Melissa: Processing

More views of Berlin:

Chowing down on the best doner of the trip


trying to capture Berlin


the view from the abandoned driving range where we barbequed and listened to Michael Jackson


Our new friend Fred and a view of a building in his neighborhood in Friedrichshain


Christoph and I sit at the top of Victoria Park

Elisa and I are apart and that is the sign of another trip come and gone. I am writing from San Diego and wishing I could use all the luxury of time I have now to fill in the gaps in our blog updates where we just didn’t manage to paint pretty pictures. It feels a bit wrong to do this at present, maybe out of fear of inaccuracy or maybe out of sheer laziness. So, I think I will refrain from going into depth about stories that are sadly becoming more and more stories and less and less something I actually did. Alas, this is the nature of memory and the passage of time.

On a more uplifting note, we had a really really wonderful trip. Elisa and I were talking in Paris, dog tired after Prague and Berlin and with only one day left to spend with each other, trying to remember if there were any really bad parts to our trip. Sure we had mishaps here and there but we agreed that everything went pretty smoothly and there were so many more ups than downs. I came home feeling like I had gotten just what I had wanted out of a post-graduation trip. But, what did I exactly get? My friend Theo asked me, when standing in the massive line at the SF food fest to get a pupusa, if I learned anything about myself on the trip. I tried really hard to give this question ample attention and I could not help but reply with a tinge of reticence that I don’t think I really did learn anything about myself. I saw a lot of awesome things, have an entire new pool of experiences, and shared some quality time with people I care about…but I don’t think there were too many epiphanies about myself this trip. The one thing I could say was that I came back from Europe hungry to go back. I am leaving to teach English in Spain in a month and my feelings about it have been wavering throughout this summer. But, I can now say with full confidence that I am ready to go, to try my best and to take whatever Spain throws at me. I cannot help but be enamored with my vision of what a European lifestyle entails—a hierarchy of priorities and different taste for life that I have seen far less frequently in the US. Perhaps living in Europe is just what I need to pop this bubble, this illusion of the European rhythm but perhaps it will only pull me in further. So, even though I don’t have anything new to report to you or to myself as far as personal discoveries, I know that new challenges are ahead and thus new lessons. I am sure that new realizations and processing of a time and a trip will trickle out eventually, unexpectedly, you can’t force these things.

Elisa, wherever you may be, thank you for such a wonderful time. It would not have happened without you.

Melissa:Berlin Calling

The Wall







Writing breifly to say we are alive, we are in Berlin, and we love it. I will sadly miss many details because i cannot possibly write about all of them in the time i have now to write. I have already neglected to report about our wonderful time in Prague.
I guess i am slipping from my post as a dedicated blogger but it is for the sake of actually being present in a place- which is what traveling allows you to do.

Berlin is raw and edgy, underground, dilapidated, random, stylish, thriving in destruction, broken but building- it is what san francisco is trying to be and what many european cities cannot be- they are too preserved, too pretty. It is a stark contrast from the curvy streets of prague.

Today (sample): woke up at noon, ate some icecream around 3, tried curry wurst and french fries with mayo, stopped into an old ruined church, walked into the new church next door commemorating the old one, walked around a street with shops, ate more icecream, had a beer at the visionary club dipping my toes in the river, ate doner kebab, now am preparing for a electro night out.

shoutout to mi padre-

Happy Birthday Dad!

Melissa: Role of the Traveler

pirate night fun


a healthy lunch of leek salad enjoyed from our hostel nook


a view of the poet's corner


museum meandering


Writing from Cal’s apartment in Prague (what the actual Czech people call Praha). Elisa and I arrived about an hour ago from Olomouc- a small student town about a three hour train ride from Praha. We liked Olomouc. But it was rather boring and low key after Budapest. We went on our first “free” walking tour and saw a couple museums, we made food a couple of nights, indulged in the hostel’s free coffee, managed to turn down both an ice hockey game and a “football” game, and went out to a traditional meal of goulash with bread dumplings and cabbage and potato pancakes with pork and spinach. I think we both needed to recuperate and get some sleep so we didn’t feel too bad that nobody in our hostel was slightly interesting and that everyone’s nightly pastime seemed to consist of reading silently and going to bed by 11. I guess we should have guessed from the fact that the hostel was called “Poet’s Corner” that we weren’t in for a wild time.

Closing thoughts on Budapest: My one regret about our stay there was that we didn’t learn more about the history or the people. Traveling around you are constantly forced to ask yourself why you are traveling to a place. Travelers always want to avoid other travelers when abroad- they somehow feel entitled to the privilege of being the only ones there. I think this stems from the desire to try to have an authentic experience, the goal of witnessing a place and a people untouched by foreigners. But sometimes the most “authentic cities” or the ones that are more untouched by tourism do not hold as enjoyable of times (as Olomouc proved). I wrote in Munich about our experience in our corporate hostel that was flowing with foreigners who hung out at the hostel bar instead of going out into town and trying a local bar. I was critical of this bubble that travelers can easily fall into. But I do think there is such a thing as a perfect balance. I think the best experiences in cities that Elisa and I have had are always the right blend of meeting other travelers, with which we can have the shared experience of having a set of fresh eyes when experiencing the city, and witnessing events or engaging locals in a way that demonstrate what we imagine life to be like within the city. Am I traveling to see what life is like elsewhere? To see what it would be like to live in Place A, B, or C? Or am I traveling to just enjoy myself and constantly navigate what is required for this to happen? As always, I think I just want new perspectives and the diverse set of new experiences that leads to those perspectives. This is something I am obviously still sorting out for myself. But, I digress, this was all just to say that even though we didn’t go to any museums in Budapest or do a guided tour or meet any locals, I had a great time and learned some new things and that is what I think counts.

The “Pirate Night” we had the last night we were there was certainly unrelated to anything Hungarian but I still enjoyed dressing up (how perfect was it that Elisa had two striped t-shirts?) and going to a bar with a newly formed band of pirates after some rum and lots of “arrrr”’s. It was a rude awakening the next morning leaving early to catch our train to Olomouc after going to bed right before sunrise but it was worth it. Olomouc was a great place to recharge for Prague. So, we will head out to explore a bit before dinner and then meet up with some former Stebbinites (Don, Trevor, Jack and possibly Jesse) tonight for what promises to be nothing short of an interesting night.

Elisa: Beautiful Pest, Lovely Buda

Budapest has been deathly hot but very wonderful so far. Yesterday, despite having walked for hours the day before and being still tired and sore, we decided to walk the hour walk to the main park by Hero Square, which commemorates the heros of Hungarian history. In the park is a famous bath house with a grand swimming pool in the courtyard and a beautiful tiled dome that can be seen anywhere in the park. It also has a multitude of saunas and hot water pools through a labyrinth of corridors and impressive rooms with high ceilings. We loved laying out and tanning, relaxing from our strenous days of walking and carrying heavy backpacks, and we jumped into the pool, kept at a perfect not-too-cold temperature, every time we got too hot. Then last night, we had a great time hanging out with people from our hostel and went out to an outdoor bar with literally every one who is staying here- 18 people, including the staff. It was a drunken blast which ended, for some with bacon and eggs, others with falafel, others grilled cheese sandwich...Hungry in Hungary. Cheesy, I know.

Today was another scorching hot day, but we still hadnt seen Buda. Budapest used to be two cities, Buda and Pest, and we have been staying on the Pest side until today. As the more industrial and commercial part of the city, we have enjoyed the sprawling boulevards lined with run down buildings who retain their majestic grandeur despite the black tinge of soot and age on their walls. Today, however, we braved the heat and went to explore the castled walls and cobblestone streets of the Buda side with two friendly guests from our hostel. After crossing the Danube, we climbed up to the fortress walls and walked around inside, catching glimpses of the gorgeous views of the city below. We particularly loved the cathedral, which truly contained very Middle Eastern architectural elements with dome like towers which almost looked Mosque like and sandstone colored stones. After we could no longer stand the heat, we went to Spar, the supermarket, and bought some groceries to make dinner for some friends we met at our hostel, particularly Jess, who is turning 25 tonight! Pasta bolognese and flourless chocolate cake- hope it is good. We are going out for kareokee tonight and are very excited!

Melissa: Hungry in Hungary

The view of Buda from Pest


the overcrowded outdoor baths


walking along one of the many squares


our room at the loft

Just got out of the shower and am already dry. It is so ridiculously hot in Budapest. We are staying in a hostel called "the loft" which explains our elevated position on the 4th floor and the heat that comes with it. There are actually a lot of hostels in Budapest so we chose this one after a friends recommendation and so far have been very pleased. We thought we would couch surf the last two nights but out of the four girls that we emailed requesting to stay with them, only one of them wrote back with a negative. So we were pleased when Alex, one of the two main people who manage to hostel everyday, told us that they had room for us to stay an additional two nights. The loft sort of has a co-op feel in that there are murals on the walls and a big shared living room with a tv and two computers. There are a total of 14 beds so it is significantly smaller than the 150+ person hostels we have been staying in previously. A smaller size allows for a more intimate setting and more personalized help. For example, when we came off our loud and abrasive train trip from Bratislava to Budapest (learned the lesson that one should always reserve a seat as to avoid sitting in the hallway of the train for a half hour) we managed to go too far on the bus ride to the hostel and had to lug our heavy bags that much further. When we finally arrived to the loft we were offered a drink and were promptly made welcome, invited to have burgers with them that night and told we could pay them later. A great way to start our trip to what has turned out to be a very great city.

After we checked in yesterday we walked around the Pest side of the city ("Buda" and "Pest" are divided by the Danube- Pest being the more cosmopolitan, newer area and Buda being the side with the old castle and older buildings). We automatically fell in love with the city- it has everything we loved about a big city like Vienna with tons of impressive monuments and buildings to see while still holding the character of a small city like Bratislava with its tree-lined streets and cafe adorned plazas. I wish I had an architecture expert with me so they could tell me a bit more about the building styles because at present I can only tell that I love the blend of European and eastern influences. In the three hours that we walked around for we managed to see a lot of the city. We returned to our hostel exhausted and ready for dinner. Now anyone who knows Elisa and I will understand that the question of dinner is never an easy one. One of the many reasons we make great traveling companions is because we are willing to go the extra mile to get to the perfect place. It would be impossible to count the amount of times we have walked into a cafe or shop or restaurant and poked around only to decide to leave and find something else. So, we consulted Lonely Planet for recommendations and got excited about this Mediterranean place that sounded the light but still substantial. After a 45 minute walk, realizing that the map was all wrong and then finding where the restaurant USED to be, we had to opt for a plan B. We went to another of their recommendations (even though we were cursing Lonely Planet the whole way there) and finally sat down to dinner at 9, a whole two hours later than planned. We tried the Hungarian specialty of cold cherry soup (refreshing but rather dessert like) and indulged in a cold duck salad and an entree of Hungarian style fried bread stuffed with chicken. It was okay. A mediocre meal considering it was expensive by Hungarian standards (a whopping 13 dollars). We were too full for dessert, too tired to go out and so when we returned to our hostel and found out that everyone had already gone out, we decided to call it a quiet night. Sadly, another weekend night squandered to fatigue.

Elisa: Quick Check in From Bratislava

a glimpse of Bratislava


Elisa, excited to begin our one and only (heavy) meal in Slovakia

Our last night in Vienna was memorable, as we met some fun people in our hostel bar and stayed up late hanging out with them and walking around. No one was really up for going to a bar or club, but it was a good time anyway. Earlier that night, we cooked up some zucchini in the hostel kitchen and had literally a pound left over to eat for lunch today. The next morning (yesterday morning), we took the bus to Bratislava, which is only a 1 hour ride away from Vienna- they are the two capitals closest to each other in the world (if you do not count Rome and the Vatican...) We only had one yesterday afternoon in Bratislava, as we are leaving for Budapest this morning. It is a lovely small town with a feel of a place that has been recently rediscovered by tourists without having been compromised by their presence (yet). But we quickly saw everything we needed and wanted to see, and are glad we only planned one night here. Neither of us were feeling in particularly energetic spirits for lack of sleep and a bit too much beer the night before, so we decided to make it a short night. We had a traditional meal in a small restaurant in town-- complete with honey glazed ribs and sheeps milk dumplings with bacon fat-- and thougth we wouldnt mind having Slovakian food more often. Too full for even dessert (crazy, I know!) we headed home and were asleep at 11 pm. It was a loud and not particularly relaxing night, with the loud irish travelers in the room next door and the street outside roaring, but a good recovery sleep nonetheless.

Now on to Budapest for more adventures!

Melissa: Feeling Small

Vienna is really just as I had imagined. I conferred with Elisa and Jesse about what the right word was to describe the majority of the buildings within the city center and "grandiose" didn´t work because there are a lot of grand things in Europe. "Majestic", no. "Royal", no. I think I might just have to settle with the Lonely Planet description of the buildings being "Marzipan-like". Vienna has made Elisa and I revisit our favorite phrase to say in unison from our visit to Rome three years ago "this looks important..." as everything is big in scale and just dominating and ornate.

What are some highlights? Hmmm...learning about the Empress "SiSi" who has a cult following and whose pictures adorn many souvenir shops was kind of cool. She was the beginning of the modern celebrity (but royal so much cooler than the Paris Hilton of today). She dieted like crazy and had her daily exercises, wrote poetry about wanting to be free and was assassinated to make her even more available for idol status. The SiSi exhibit was arguably less cool than learning about the crazy dining habits of the Viennese royals. They had some ceremonial meals where they didn´t even eat the food- all meals lasted no longer than 45 minutes but where 30 courses and everyone´s meal was considered over when the Emperor was done. We were satisfied with our sausage stand lunch...

After a couple of palaces and museums we were ready for some alternative activities. We stopped by a daily market to pass by the dozens of identical Mediterranean stands and happily ate our purchases in a nearby park. It has been pretty hot here so we have been seeing cool shade whenever possible. We have also been doing a lot of walking- at least three miles a day- so yesterday we treated ourselves to a tram ride around the city walls to give our feet a rest and to still be able to see the city around us.

As far as night time activities go:
The first night we chilled and went to bed by 12.
The second night we hung out in our hostel´s bar and chilled with some Brits from our room and challenged some Brazilian guys to foosball, finally gathering a posse to go out with. We went to a club called Flex. We knew that there was a different theme every night and that the theme tonight was Electro. What we didnt know is that the cover was 10 euro and that Electronic music could be so boring. We were severely disappointed because it was a cool space and fully packed with people. Promising, but we just couldnt get into it. We ended the night with a fatty sausage that we could not help blushing at after seeing how the sausage was slid into the bread encasing- so mature, I know.
Last night, our third night, we decided to have a very authentic Viennese meal of Chinese food. I think the restaurant was appropriately named Happy Buddha and I rubbed my belly at the end of the feast and understood why Buddha was so fat and happy. BBQ pork, Cantonese Duck and Bok Choy really hit the spot after so many other greasy alternatives. We took the metro into one of the main platzes afterward to walk off our meal and engage the city night vibe. The coolest thing we saw was probably this spontaneous street performance- two white guys were singing American hits all night but we caught a song where two black guys decided to remix the white guys Dylan song making for a very cohesive, raw performance. These are the moments that remind me why I fly miles and miles away from family, friends and familiarity.

Jesse left us this afternoon after a morning of coffee sipping and ice cream counting and good people watching in general. So Elisa and I are own our own again and planning a meal of 50 cent zucchini that we picked up at the local Penny Store- We leave for Bratislava tomorrow morning so we shall see how tonight ends up going. The great thing about being in a traveling mindset is that you are open to any number of possibilities.