Vienna and Budapest (Slovakia too)

This was by far the best trip I've been on.  Vienna was beautiful and charming but the real gem of the trip was Budapest.  There are so many amazing stories to tell, so ask me in person. 

Lucy and I - our last night in Vienna, enjoying Sachertorte and wine.

Train ride to Bratislava, Slovakia.  FYI: never go to the Budapest train station - it is absolutely terrifying.

Eating cabbage soup in Bratislava - a terrible idea for so many reasons.

The parliament in Budapest.

We took a free boat tour of Budapest at night.  We had a coupon from our hop-on-hop-off bus tour.

Just another castle in Budapest.

A picture of one of the many wonderful tchotchkes I picked up in Budapest.

Lucy and I at the Vienna Opera house before seeing Romeo and Juliet, the ballet.

In Budapest they let you play on giant war machines.

Inside the 2nd largest synagogue in the world, Budapest.

The 2nd largest synagogue in the world.

A view of beautiful Budapest from the Citadel.  Left side Buda, right side Pest.

More Budapest.

The view from our boat ride down the Danube, from Vienna to Budapest.

Some pretty building in a park in Vienna.

St. Stephen's, Vienna.

Mozart, Vienna.

More Vienna.

And even more Vienna.

THE END

Spring

Spring in Holland is the happiest place on Earth.  Anybody who knows me well will understand that biking and running through parks filled with tulips, babies, and puppies (that chase wild turkeys, jump into lakes, and bark at deer and lambs in petting zoos) is Utopia for me.  I haven't updated in a very long time, but now I'm posting a bunch of pictures from April in Holland - lots of flowers, a wonderful wonderful visit from my mom, and Queen's Day.  Queen's Day is a National Holiday and all the young people dress in orange and party in Amsterdam for the day.  I hosted an early morning breakfast party for all my friends before we hopped on the train to Amsterdam.  Don't worry the recent events (car deliberately driving into a crowd killing 4) didn't happen in Amsterdam and nobody I know was affected.  Enjoy the pictures (in reverse order)!

Paris - Spring Fling 2009

Paris was my first real vacation.  We spent five whole days there, were not rushed and spent have the time napping in gorgeous gardens and sitting at cafes - it made for a very special time.  We took the overnight bus from Rotterdam and arrived in Paris at 5:45am, exhausted.  We still managed to go to the Louvre, the Rodin museum (where I fell asleep), enjoy world-famous hot chocolate at Angelina, walk to the Eiffel tower, followed by the Arc de Triomphe.  At night we met up with Hannah's friend from her Florence program to eat dinner on the Champs-Elysees and then viewed the Eiffel tower at night from the top of the Arc.

Of course this was incredible exhausting, but somehow we still packed it in on day two.  This is when I really fell in love with Paris.  On our first day it had seemed really big and overwhelming, and not all that charming.  But going on strolls through the Latin Quarter and Le Marais revealed how charming and beautiful Paris can be.  After spending three hours at the Pompidou (modern art museum) we enjoyed falaffel in the Jewish neighborhood (Le Marais) and then went to the Picasso Museum.  Afterwards we went into Notre Dame, San Chapelle, and the Panthen - and then fell asleep in some gardens (this time the Jardin du Lexembourg).  We met up with our friend Lucy (from Penn) and she took us to dinner and drinks.

The next two days we were able to go a little slower and enjoy the city.  We made the trek to Sacre-coeur (one of my favorite things in the city) and Moulin Rouge before picking up food for a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower.  Before leaving the city we also went to d'Orsay, had the most amazing desserts I've ever had, and went on a run in the Luxembourg gardens.  Those are the Paris highlights - but there were so many great details I'm sure I've forgotten.  Anyway, here are some pictures!!!

Prague Pictures!

I spent Shabbos in Prague with the Maimonedes Program.  We had a relaxing weekend, saw all of the Jewish sights, toured the city by foot, and spent lots of time eating and at shul.  Here are some pictures (there are lots of familiar faces from Penn).

ITALY/Ethan's visit! Part 2 - Rome

When in Rome...