10 Day Trip!!

Prague

Friday morning we left at 5:45am for Prague. I stayed out pretty late, came back and took a 1 hour nap and then got on the bus. We were all so tired that everyone slept for atleast a couple hours. For lunch we stopped at a nice gas station and then right back on the bus. Even though this was a 14 hours bus ride, I thought it went by really fast! I slept most of the time and Alex also had some movies we could watch. We arrived in Prague at night and stayed at the Mozaic hotel. It was so nice, probably the best one that we stayed at! We got breakfast included every morning as well, which was very convienent. We decided to eat at the hotel restaurant that night. It was American styled food, but still delicious! Later we decided to go out to the best night club in Prague. It was a five-story club right near the Charles River. At first, there were not that many people but around 1-2am it started getting packed. Unfortunately, we could not stay out too late because we had a tou in the morning. The next day we got up around 8am, had breakfast, and met our tour guide for a walking tour of Prague. It was so beautiful! In each city, we had a lunch paid for. Usually they would be traditional meals from that country. In Prague, we had goulash and dumplings. After lunch, we got to wander around by ourselves. We went back over the bridge and to the famous town square to see the clocktower go off on the hour. After dinner that night, one of the guys had reserved a table for us at an "ice bar", on the roof top of the Hilton. It was called Cloud Nine, and it was the coolest thing ever! Everyone was so sophisticated and classy. I think we were the youngest ones there. Outside on the roof, everything was covered in ice, and you bought your drinks there. We all felt so posh and never wanted to leave. Afterwards, we went to another little bar near the hotel. The next day, the owner of the hotel gave us lecture on how he succeed in the business world and hotel industry. At night we went to a beer factory where we could be are own bartender pretty much.
 
                          Towncenter                                                                                            Clock tower                                                                            
Budapest
The next morning we left for Budapest. The only annoying thing in Eastern Europe was their different currencies. We kept having to exchange money, and it was hard to convert the amount into Euros. We got to Budapest around 5pm and did a night bus tour with a guide.
It was so pretty! We walked all around the castle. For dinner, we went to this quick italian place that had pasta, pizza, salad. It was so delicious! Afterwards, we went to a close bar, that was more low key, but still had a good time. The next day we did a walking tour around Budapest. We met up for lunch for a traditional Hungary meal. It was the best food I had ever eaten. It was a complete Hungarian buffet (plus all you can drink wine and beer)! That night we went to the hot springs. It felt so relaxing. There were different pools and saunas that you could try. Afterwards, I stayed in because I was exhausted, but a lot of people went back to the bar from the night before. In the morning, we had a lecture on the Hungarian Stock Exchange, then we left for Vienna.

                                                          Night view of bridge and Parliament

Leaders Memorial in Budapest

                                                                    Me, Zack, Lila

                                                                             All of us on the bridge!
Vienna
After dropping off our things at the hotel in Vienna, we went on another night bus tour. We saw the palace and opera house, and then I think we all fell asleep on accident. It was so dark and comfortable in the bus! We stayed at the Wombat hotel that was a lot more cozy and less sketchy then the previous hotel. However, our shower over flooded the first night, but we got free drinks because of it! We went to a sushi place for dinner, that was really good except that we accidently ordered seaweed salad instead of regular salad. At night we went to the bar downstairs at the hotel, and then to a bar called Kactus. The next day we had a tour of the city and visited two cathedrals. For lunch we had typical Schnitzel with potatoes. Afterwards, we tried to go to the museum of the royal jewels, but it was closed. We ended up just staying around town and going to the little boutiques. There was also a really cool market right outside of our hotel. For dinner we bought some hummus and falafels. We then got tickets to go to see an Opera. They told us that was something we should experience in Vienna. It was really impressive. There were musicians, singers, and ballet dancers. One of the girls had a friend who lived in Vienna, so that night we met up with him. He took us to a local bar that was fun, but very smokey inside since they can smoke cigarettes in bars there.

                                                                   Cathedral

                                                               The opera!

                                                               Painted apartments 

                                                             Market in Vienna!
Munich
Our last city was Munich. The first night we didn't have any tours so we could all just relax. It was also a Wombat hotel. I ended up staying in both nights because I was sick and still am (like most of us in the group). But there was also a bar downstairs that was fun. There was a festival going on this weekend in Munich, where everyone dressed up in customes to go out. The people that went out on Friday said at their club they passed out masks, like a masquerade ball. In the morning we went to Dachau, a concentration camp right next to Munich. It was very shocking and a lot of people got really emotional. We saw the bunkers, torture rooms, and the gas chambers. The tour guide was good at explaining everything and showing us all the different perspectives. I'm glad that we got to visit one, but I don't think I could handle visiting another one. They gave us the afternoon off, where a few of us went to the BMW museum and the Olympic Park (where the Olympics took place in Munich). We had our dinner paid for so we all met up at a famous beer factory/ restaurant. It was so much fun! There was music and dancing, and we all had 1 liter beers (the smallest size). From the inside it looked like we were inside of a beer barrel. The food was also delicious: half a chicken, potatoes, and apple struddle!

                                                              First night, dinner with the girls!

                                                                Our yummy food!

                                                   Dachau gates- "Work will set you free"

                                                             BMW museum

                                                              Last dinner in Munich!

                                                          Liter beers!
This morning we left at 9am and drove all the way back to Antwerp! It feels weird being back here, and I can't imagine going back to classes. We do have our Finance midterm on Friday though, ugh. Overall, it was a great trip, and we all had the best time! Can't wait for the next trip!