My heart's in Budapest... and Vienna was waiting for me!

It has been a BUSY few weeks! My program was originally going to take us to Jerusalem for a week, but some civil unrest and safety concerns led the excursion to be cancelled.

Leave it to a few ambitious college students to book an awesome trip to Hungary and Austria for a week instead! I would absolutely do it again, too.

After landing in Budapest (and playing the song by George Ezra a few times), we found an authentic Hungarian restaurant to eat at for dinner. When I tell you that it was the BEST European food I have eaten so far, I mean it. It takes the cake by a landslide. The restaurant was called Kispiac Bizstro, and it was the most endearing mom-and-pop restaurant. The food was made with love and the owners were so kind and helpful in teaching us Hungarian words and sharing their food with us. Hands down the best part of the trip.

We then visited the difficult but important to visit House of Terror, a World War II memorial exhibit that showcased Hungary's experience. We left a little more than bummed out, but the perspective we were exposed to was something that we would never get close to experiencing back in the United States.

I took the tourist route for the remainder of Budapest and visited almost all of the highlights: the Parliament Building, the History Museum, Hero Square, the Szechenyi Bathhouse, the Opera House, Atelier, and so much more. I also learned that I'm unironically an avid fan of cool bridges

Austria had different plans for me. After our first day that was spent on a train that was 95+ degrees the whole time, we were met with a rainstorm that I decided to dance in. It was the best rainstorm I've seen in a bit, but it gave me a gnarly sinus infection that would make it hard for me to hear and limit my travel in Austria. Luckily, I was able to press on a bit and see a few things each day like the Mozart House, Saint Stephen's Cathedral, and dine at the cutest granny-run cafe called Vollpension.

If you ever get the chance to visit either of these places, do it! They are wonderful places with an atmosphere I haven't felt anywhere else in the west.