Concentration Camps

I have never been good at talking about things that make me sad. If I am angry I'll give you a fist full of the latest pet peeve or the college drama that sometimes plagues a sorority girl. When I am excited I can talk about it for days-repeating my findings to everyone I meet, including strangers who are usually surprised at my extent of self-disclosure. But when I am sad I like to wrap myself in blankets or the nearest cuddly object and wallow in silence and reflections- sometimes even letting myself have a good cry. My visits to the towns of Lidice, Litoměřice and Terezín in the Czech Republic as well as a tour of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland left me in a solemn affection as I think it would to any moral person. As I've suggested I can't bring myself to go too much into detail, I believe we all know what happened. The greatest response I have to the history of these places is the realization of the cruelty of mankind. In travelling I see so many beautiful things, I am breathless knowing that someone imagined this, someone made this. The potential of the human mind and the magic of seeing something impossible is truly wondrous. But as much as we hate to see it the other side is true as well. There are many terrible terrible things that have happened and are still happening and I am breathless too at these acts of incredible cruelty that seem to hang as if a daunting black cloud above all things beautiful.

Auschwitz Extermination Camp

Empty Gas Cans

Thousands of eyeglasses collected after extermination

Millions of shoes

Wall of Death

After the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich the SS suspected Czech citizens for having a role in the murder. In punishment the SS picked a Czech village in order to make an example of the consequences of disobeying. They picked the village of Lidice. On 10 June 1942, all 173 men over 16 years of age from the village were murdered. Another 11 men who were not in the village were arrested and murdered soon afterwards along with several others already under arrest. Several hundred women and over 100 children were deported to concentration camps; a few children considered racially suitable for Germanisation were handed over to SS families and the rest were sent to the Chełmno extermination camp where they were gassed to death. After the war ended, only 153 women and 17 children returned. The village was bombed over and over until nothing was left. The SS went so far as to pull out even the trees in the village-they wanted nothing standing.

Where the village used to be

Memorial to the murdered children

Easter in Eastern Europe (tongue tied yet?)

After visiting five Easter markets in four different countries I have to consider myself somewhat of an expert on the tourists' guide to this beautiful time of year in Eastern Europe. Easter is a time for some great cultural experiences in Eastern Europe unfortunately a lot of it today is over touristy and the crowds can be more annoying than fun. 

Most cities have Easter markets where there is food, hand painted eggs, craft items and souvenir items. There are Easter markets in Prague in Wenceslas Square,Old Town Square and off Narodni Trida, Andel and probably lots of other metro stops. They sell some traditional foods and there are performances and music. It is a great way to spend a few hours and great for gift buying. 

After visiting the Easter markets in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, Bratislava, Slovakia and Prague I do have a favorite. 

Vienna's Easter market surpassed all of these others in selection of hand painted eggs they were so gorgeous! Unfortunately they aren't cheap (on the euro in Vienna remember?) but I wished I had bought eggs here. Regretfully I decided to wait til I got to Prague and found that the selection here is minimal. Probably the most disappointing of all these Easter markets was Prague's. Most of the items are things you'd find in a souvenir shop-and it'd be cheaper elsewhere. Budapest and Bratislava as well as Vienna had a lot more items hand crafted from locals in the area not this commercialization as you can see in Prague.

Overall, though, any Easter market is a good Easter market! 

TRADITION

I also wanted to touch on some of the traditions here in the Czech Republic for Easter. It is a most celebrated holiday here although there is not much of a religious following. On Green Thursday before Easter boys in the village come together with wooden rattles especially made for this tradition. The group walks through the village with their rattles so the noise can be heard from all parts of the village. The meaning is to chase away Judas. This repeats on Good Friday and White Saturday when the boys stop at every house and rattle until they're given money!

You've probably all seen the impeccably designed Easter eggs in Eastern Europe. They are traditionally designed by young girls to give to boys on Easter Sunday. The boys prepare their pomlázkas which includes Pussywillow twigs and ribbons. Its original purpose and symbolic meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to bring health and youth for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped with the young pussywillow twigs. One of my teachers told me that this derives from Roman times when the soldiers would pass through small villages in the area and the girls would fawn over the handsome men and come from the villages to meet them. The men would touch their arms with their weaponry and materials packed on the horses as they rode by and the girls took it as good luck! ANYWAY- On Easter Monday boys will whip girls lightly (or not so lightly) on the legs and possibly douse them with water, which had a similar symbolic meaning. The boys do this while they recite an Easter carol and asks for an egg from the girl who he just hit with a twig and doused with water! The girl will reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and then tie a ribbon to his twig. This tradition is still largely upheld, especially in villages and small towns, although it may have lost its symbolism and romance and is now performed mainly for fun. Some boys and men seem to have forgotten that the whipping is supposed to be only symbolic and girls don't always like that. The reward has also changed - money and shots of plum brandy (slivovice) are often given instead of or in addition to painted eggs and candy. So by early afternoon, groups of happy men can be seen staggering along the roads... All that aside, Easter remains one of the most joyful holidays on the Czech calendar. More on the holiday: http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_holidays/easter/

These big painted eggs can be seen at every Easter Market signifying the holiday and the purpose of the gathering

Easter Market in Old Town Square Prague,  Czech Republic

Me at the Easter market in Prague!

Bread and Sausages at the Vienna Easter Market

Incredible selection of hand painted eggs in Vienna, Austria Easter Market

Uniquely designed eggs!

i [HEART] Budapest

Budapest has just landed a spot on my favorites list.  One of my professors talks about the "soul" of the city; how it feels when you walk around, what aesthetic visuals, smells and people tell about the city and how these things make up its “soul”. I think Budapest and I might be kindred spirits as I fell in love with this place. If I hadn’t studied in Prague I would have wanted to study here! The people are very nice and multiple times helped us get along. There is A LOT of culture and many things to see. The city at night however is incredible and throws punches to Amsterdam.

But let me start at the beginning:
We first stopped at Pannonhalma to see the Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey which is the oldest abbey in Hungary founded in 996! It is the second largest territorial abbey in the world and is a UNESCO world heritage site. There are several interesting aspects about the abbey including the incredible dining hall which features beautiful painted walls which scenes remind the abbots to eat healthy and minimally. The other part about the abbey I liked was the magnificent door which has images of earthly items; snakes, birds, trees along with the incredible window which is actually a sculpted peacocks’ feathers. The door is to symbolize leaving earth and entering a spiritual realm. We were given a tour by the cutest abbot you ever did see! He was intelligent and warm and never pressed religion or the bible teachings. He gave us an insight into his life and why he lived it. This was probably the best tour I’ve ever had of a religious site. Truly inspiring to look through a window into this (what seems to most of us) obscure way of life.

From the abbey we drove to Budapest and after settling into the hostel walked around the incredible city at night. The soul of Budapest can be seen when strolling the river or crossing different bridges. Feeling the cool wind of the Danube River or walking to the Buda Castle Quarter fills the heart with warmth. We started by drinking and eating (what else would we start with) and I drank my first red wine and enjoyed it. Maybe you remember that after my wine tour of Moravia I decided I couldn’t drink red wine so young. Perhaps I have grown older after my solo trip to Santorini and now have the belly for it! We then walked around the city and immersed ourselves in the beauty that is Budapest.

What would a trip to Budapest be without a trip to the incredible hot spring baths? Budpest is home to 80 geothermal springs and is the world’s largest thermal water cave system. So we got in our bathing suits and spent the morning splashing and giggling in the hot water. We then took tours of Heroes’ Square, the Parliament building and the synagogue. We broke from the group to do some Easter market shopping and to go to The Great Market Hall. We met up for dinner and I was surprised by the charming night life. Like in San Sebastian, Spain there is a main street dedicated to night life. Other than a 10:00pm restriction on buying alcohol (which was a complete shock to a girl growing up in a 24-hour casino driven town) the nightlife had a lot to offer. This is defiantly a city I will go back to in my life! Anyone want to join me?

One of the painting's at the monastery 

The peacock window

Holocaust Memorial at the Danube River

Friends and I at dinner

Paris Department Store Coffee Shop

Market

Budapest Nightlife

Bratislava, Slovakia

Mom always says if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all, unfortunately this is how I felt about Bratislava. There was just not enough time here and the city lacked the architecture and city soul of its neighbors. We did however go to a great restaurant called 1. Slovak pub where I drank the first dark beer I’ve ever liked (I am usually a light beer person) and had some great food. Maybe I’ll come back here one day so I can give a better review- sorry for the lame post on this one guys-there’s just not much to tell. : [ 

At the Devin Castle Ruins outside Bratislava

Vienna, Austria: A Runner's Paradise

If there is any city in the world where I would run I would run in Vienna. Alongside millions of others-Vienna seems to be the running capital of the world! We started by visiting the Schönbrunn Palace gardens and getting my first taste of Austria-a country I’d never been before! The palace was incredible and reminded me of a small version of Versailles in France. The grounds and gardens went on forever! We then took a city tour and walked through historical Vienna. We found an Easter market and shopped around and then happened upon a cool bike event. Damaged by a strong rain we made it an early night and got pizza on the way back home-truly uneventful. :[ The next day we met to tour the Belvedere Palace garden’s and then went to a gallery in the Museum Quarters. I suppose I could give Vienna another chance but this city is just not my cup of tea. It's hard to write about a city I really felt no connection with! :[

This reminds me of my dad!