The ending of my Great European Adventure

The last stop on my whirlwind 5 week trip was the Netherlands (Holland). We all stayed with a close family friend Marieke and her husband Peter in a small town outside of Amsterdam. We had 4 days there each of which had its own adventure. Like the Dutch people we took to bikes and headed out for Amersfoort one day. It was a cute medieval village with canals and winding roads. We found the best Belgian fry and icecream place which Hannah and I got. Later though Jerri was feeling a craving and the trip we took to try and get back there took us all over the village. At one point I asked Jerri what street it was that we were looking for (Markieke had told her.) To which she replied “I don’t know, something-straat.”  Just to let all you readers know,  EVERY road is something-straat. We ended up going street by street and trying to remember visual landmarks. We found it eventually and the reward was ever so sweet!

Another day we grabbed the train up to Ultrect and shopped a bit and walked along its canals. One of y favorite day trips we took was up into Amsterdam. Hmm what to say about Amsterdam… Well for starters there are lots of coffee shops. Not the coffee shops like in Vienna, no these cater to a slightly different crowd – one with dreadlocks, lots of tye-dye, and bloodshot eyes.  We found the red light district which was… interesting? I’ve definitely never seen anything like that in the US. But apart from the stranger parts of Amsterdam I liked the feel of the city and wish I had had slightly more time to wander. But we of course had more places to see so we headed back to the main train station with its triple decker parking garage for bikes and headed to the sea, the North Sea.

A balmy 17 degrees Celsius (in US terms: numbingly chilly), the North Sea was a murky brown color but had a beautiful wide white sandy beach. Hannah and I walked along in the surf and picked a few select shells (very cool, they have thick stripes of color in rusty red white and black – unlike any I have seen here).

Back at Marieke’s house we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I have never eaten so much cheese in my life! But along with cheese I also developed a taste for red currants. They are delicious! Yumm, a few (read: a LOT) of fresh currants in with you morning yogurt and granola and I am a happy camper! Marieke’s house was fun to stay in. They had a beautiful garden and the most treacherous steps I have ever had to climb inside a house. We are talking steps maybe 5 inches wide that go up at an 80 degree angle. *this is not an exaggeration!

We had a lovely time everywhere we went. I miss Europe, I had made such good friends there and the freedom of traveling wherever I wanted was liberating. However, it is so nice to be home with my family and friends here. Dorothy knew what she was talking about when she said “there’s no place like home” but then again she also never had to spend 3 hours getting through the hullabaloo of US customs checkpoints!  

I hope you have enjoyed this blog. I loved getting to write it. Thank you for all the compliments on my writing. I try to write like I speak (even though in real life I get made fun of for not being a good story teller *cough: dad :cough*)  I will miss not having so many fun new things to write about but if you ever want to chat just send me an email and I will happily give current updates!  Email: atkempf@indiana.edu 

I didn't expect beautiful sand dunes in Holland, but there they were! And we were over 30 kilometers from the North Sea!

Our final dinner together  :)

European cars = too small for a group of 6 to get to dinner without a couple trunk riders

Our bikes we took on a day trip - mine was the flowery one with the basket. I had the most beautiful bike by far!

Our boat ride in Holland! A little drizzle never stopped us!

The North Sea! Yay! I love the beach!

So many bikes in Amsterdam and yet so many seem to never get used. Many parked next to buildings have plants growing through them! Honestly, where are their owners?

  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Belgium math: Belgium fries + Belgium Beer + Belgium Waffles = Attie +10lbs

I met Hannah, Aunt Marj and Jerri in Brugge, Belgium and we hit the sleepy little town of Brugge. Our B&B was lovely and we enjoyed our stay in Brugge. We walked along the winding streets, stopped in along the shops, and took a boat tour of the canals. We ate the Flemish food. Tasty! A few of dishes included ham and cheese wrapped endive, waterzooi, asparagus soup, mussels, frites, and our favorite WAFFLES! My waffle was topped with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar, Hannah’s was a heart attack in waffle form with icecream, chocolate sauce, and a dusting of powdered sugar. And what is Belgium without beer? I indulged only once but would always try a sip of Aunt Marj and Jerri’s.

Brugge is so cute! It is the most precious town I have ever seen. Just walking around to see the town was the best part of our stay there. The buildings are all very old and made from red, orange, and brown bricks. They line the canals that snake through the entire town. The roof lines are the most interesting part of the buildings. They are pointed and look like a step ladder on each side. So cute!

Our second day there we rented bikes and headed to the nearby town of Damme. Normally the 12 kilometer round trip wouldn’t be rough on a bike. However, these seats were torturous to the rump. Bruised by the time we got there we decided to sit a while and have some lunch before heading back to town. While eating lunch the rain came and did not let up at all. After a very long lunch, involving cappuccinos and pancakes for dessert we headed back out into a very light rain. Our luck did not hold out. We road straight into the torrential downpour we had just waited out. Haha, whoops! We were soaked through by the time we got back to the B&B. We had a great time though and now it is a fun story to share with you.

Our other fun story comes from when Hannah and I were alone. We were sitting in the castle square waiting for Aunt Marj and Jerri. The square is just that, a square -buildings on 4 sides and an exit at each corner. There were 3 guys about my age standing in the middle when we got there. They looked confused and just kept standing directly in the middle of the square. Han and I sat on the bench to watch the spectacle unfold… The guys stood there looking around for a while then preceded to get out their Rick Steve’s travel book and read. When they finished with that they just looked around again, clearly not knowing what to do. One seemed to eventually decide they should look for something. They wandered out the lower left hand exit. 1 minute goes by and then they are back looking confused in the middle of the square. Guy #2 points to the upper left hand exit. They try that one. 1 minute goes by and they are back. One last shot and they are out a different exit as we have to walk away with Aunt Marj. The next morning who would end up at the same B&B breakfast? The 3 guys! They wanted to take a bike ride too so we let them see the map the owners had lent us. When they gave it back they made a crack that we should definitely take it because they would obviously have better directional skills. In my head all I can think is “riiiight…aren’t you the 3 guys who were lost in the middle of a square?”

Enjoy!

Han and Aunt Marj - Hannah is modeling her new blazer! We both got one! - VERY exciting!

A picture of a boat while we rode a boat!

The dog with possibly the coolest bed ever.

On the way to Damme  :)  Everything was so cute!

Soaked to the bone after our bike ride back from Damme  :)  It was still so much fun!

The rest of the photos are courtesy of my favorite paparazzi: Jerri.  This is my favorite pic of Han and I - obviously not posed ;)

also obviously not posed  ;)

WAFFLES!!!!(and chic blazers!)

Dear Brugge,
Your are precious.
Sincerely, Attie

Budapest

Nick, Caleb and I loved Budapest from the start. A grungy yet gorgeous city, the buildings all are gorgeous but looking past that you see that they are in a constant state of disrepair which gives the city it’s cool, edgy, hipness that I soon fell in love with. We stayed at a 2 room hostel where Caleb slept on ground level and nick and I slept up in the loft where there wasn’t too much room – about 5 inches between the mattresses on the floor and not enough room for you to stand up completely. I loved it!  It had character but was clean and the owner was an American guy that fell in love (with a Hungarian and with the city) and has stayed for 4 years now.

Like I said before, Budapest has a crumbly feeling to it but that does not take away from the gorgeousness that surrounds you here. The city is a perfect mix of 2 of my favorite European cities – Prague and Berlin. It has the old world beauty of Prague and the grungy hip feel of Berlin. We found a free concert being held in a city park and stopped to have a beer and sit in the grass to listen. No classical music here! It was more of a crazy combination of loud rock, electric violin, and a bit of reggae. Hungarian (the world’s 3^rd hardest language to learn) seems like it is hard to sing. The band had a great stage presence though and it was fun to watch the locals. We were sitting by a group of what looked like 8^th graders, al with beer and cigarette in hand. Oh yes, we were in Eastern Europe for sure. Actually, any part of Europe fits that description so far…

Our two days in Budapest were spent exploring, laying in parks, seeing sights, climbing the hills of Buda, poking each other in the sides, and laughing 24/7. We went to the world’s second largest parliament building where Nick and Caleb said I would be bayoneted if I waved to the guards (happy to say that I proved them incorrect!) and then on to the world’s second largest Synagogue. We soon called Budapest the city of seconds.

After parliament we sat out by the river and discussed our escape plans if an army of zombies were to attack at that moment. We each got to pick out each other’s weaponry arsenal. I am happy to say I feel I would be safe with my machete, ninja star, cape, laser vision, suction cup glove for hanging, dart shooter, fire poker and slide whistle. We wandered our way towards home taking about every interesting street possible to the point that a 30 minute walk turned into a 3 hour exploration. By the time we found the pizza place for dinner we were starved.

I decided to be courageous and when picking my toppings for my pizza I opted for an egg. That was interesting in a very delicious sort of way. That night we chilled at the hostel.  The next day we headed to the Buda side of the city to walk through the hills and up to the palace. We found a cave church, kicked a water bottle for an hour’s worth of entertainment, found the palace, and played in the light rain.  Back to the pizza place for a late lunch and then we headed to what is supposed to be Budapest’s biggest attraction: thermal baths. A stop along the way at a fair we found was prefect for grabbing my all-time favorite dessert – the chimney cakes I had in Prague. DELICIOUS

The baths were housed in the city’s most beautiful park in giant white buildings that looked like they came straight out of ancient Rome. Baths ranged from 16 Celsius (seriously chilly) to 38 Celsius (toasty). There were saunas, showers, chlorinated pools, and thermal baths. We had so much fun transferring between them all that we easily spent 2 and a half hours there without ever being bored. We tried every bath/pool/tub we could find and a handful of saunas and showers as well. We plunged into the cold pools and did handstands in the warm ones. Correction: I did handstands, Nick and Caleb failed miserably at their attempts.

We met Miriam and Lez in the thermal baths. The Jewish Australian Hungarians were traveling for a month throughout the home land. They had amazing stories and were very friendly. Their parents had been Holocaust survivors; the mothers both had the tattoos. Miriam and Lez travel all over the world and we all became fast friends. As with all couples I meet the girls seem to pair off and so do the boys so Miriam and I chatted for a long time while the boys chatted with Lez. When I was showering the leave and dress Miriam actually ended up having the locker beside mine. They were such a nice couple that we enjoyed getting to know in the comfort of a giant thermal bath! I kept my cool wristband that was your ticket into the baths. Caleb had loved them and wanted to keep his but wasn’t sneaky enough to get away without giving it back. I however eluded the system and came out the victor! In the end I  gave it to Caleb as a souvenir from Budapest

Getting back to the hostel about midnight we were energized and ready to go out. We headed to one of the only bars open on a Sunday night – a recommendation as being the coolest new place in Budapest. I have to agree with the recommendation. Szimbla was the hippest bar I have ever been to. It felt exactly like something you would find in Berlin, crumbly walls and everything and the kitchen sink hanging from the ceiling. It was a giant 2 story complex with and open air center and a cozy tables and chairs littering every open space. We snagged some old movie theater chairs and a locally brewed beer and sat and soaked in the atmosphere. It was grungy and hip made you feel automatically relaxed and at home in your own skin. No one was dressed to impress and no one cared. It was a great evening and the time flew by. It was almost 3 by the time we got back and crawled in bed.

I was sad to leave Nick and Caleb. I had so much fun with them. We were always joking, always happy, always relaxed, and always laughing. I laughed so hard with them that I got my first fit of hiccups I have had in over a year. I didn’t want to leave but am excited to see first Evan and then Hannah, Aunt Marj and Jerri.  I now know that I have to do a Scandinavia trip at some point. Caleb is studying in Copenhagen Denmark and it sounds too amazing to pass up – it’s going on the ever-expanding list of places I want to go!

While is Budapest and Vienna I gained a few new nicknames as well. The top three include: Atica, Attila the Hoosier, and my personal favorite Atifer.  Thank you Nick for the last one – by far the best of the bunch! 

Please note the man standing next to me on the left. He was quite a character!

My favorite sweet treats! I asked him to smile and he made me wait so that he could lift on up to pose. He was so funny, he kept acting like he was going to put the coconut on it which I was very against. He high-fived me when we left!

Huggsies!  Nick maybe wasn't quite as excited for the treats but I sure was!

Creepy hooded statue we found in a park.

Pretty - a hidden castle in a park. It looked fake like in disney land

You gotta love 'em    :)

The thermal baths - this is one the the 3 outdoor ones. The indoor options were inside the building in the background

Bored while waiting for the pizza to be served

At the tops of the Hills of Buda

The coolest church roof top ever!

A view of Buda from the Pest shore of the river

What's a Hungarian rock concert without a Hungarian brewski?

The hostel. Nick and I had the right side of the loft. The mattresses were just on the floor about 5 inches apart and the ceiling was a little low. I loved this place though!

Hog-tying Caleb. Well done Nicko!

20,000 Hungarian forints - making it rainnnnnnn

The hippest bar in town - their fairly sketchy looking stair case. 

Tomorrow or the next rday I'll post something from Brugge with Aunt MJ, Jerri, and Hannah. We are having a blast and send out love. 

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT MARTY!

Vienna - the world's classiest city

We lived the high life in Vienna. Literally. Penthouse. The first 2 nights Nick and I stayed with my friend Mitzi’s aunt Virginia her husband Peter and their 5 year old daughter Alexandra. The third night the family was gone to Salzburg for the weekend to watch Peter’s regatta (he is 3 time Austrian sailing champ!) so we had the place to ourselves. Caleb joined us and together we all made ourselves dinner, nick and I swam in a lake and before bed we all watched the Shawshank Redemption together. They kept berating me for having not seen newer movies like Gladiator and Lord of the Rings but neither of them had seen Casablanca, Citizen Cane, nor It’s a Wonderful Life. Honestly, what are kids doing these days?!

The first night we arrived they let the 3 of us take their bikes for a ride by the river down to a restraint they suggested called Barbados. There was a wakeboard cable park right off the deck so I automatically liked the place. We got to sit outside and enjoy the night and then came the never-ending string of “wurst” jokes. For those who don’t know sausage in German is referred to as wurst. There was never an hour in Vienna without some sort of wurst joke. “you’re the wurst” “aren’t these lines the wurst?” etc.

During the days we explored. Gorgeous facades of buildings like the Rathaus, the opera, and the palace were everywhere you looked. We went to Mozart’s favorite hangout and a church that looked more like a disco inside than a nave. Colored lights and stained glass led to the most colorful church interior I had ever seen. Add in the organ music and the experience was one of a kind.

We all got along splendidly. For just meeting him, Caleb and I realized we are pretty much the same person. We like to wander down any street that looks interesting. If there was an archway, stairway, or alleyway we would turn simultaneously to head down it disregarding whatever the most efficient route would be to our destination. In my opinion this is the only way to go. I vote get lost and have a look around. When you are tired of that, then whip out the map and figure out where you have ended up. Famous monuments are nice but I have seen enough statues of men on horses to last me a lifetime. Give me a side street or a stair case to who-knows-where any day.

 All 3 of us felt classier just for being in Vienna. It was an older scene for sure but everyone regardless of age shows an appreciation for 3 things: classical music, good coffee, and desserts. We did the latter 2 at last twice a day and the former we got really lucky with. Virginia told us about a free classical concert being held outdoors at the palace. We figured it would be fun and she said there would be a few thousand people there. Try 100,000! When we got there we realized that actually it is the largest concert of the summer season. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of a Russian composer was wonderful. Their stage was set with a backdrop of the Gloriet – one of Vienna’s prettiest monuments. The Gloriet and state was alight with colors as the lights show coincided with the music being played. At the end of the show after the ballet dancers had gracefully left the stage the fireworks began at the closing of the last song. Trust Vienna to have the classiest firework I had ever seen. No cacophonous 4^th of July fireworks here, instead classy small tasteful fireworks.  I have to give it to Vienna. It is one classy city. 

Home sweet home :)

Penthouse balcony - the curved tan buildings in the background are one of 3 world head quarters for the United Nations. The head cheese ball was in town because all the flags were flying in the courtyard.

The Rathaus - fun to pronounce and a beautiful building - what more could you ask for?

We stumbled across a theme park in Vienna - by far the least classiest thing we did in Vienna but also extremely fun.

Nick and I getting pumped for some classical music!

The people who arrived after us (the palace is in the background)

The stage and the lucky people who arrived before us. We had great views of the big screens they had that projected the action though!

These two are the absolute WURST!  Caleb (left) and Nick (right) were the greatest travel companions. We had so much fun together always always always with the wurstel jokes

The large white building on the left was our place. This is the lake it overlooked where Nick and I took a pre-dinner dip. Very pleasant and surprisingly warm!

The disco church! So many colors   :) 

  I officially have one week left in Europe and then it will be home sweet home. It's bittersweet as everyone guessed it would be. Part of me wants to continue traveling, it's been the trip of a lifetime, but the other part longs to be home with family and friends I haven't seen in a very long time. 

I'll put up the Budapest entry tomorrow evening. I miss and love you all! - At