Well, that was fun...

Well, that was fun. We spent the past week or so hanging out in two marvelous European cities: Vienna and Budapest. Unquestionably, it was probably the longest week of my life, as it seems like we were there about a month, but when you’re talking “vacation,” the longer it feels, the better.

Since my days of describing the details of each day of our travels are long gone, below are just a few random thoughts I have about our most recent adventure.

-After hanging out in Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia during the past two years, it was nice to spend some time in some westernized and insanely clean European cities.

-However, I desperately miss the prices offered in those former countries, as well as the extreme adventures, history, and cultures found therein (ie-crawling through a 5,000 year old pyramid, riding elephants in the jungle, hiking through the rainforest, etc.)

-I’m so thankful for a job that gives me the opportunity to travel. I expected to only really take 3-4 day “trips” during my first few years on the job, so taking more than a week off to explore some interesting new land was such a blessing.

-I’m also thankful for a wife and close friends that are willing to join me in these adventures.

-We walked a lot. A whole lot.

-One of my travel companions inexplicably walked all those miles in a pair of black dress shoes.

-Despite all that walking, I still gained an unfortunate amount of weight during the week. Largely due to the fact that…

-The food was crazy good. Memorable indulgences include all the goulash (a soup in Hungary; a stew in Austria), the sausage stands in Vienna, the Turkish kebabs and rice pudding in Budapest, the endless supply of Haribo gummy snacks, and, somewhat ironically, McDonald’s.

-Amanda and I go to McDonald’s about five times a year. We went a dozen or so times during the past week. Never for any meals beyond breakfast, but we couldn’t resist their free Wi-Fi, ridiculous milkshakes, flavored waffle fries, and air conditioning. On two nights, the entire group hung out there for a few hours and played Hearts. On the latter occasion, a manager told us we had to stop and that such activities were not allowed. Meanwhile, a hundred Euro teenagers were causing a ruckus throughout the place. Alas, we were the hoodlums.

-Celebrating Amanda’s 28th birthday with a great Mexican feast, sangria on the street, a private bowling alley, and an insane amount of Turkish rice pudding was priceless.

-I largely picked Budapest as a destination because I thought it would be a more interesting, grittier, and cheaper alternative to some of the usual European hotspots (Paris, Prague, etc.) Wrong. We were lovingly greeted by a gorgeously ornate, decorative, and modern city, which was cleaner than any I’ve ever seen. It was also remarkably tranquil. In fact, during our four days there, we heard one car horn. One. In contrast, I heard 3,000 a day in Cairo, Bangkok, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. Additionally, it was also really nice not having dozens of people always coming up to us and trying to run various types of scams.

-Vienna was also wonderfully clean and even at a higher level of grandeur than Budapest. Some of the streets in Vienna are best compared to the lacey decorations on a wedding cake. So many intimate details, so fine, so beautiful.

-Both the Budapest and Vienna metros put DC’s to shame. Although Budapest’s was a leftover Soviet relic, both were remarkably prompt and regardless of the time of day, we never waited more than four minutes for a car. We also never saw a broker escalator. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a fully functioning escalator in DC’s metro system.

-The Vienna metro system was based on the honor system. Pretty interesting and I bet almost all of the Austrians there do the right thing. Sadly, that would certainly not be the case for my American peeps.

-PS: motion-sensored escalators that stop when no one is around. America, get on this ASAP and stop wasting so much energy.

-The Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest may be the most beautiful building in the world.

-St. Stephen’s cathedrals, in both Budapest and Vienna, are the kinds of churches that cause your mouth to drop when you first enter. It is impossible not to be moved, to some degree, when you see the incredible beauty of these two buildings. Sadly, no pictures can ever do them justice.

-Overseas flights without personal entertainment systems are brutal, especially for those of us who can’t fall asleep on a plane. A nine-hour flight full of movies and television shows isn’t so bad. A nine-hour flight of uncomfortably sitting upright, no so much.

-Austria’s royal palace is absolutely spectacular. The interior of the palace was great, but the gardens, and their many unique additions (fake ruins, mazes, fountains, the world’s oldest zoo, etc.) were incredible.

-I think I’m the only guy I’ve ever seen wearing red pants in the U.S. We saw 50 in Austria and Hungary. Get ready, America, the red pants invasion is coming and I’m leading the charge.

-We spent our last night of the trip in a McDonald’s and the airport to save $70. Totally worth it.

As for the next adventure, there are obviously a dozen or so places I’m dying to visit, including India, Iceland, Ireland, Argentina, London, and Turkey. However, since I’ll be signing my life away in about three weeks (ie-house closing), we’ll stick around the U.S.A. this summer for an inexpensive and friend-filled mini-vacation. And then next April or June, we’ll have one last overseas hurrah before I formally throw in the towel in the baby-making discussion with Amanda.

Thanks, Vienna and Budapest, y’all rocked.

And now a "few" of my favorite pictures from the trip...