the train station. Since Austria is known for their Wiener schnitzel that is what we got! With full bellies we started our hike to our AirBnb. We were not to far away from the train station so we did not see much but we were located in a cute smaller neighborhood only a couple blocks from a large shopping district. After settling for a bit Victoria (a friend that I worked with in Northfield) cake to visit since she is studying in Austria. We chatted for a while and then got a Hulunder which is like a more natural soda. It was very good and refreshing. We chatted there for a while before deciding to go and find some food. We walked up to a stop of shopping stores and walked for a while until finding a Kabob place. Since we did not have a huge budget that is what we decided to eat. We got food and walked around a while more before heading back to the apartment. Victoria’s bus back to Graz did not leave until 8:45p so we had some time to kill, or so we thought. A little after 8:00p she looked at maps to see how long it would take her to get to the station thinking it was only a couple minutes away only to realize that it would be a 38 minute walk, so in a panicked frenzy we all headed for the station. It was the fasted 1.3 miles I have ever sped walked/ran but we got her there and shaved 10 minutes off the expected time! We said our goodbyes, she headed back to Graz and we walked back to our apartment. Once we got back to the apartment we decided to call it a night and get some sleep.
Chapter 2: Day 57: 19 March 2019
Today was our full day in Vienna so we tried to make the most of it! We ended up getting a Vienna Pass which allows you to ride the Hop On Hop Off bus as well as grants access to many of the main attractions around Vienna. It was very convenient to have after two stops we had it paid for and were not done. We ended up stopping at Schönbrunn Palace, Lower and Upper Belvedere and Karlskirche. Since our pass got us on the Hop On Hop Off bus we decided to take that to the palace first. Here we got to tour the palace itself, see the gardens, visit their desert house and see a display of old horse drawn carriages which we sadly could not take photos of. It was fun to walk around and see all there was in one palace. After that we caught the bus again and headed to the Lower and Upper Belvedere. We really had no clue what these were, but they were pretty on the outside and had free entry with the pass. Once we got there we learned that it was more of a museum than anything which was okay, but since we did not have too much time there we wanted to get onto our next place. We thought about getting the bus to Karlskirche, but since it was so close we decided to walk…that is until we saw a scooter.
In Vienna it is very popular to rent a bike or scooter to get around, so we figured when in Vienna! Since my phone was not working we only had one phone and therefore could only rent one scooter, so that is what we did. Now, if you know anything about me you will know that I am very clumsy and have had no luck on scooters, so for me to trust someone else to drive was very scary. The scooters were electric be required a push start., so the first few times were a bit of a hot mess, but after a while we managed to get the hang of it. Even though I was terrified it was an absolute thrill and I am so happy we rented one.
When we got over to the church we parked the scooter and went inside. It was a beautiful church and they even had an elevator that you could ride up to get a closer look at the ceiling and get an amazing outlook of the city. We spent a while looking around before getting back on the scooter and heading over to the Opera House to catch the last bus of that day that would take us out to Prater. Prater is a big amusement park with a ferris wheel that our pass got us a ride in. Since it was still their off season a few of the rides and venders were closed, but it was still fun to see all the different kinds of ride they had to offer. We walked around for a while looking at all the rides and wanted to ride some, but they were €5 each so we just enjoyed from a far. We did however, end up getting a cannoli type thing. It was a puff pastry rolled up and filled with a cream. Once we were done there we decided to catch an Uber back to the apartment and walk around the shopping district for a while and got a bit of food and a drink. Malachi got a Huhnar Kabob and I go pizza and we both decided to tried a popular soba called Alndudler before calling it a night.
Chapter 2: Day 58: 20 March 2019
Today was our last morning in Vienna. Since breakfast was very hard to find where we were staying we decided to just eat at McDonalds. In Europe one thing I have noticed that the McDonalds is a lot more healthy with fresh foods. We both got scrambled eggs and a croissant which were both very good and I got a sparkling apple juice which was to die for. After breakfast we got our bags from the apartment and started out trek to the bus station. On our way we were ran into a cute market where they had everything from sweatshirts to calamari and more. We did not have much time to look but we walked through it just to see what all they had to offer. It was fun to see how a market is in another country. When we were threw the market we walked for a while more before deciding to call an Uber because we were going to be calling it close with time. Once we got to the bus station we relaxed for a while before our bus got there and we were off on our 6 hour ride to Munich, Germany.
Our bus ride was nothing to write home about we were able to see much of the countryside which was nice and got to stop at a cute Austrian store that had food which smelled delicious, but we did not have much time to stop and eat. After we were back on the road for a while we had to stop at the Austria and Germany border and get our passports checked. A process that should have been very simple and quick turned into a 45 minute process because people either did not have passports on them or had the wrong kind of identification. After what seemed like forever we were back on the road an hour later than scheduled.
When we finally arrived in Munich we were about a 30 minute walk from our AirBnb so we decided to just take a taxi because neither of us were feeling too good. While it was nice to get a ride our driver was not the best. We heard all about his life problems and how he was having a lot of family and money issues. It was a conversation that I did not need or want to hear, but we got there and that is all we cared about. One thing that I did not realize when I booked the AirBnb is that we were renting only a room and not the whole apartment. So, when we got there we were greeted by the hosts who were absolutely adorable and so nice and shown to our room. It was very small, but we knew we could make it work for the few days. After unpacking a bit we went out to find some food. There were three options around us, two pubs that were very full and a mexican restaurant that seemed to have room so that is what we decided on. We both got Tacos con Pollo, shared Papas Fritas and I got a margarita. It was all very good and when we were done we went back to the apartment for a bit before running to the store to get some snacks for the next day and lighter food since Malachi was still not feeling well. After the store we went back to the house and called it a night.
Chapter 2: Day 59: 21 March 2019
Today we had a busy tour day of visiting Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castle as well as a stop in a cute town Oberammangau. We started the day with a nice walk to the bus before heading out. The first stop of the tour was Linderhof Castle. Since it was winter the gardens we not open which was sad, but the castle was still beautiful. The architecture was beautiful and had a very welcoming feeling. After the tour we got back on the bus and headed to Oberammangau. We did not get too much time to look here, but it had a nice view of the Alps and many cute souvenir shops. Once we were done there we got back on the bus and headed to our last stop of the day, Neuschwanstein Castle.
When we got to the town where the castle was we stopped for lunch. Where we ate had a beautiful view of the castle. After lunch we started our hike to the castle. It was a nice hike up and the view just kept getting better. When we were finally up we got to walk around a bit before our tour. Before it was time for our tour we sad down outside the gates and basked in the sun. It was so warm and relaxing. Once it was time for our tour we got up and went in. Sadly we could not take photos in the castle, but it was absolutely beautiful. Most castles are designed with silver or gold and all very monotone colors, but this one was filled with many colors and different gems that made the whole room sing. I honestly think that these two castles were my favorite to go through.
Once we were done with the tour we had a bit more time so we decided to hurry out to the bridge for a beautiful view of the castle. We only had a couple minutes to take a few photos and scurry down the hill to catch the bus home. It was a fun day filled with beautiful views and many memories made. On our drive home we took a different way which was nice to see more of the German countryside. After we got back to the city we walked around for a while and then headed back to old town to find some food. Since we each a bag from the day and gotten sweatshirts we decided that we wanted to stop back at the apartment to drop everything off. We were not too far away from old town, but by the time we got back we were too drained to go back out so we ended up just eating at El Gordo Loco, the same place we did the night before. Once again the food was delicious and after we were done we headed back and packed up since we were leaving the next day.
Chapter 2: Day 60: 22 March 2019
This morning we had very good intentions of getting up early and exploring the city but, both Malachi and I woke up sick and could not leave the house. So, we spent the morning relaxing in bed and trying to get better for our flight home later. We waited until the very last minute to leave and when we did we packed and headed for a quick stop at the Birkenstocks store before catching an Uber to the airport.
At the time we left for the airport we should have had more than enough time, but just our luck the traffic was horrible and then to top it off our gate was at the other end of the airport. So, we rushed, as much as we could, to get to our gate to be told to go back downstairs to check in to be told to go all the way upstairs to go through security and when we finally found the right place security was horrible. The line was so long and not moving fast at all, but we should have still had time until we had to go through a passport control which was at a dead stop. We still had about an hour before our plane left to get through, so we were not too worried until we moved maybe five feet in 30 minutes. At this point we both felt horrible and just wanted to get through the line, but we knew we still had time so we waited patiently. We waited…and waited…and waited until we here “Marquette party of two please report to your gate.” We turned to each other and both said “oh good we are going to miss our flight.”
Luckily the people around us were nice and said just go up to the front and say your name is being called, so we walked up and tried to explain what was happening and no one cared even in the slightest. Then some gentleman who spoke English and German started to yell at the passport control people explaining our situation, but they just said not our problem go to the back of the line. We were astonished at how rude the workers were being but knew all we could do was thank everyone for trying to help and go back to our spot in line. As we waited and saw the time go by we knew we missed our flight but still went through the line to see if we could talk with someone at EasyJet to get on another flight.
Once we got through we found an EasyJet counter and they said there was nothing they could do from there and that we had to go back out of security to get a new flight. Exhausted and frustrated we found our way to the exit which took about 20 minutes because their airport is very poorly laid out. After we finally made it out we got to the EasyJet desk and they told up it was our fault that we missed it and they could not get us on another flight until Sunday which was not an option for us. The only other option was to go talk with the travel agents and try to figure out a flight that would leave that night or the next morning.
After a lot of research and talking we found a flight leaving at 6:45a for a reasonable price with only one layover in London for an hour, so we said we would do that. With that booked we were a bit more relieved, but now we had the problem of deciding if we wanted to try and stay in the airport or book a hotel. Since both of us were still yucky we decided it would be best to have a room so we could try and sleep and at least relax for a while. We lucked out and got a room at Moxy which was very close to the airport and also offered a shuttle to and from the airport. We booked it and were on our way. The room was very nice and it was a good to have a bed to sleep in and relax before having to head back to the airport at 3:30a the next morning (about 6 hours after we got to the hotel).
Chapter 2: Day 61: 23 March 2019
3:30a wake up call let’s go! When our way to early alarms went off we got up, checked out and were off for the airport round town. This time though we left about three and a half hours for us to get through everything which still was almost not enough time. When we got to airport we were already checked in so all we needed to do was get through security and passport control, easy right? Of course not it’s the Munich airport why would anything be laid out nice or make sense. After walking to three floors and four terminals we finally found two people confirm where we needed to be and that our security checkpoint would be opening in about a half an hour, so we sat down and relaxed for a while before getting through. When we were through security we found our gate right away and waited for the plane to come. We finally boarded and we on our way home. With a short layover in London that went smooth we finally touched down in Edinburgh and it never felt so good to be back in Scotland.
Spring break was a blast and the only thing I would have changed is that we both did not get sick. I loved traveling with Malachi and being able to see places I had not been and learn about their history. I am thoroughly exhausted and ready to sleep for a week!
Title: SB Do or Die
SB: Spring Break
Do or Die: Each country tried to take us down in a new way but somehow we managed to crawl our way back to the top.
ROVE 