A Polish Wedding

This wedding was the most fun wedding I've been to abroad (hehe) Honestly though, the party was insanely fun, lasted until dawn, with an open bar, shot glasses at place settings and magically refilling bottles of vodka. There was also a scrapbook and photobooth with funny props like giant glasses, hats, headbands etc which everyone had a LOT of fun with. I definitely remember a drunken conversation where we decided Daft Punk managed to sum up the difference between men and women in one simple lyric- she's up all night for good fun, I stay up all night to get some
 It was such a great group of people, Monika and Arek's friends are awesome, she had a handful of english speaking foreigners from her travels and studies abroad, so there wasn't much of a language barrier at the reception. The church service was a traditional roman catholic service, the condensed version, but all in Polish of course. Very beautiful, I loved the dress, I definitely cried, and was so happy I could be there for the event.It was cool to hang out with my aunt and uncle and cousin who also attended hailing from the states (actually they arefamily friends, but we grew up together, going on vacations together and the like and they are like family)

 Both the church service and reception were just outside the city. Monika's friend Julek arranged transportation for us, which was great because a legit taxi would have been pricey. The hall was actually a restaurant called Yacht Club, right on the Wisla river. It was part of spa campus Warszawianka which included a waterpark, and several restaurants and hotel buildings. It was very classy, there were multiple courses of food served throughout the night, lots of fun and getting loose on the dance floor, lots of toasts and drinking and general merriment. We both had an absolute BLAST and had hangovers the next morning to prove it. Congratulations again Monika and Arek! Thank you for an awesome Polish Wedding Party!

Warsaw

Capital city of Poland, totally modern and cosmopolitan, big and busy- the NYC of Poland. Since we were here for a wedding, we didn't have much time to explore the city. We did manage to spend some time with Monika and her friends before the big day in the "Old" part of town with the large plaza, older looking buildings with lots of shops and restaurants. 

Pub Lolek, and outdoor grill restaurant in the middle of a huge city park

The new soccer stadium built for the 2012 Eurocup which was held in Poland and Ukraine

Central Plaza, Warsaw

Krakow

Ohh, Krakow. You are so lovely, I never tire of you. Though it hadn't been too long since I was there in July of 2011, I was excited to show Brendan why it's my favorite Polish city to date. The whole of the "Old City" is surrounded by a thick ring of parkland. Inside, the city is 3-4 stories of old brick and stone tenement houses- cobblestones and storefronts. 

Kosciol Mariacki,or St. Mary's Basilica. The church is colloquially named after a tune played from the top of the taller of the two towers. The tune stops midstream to commemorate the 13th century trumpeter who was shot in the throat sounding the alarm during a Mongol attack on the city. Mongols never conquered Poland, a point of historical pride.

This church is a model church for other Polish churches in the Polish diaspora. I believe there is one in Hamtramck, Michigan which is similar, actually.

Plaza at Wawel Castle. In front is the royal cathedral.

Mienta (Mint) restaurant where Brendan had pear and blue cheese perogies (I think that's totally gross, but it was definitely a contemporary spin on a classic Polish food). The wild mushroom soup was just like grandma used to make. Picking wild mushrooms is kind of a family secret thing in Poland. Families covet their mushroom picking spots. 

Inside the Wawel castle royal palace. 

Big recreational park along the Wisla river

Interesting Graffiti, not sure I agree

New Pedestrian Bridge crossing the Wisla river

Kazimierz

We grabbed a drink at this garden/rooftop bar that overlooked a jewish cemetary, nearby there were preserved parts of the Jewish ghetto, which reminded me of the WWII reminders that are all over Berlin, except unlike the many monuments in Berlin it was even more harrowing because of the dilapidated state it was in- burnt brick and broken windows, not a happy place. 

A drunk food circular building in the Kazimierz part of town which I would describe as the hipster part of town with lots of interesting bars and young people.

Sukiennice- a Renaissance shopping mall where traditionally cloth was sold. 

Florian's Gate, Old Town. Notice the cobblestones and lack of cars!

Budapest

This city was my favorite of the whole Eastern Europe tour. It may be because we splurged here and stayed at the 5 star Hotel Zichy, but more than that, this city was just a historical, architectural, culinary and cultural gem. I learned this upon arriving, but Buda and Pest were actually separate cities, split by the Danube river. This river, which originates in Germany, is the European Union's longest river, and the continent's second largest (the Volga is longer). Each of the handful of bridges connecting the now united city is unique and beautiful. There's a white steel, minimalist contemporary bridge, a more historical stone bridge flanked by lion statues, a blue utilitarian steel bridge, and a few more. UNESCO sites are sprinkled through-out the city, old palaces, churches, monuments, castles, the place is rife with history and life bustling about. 

Walking about I was impressed with the greenery, parks pervaded the urban environment, especially on the castle side, where there was a victory statue perched at the top of the very large Gellért hill which we hiked the first day we were there. The views of the city below were stammeringly beautiful. It felt like such an accomplishment to make it to the summit. 

Liberty Statue, on Gellert Hill

Crushing those Nazis

Tickle tickle?

We saw a couple trees cut like this, with hearts
where the branch was cut. It seemed to be the
natural color of the wood under the bark.

It took me way too long to set up this picture, involving sticks, gum and random things from my purse but after seeing the heart tree I really wanted a kissing picture in the woods surrounding Gellert hill. 

The Parliament Building: In gothic style, it was so intricate that even at its large scale it looked delicate and whimsy. I loved those pointy spires. 

Castle grounds at Buda Castle

The enormous, life sized Matthias Fountain

Fisherman's Bastion- an awesome arched overlook
near Buda Castle

Royal Chapel

I love this shot. Something about the lion, the lampost and the beautiful setting sun. 

Looking back on Buda Castle first built in 1265. Also called the Royal Palace or Royal Castle, it housed the royal Hungarian kings over centuries. 

 We decided to take Europe's 2nd oldest subway (London's is the 1st) to the outlying City Park area of Budapest. It is a whole campus of museums, monuments, gardens, recreational areas and of course, lots of trees. 

Heroes Square: A huge plaza with two semi circle arcade statue plinths. 

Vajdahunyad Castle. In the wintertime, they have an icerink here. Wiki explains it best:  It was built between 1896 and 1908 as part of the Millennial Exhibition which celebrated the 1000 years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. The castle was designed by Ignác Alpár to feature copies of several landmark buildings from different parts the Kingdom of Hungary, especially the Hunyad Castle in Transylvania (now in Romania). As the castle contains parts of buildings from various time periods, it displays different architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Originally it was made from cardboard and wood, but it became so popular that it was rebuilt from stone and brick between 1904 and 1908. Today it houses the Agricultural Museum of Hungary, the biggest agricultural museum in Europe.   

This castle had an actual gate, and real moat!

Ping pong is an outdoor recreational sport here. 

Thermal baths are a pastime in Hungary- this is Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool in City Park 

 Around town, one of my favorites was the Central Market building. The main hall was tall with lots of light and just about everything you could imagine. I bought paprika, of course, to try out in my own kitchen back home. I loved the throngs of people and feeling of life this place had. 

Bollard art. There were lots of little artistic

   touches around this city, which really added

   to its charm.

Some of the cutest mailboxes I've ever seen.

New glass and steel, old stone and plaster

Somehow, Marilyn Monroe is everywhere I travel. She really is still alive, at least in Western global culture

Posh, pedestrian only shopping boulevard

I was impressed with how much outdoor seating 

there was in Budapest, it was everywhere, and 

sometimes it didn't even belong to a restaurant or

establishment, it was just, public art. 

Like this bench. Just chillin in the middle of the street. 

We tried Palinka, the popular Hungarian fruit spirit here. It was strong, but the apricot one I ordered had a surprisingly nice aftertaste. It was probably the strongest liquor I could comfortably sip and actually enjoyed.

We ordered room service from this restaurant "Don Leone", a neighbor of the hotel. Veal paprikash with miniature potato dumplings made with fresh Hungarian paprika and a creamy chicken and mushroom taglietelle.

This statue which happened to be right near our hotel I thought was so creative, I love how the bronze drapes over the plinth, dematerializing the metal making it seam fluid. In a way, it reaches out to the audience by treating the seat height plinth as something the statue interacts with and claims.