28 June, 2008 | 4 Comments

This post is super long, but I wasn’t able to write about Prague from the road, as I did in Budapest and Amsterdam. [Can I just say these Czech words have given my international keyword a workout? I didn't even know half of these accents existed. Bloody hell.]

Okay, so I wasn’t too excited to leave Budapest, because, you know, they have such good food there and such gorgeous men. But alas, it was time to pull up stakes and head to Praha. I visited once before in 1997, very briefly. I didn’t like Prague too much back then, but I chalked this up to being tired at the end of a long backpacking trip and having some sort of stomach ailment — not ideal conditions for visiting any city. Over the years when I’ve told people I didn’t really enjoy Prague much, I have almost always received the same reaction — one of shock, horror, disbelief. I didn’t love Prague? What was wrong with me? You’d think I’d said I liked to strangle kittens in my spare time.

So I looked forward to returning to Prague again 11 years later. I liked Prague much better this time, but I have to admit I still don’t love it. I have very specific reasons for not loving it, however, which I will explain in a moment.

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25 June, 2008 | 1 Comment

Since I had easy internet access in Budapest, I already wrote a bit about my visit (here and here and here). Still, there are a few more things to say.

Tomorrow I go to the London office of my Hungarian dentist to have my stitches removed. Overall, I was pleased with the dental care I received in Budapest, but this is a multi-part procedure that won’t be wrapped up until the autumn. I hope everything continues to go well. Dentistry is a big industry there — you see advertisements for hotels that say “get your teeth checked while you’re visiting” and things like that. The clinic I went to caters to Brits and it was full of patients. If anyone is thinking of going to Budapest for dental work, you can contact me for advice/referrals.

So back to Budapest. I was there for three whole days and two partial days. During this time I had dental work and was feeling generally unwell because of the antibiotics. Still, I really loved Budapest, so that’s saying something. I think it was my favorite stop on the trip. [Perhaps Amsterdam would be tied with Budapest if my accommodation there had been nicer]. I’m very picky about where I stay and the Hotel Erzsebet (Hungarian for Elizabeth) was fabulous. It’s a business hotel, so it’s not charming. Just judging from the hotel room, you could be in Miami or Manchester or anywhere else. But I wanted comfort and that’s what I got. Pay movies (which I didn’t watch), wi-fi (which I had to pay extra for, but at least it worked), a nice bathroom, a/c, a comfy bed and spacious room, a very central location and a full breakfast included each morning, all for less than $100/£50 per night. There are also two totally fabulous restaurants on this street, Károlyi Mihály, including the restaurant directly across from the hotel (can’t remember the name) and the one on the corner, Centrál Kávéház.

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23 June, 2008 | 4 Comments

Just a quick note to say I made it home safe and sound. Whenever I return home from a long trip unscathed, I feel I should kiss the ground upon my arrival. So many things can go wrong while traveling. While I did have a few glitches along the way (more than usual), it was nothing major and everything worked out fine.

Quote of the day #1 - announcement on the Amsterdam to Brussels train:

“Hello ladies and gentleman, please be aware that luggage thieves are currently operating on this train.”

Quote of the day #2 - an idiotic American tourist at the Eurostar desk in Brussels:

6:45 p.m. “Hi, I am supposed to take the Eurostar back to London tonight, but I have no idea what time my train leaves. I hope I haven’t missed it. I don’t have a ticket, only a reference number.”

That idiotic tourist would be me.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about being home, but I will enjoy the few small comforts I’ve missed. I am going to take a nice long shower now. In Amsterdam the past four days I’ve had to share a bathroom with gross people. Urgh, I hate that. Then I will get into bed and finish reading the biography of Anne Frank I bought while in Amsterdam. I’ve been glued to it all day through more than five hours of train travel.  I only have 40 pages left. I have a lot to write about Anne Frank and my trip. More soon…

22 June, 2008 | 2 Comments

Today is the last full day of my trip. When I travel, I often feel as if I’ve entered another dimension of time. Honestly, I feel as if I’ve been gone for six months. Though I haven’t been looking forward to going home, I’m tired. Traveling in this way can be exhausting, with the long train rides, constant packing and unpacking, dealing with crowds, etc. Yesterday afternoon I had that feeling — that “It’s time to go home” feeling. So I’m relieved. I didn’t want to dread going home. That’s a terrible feeling.

I love Amsterdam — it’s a great city, probably my favorite stop on this trip (or maybe tied with Budapest). I’ve not been as motivated to do things while here because I’m dragging a bit (!). I’ve spent most of my time just wandering around. Yesterday afternoon, instead of going to a museum or taking a ride on a canal boat, I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I just craved some form of mindless entertainment and really, I just wanted to sit down for two hours in a comfortable chair. Beyond that, I wanted to hear some English. I was itching to go to a bookshop too. After a while, I start to miss English desperately.

I found the Indiana Jones movie to be quite entertaining, even more so with Dutch subtitles, but then again, I was desperate for entertainment. Make of that what you will. Going to the cinema with the locals was a fun experience. From hanging around in the Jordaan (where I’m staying), I was beginning to feel that all Dutch people are incredibly attractive and polished and tall and thin. But at the cinema, I got to meet lots of Dutch white trash. And seriously, I was relieved.

Okay, I’m off to enjoy the day. Tomorrow my Eurostar from Brussels leaves quite late, so I’m not sure if I’ll spend most of the day in Amsterdam or if I’ll leave Amsterdam early, put my luggage in storage at the Brussels station and see some of city. I’ll probably just stick around Amsterdam because I’m lazy, but we’ll see…

19 June, 2008 | 1 Comment

I haven’t had much internet access lately.  Little German villages don’t have internet cafes or even wireless to steal.  Oh well.  I had a nice relaxing time in Germany — I rented a bike and rode along the Rhine bike path.  It was loads of fun.  However, two days of peace, quiet and fresh air is all I can stand.  I was ready to get out of there.  In my old age, I am becoming quite the city girl.  I don’t do well in small towns for longer than a day or two.  I start to go mad.  I am not happy about this fact, but I accept it.  Perhaps my lungs need a steady dose of pollution to keep functioning.

So where am I now?  Amsterdam, baby!  I just arrived, having taken three trains from the little German village where I was staying to get here.  Right now I am currently in an internet cafe surrounded by people smoking marijuana.  The air is filled with smoke.  It’s making me nauseous, actually. I am drinking a bottle of water and that’s it.  I know I am a nerd.  The debauchery available in a city like Amsterdam is wasted on me.  I have no interest in smoking pot or hanging out in the red light district.  No, I am glued to my copy of Anne Frank’s diary (which is breaking my heart) and looking forward to the Van Gogh museum.  But you know, I am the rebel when you think about it.  All these Americans flocking here to get stoned and drunk are just following the crowd.  They’re so predictable.  I go to the beat of my own drummer.

[Well, that's one way to spin it!]

A man named Mr. Singh is washing my underpants next door.  [Don't get the wrong idea -- he owns a laundry.  German villages not only don't have internet, they don't have laundromats.  However, they do have good food and that's all that really matters in life.]  I guess I better sign off.  After all, being seen in a place like this could ruin my chances of ever running for political offce.  I wish I could get online with my own computer, since I have some photos of Prague I’d like to upload, but I guess I will have to wait until I get home.  I don’t want to go home, by the way.  Sigh.  This is the last stop on the Anglofille Euroepean Dental Tour Summer 2008. I return to London late on Monday night.  I miss London, but not other things there.  Let’s just leave it at that!

Okay, now this coffee shop is playing Bob Marley.  How cliched can you get?!

16 June, 2008 | 4 Comments

Tonight at 11:00 p.m. I stepped out of the train station into the red light district of Frankfurt and was greeted with screams, car horns and people running around draped in the German flag.  Either Germany won a big football match tonight or the people in this town are crazy (or perhaps they’re just happy to see me).  I was so distracted by the noise and general mayhem (which continues to this moment) that I walked by my hotel three times without noticing it.  Finally I asked a Middle Eastern waiter standing outside a restaurant for help and he ended up having to walk me to the door.  What can I say, it’s been a long day…

I left Prague early this afternoon and set off for Frankfurt (a 7-hour train journey).  Because the train from Prague was late, I missed my connection in Dresden and had to stick around the train station for an hour.  I worried that people in Dresden may hate Americans (!), but the one guy I came into contact with (a teenager working at Burger King) seemed happy to chat with me.  I had to eat dinner at Burger King because all the other places in the train station were serving sausage, sausage, sausage.  You know ‘fille can’t eat sausage, even though she wishes she could.

I was so happy to arrive in Germany.  Budapest and Prague are fabulous world-class cities, but their train stations and trains are pre-historic.  We’re talking the Flintstones, okay?  German train stations and trains are awesome.  The train I got on at Dresden was ten times nicer than Eurostar.  The five hours flew by as I sat in my comfy seat (that reclined!!!).  The scenery today in both the Czech Republic and Germany has been stunning.

I realize I haven’t written anything about my stay in Prague,  but internet access was expensive at the hotel there.  I’ll write all about it when I get home.  Though I just arrived in Frankfurt late tonight, I will leave early tomorrow morning (well, early for me, which is like 11:00 a.m.).  I know Frankfurt has fabulous things to see, but for the next two days I will be staying in a tiny village along the Rhine River.  I just don’t feel like spending time in a big city right now (there are skyscrapers out my hotel window!).  I will try to post an update soon, but for now I’ll sign off.  This German keyboard is driving me crazy…

14 June, 2008 | 3 Comments

These are two photos from my last night in Budapest. Ahhhh, lovely Budapest. I’ll have a full report when I get home, but for now these photos will have to suffice.

I left Budapest this afternoon and took the train to Prague — a seven-hour journey! It’s rather freezing in Prague right now. I also did what everyone warned me not to do in Prague — I hailed a cab! I was in Prague about 15 minute before I broke that rule. My train didn’t arrive until almost 9:00 p.m. and I was tired and not in the mood to haul my luggage onto two different trams. The taxi driver was perfectly nice and he did not rip me off or murder me. Upon arrival at the hotel I had some tasty spaghetti for dinner, so I’m a happy camper.

In other news, the antibiotics the dentist in Budapest gave me were making me feel awful, so I’ve stopped taking them. I felt horribly fatigued and nauseous. He said to stop if they made me feel sick. I feel a bit nervous about this, because I do not want to get an infection. Fingers crossed.

11 June, 2008 | 6 Comments

For those who care about such things, Anglofille survived her dental surgery. Whew. It was a relatively quick - but not painless - procedure. By early afternoon I felt fine and walked around the Jewish Quarter. This evening I felt tired though and slept for a while. I’m on antibiotics and I’ve been given painkillers. I only have a little swelling, but we’ll see what I look like tomorrow morning! The clinic is staffed by Hungarians and filled with British patients — all refugees from the British dental system. Even when adding on travel expenses, getting dental work done here is less than half as much as it would be in the UK. The clinic was swanky and very comfortable. For a moment I was sitting in the chair with the Hungarian dentist and nurses working on me, speaking to one another in their language, and I thought “What on earth am I doing here?” It seemed a bit surreal for a moment.

There wasn’t too much difference between this and the American dental care that I’m used to. The cleaning I had was not as thorough (and not as painful) as what I’ve experienced before. Also, while American dental assistants use suction and water to keep your mouth in good shape during the procedure, here they used mostly suction and not very effectively. I could taste blood in mouth and it almost ran down my throat. I didn’t like that. I almost felt sick. So that was the worst part of it. Not too long after the surgery, I was able to eat and felt normal, just a bit tired. I thought I’d be flat on my back so I’m relieved.

It was boiling hot yesterday — I felt as if I was walking around Cairo. Thankfully there was intermittent rain today and it cooled off big time. I have lots to write about my trip so far, which I will do soonish. This blog is handy as a travel diary — if I don’t write down what I did, I’ll forget.

I will say two things before signing off. There are a lot of very cute men here! And the food is to die for, which I did not expect. I skipped dinner last night, but made up for it this evening. I went to this little café near the hotel and had rosé duck breast with black chocolate red wine sauce, accompanied by mashed sweet potatoes. Yes, it was duck with chocolate sauce and it was heavenly. On the menu they had under appetizers a fruit soup with maple syrup and cream. I would have loved to try that, but I didn’t want to push my luck with the dairy products. Also on the menu was gingerbread creme brulée! Not counting pastries and sweet things, I prefer the food here to the food in Paris. It is that good. Today I had a simple tuna sandwich for lunch in a café and it was just divine. If you’re on a diet, do yourself a favor and avoid this place.

potato dumplings

There are two annoying thing I’m dealing with right now — aside from dental stuff. One is that STA Travel, the incompetent idiots that they are, have lost my railpass. I will tell you more about this later, but suffice it to say I am on a rail trip in Europe with no railpass. And so far, STA is saying they can’t give me my money back right now. You know, don’t even get me started on that. Secondly, I have a sore throat. It’s been ages since I’ve had a sore throat. Perfect timing! But overall, I am having a good time, which is saying something, given that I’ve had surgery and I am currently taking a variety of pills. I just want to enjoy the trip as much as I can.

More later!

9 June, 2008 | 2 Comments

I’m in Hungary. This story starts off bad…but it gets better.

My plane from London Gatwick took off more than three hours late. Thanks Easy Jet! You’re the best. The delay was due to the fact that our plane was “unfit to fly” and another plane had to be flown in from Luton Airport. I don’t fly often, but when I do this sort of disaster seems to occur. I had a lot of fun wandering around Gatwick bored out of my skull, but the £3 voucher I was given to spend on “refreshments” really helped. As if.

Once on-board the plane, things got even better. Turns out our flight was filled with finalists for the Screaming Baby World Cup Championships. Yes, two hours and ten minutes filled with non-stop shrieking. I kid you not. The monkey cage at the zoo would have been quieter. By the time I got off that plane at the teeny tiny little Budapest airport, my head was throbbing. I actually gave a two-year boy the evil eye. I’m sorry, but that kid needed to be put into restraints. Luckily things got better after this, but it was an irritating journey. A mere two-hour flight ended up taking 11 hours door-to-door. That’s ridiculous.

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8 June, 2008 | 1 Comment

Deciding which books to take on holiday is a big decision. Here is what I’ve decided on:

The Diary of Anne Frank. This is one of my favorite books. I haven’t read it for about 10 years. Not only do I want to re-read it because I’m going to Amsterdam, but my novel makes reference to it as well and I need to revisit it. The last time I read this book it had a profound effect on me.

The Complete Novels of Kafka. This book is way too fat to take on holiday, but price-wise it was a much better bargain than buying all three novels separately. I am visiting Prague, so I want to read Kafka. I’ve only read his short stories. I want to read The Trial first and then I’ll decide whether to read the other novels now or later.

I look forward to reading these books while I’m traveling. I know this material is a bit dark for a summer holiday, but then…you know me.

4 June, 2008 | 6 Comments

I look in my guidebook for a hotel in Amsterdam and settle on one that doesn’t have a website, so I have to call them. I ask the guy who answers the phone if he speaks English and he laughs at me as if I’m a moron. I give him the dates of my four-day stay.

“Those are tough dates,” he says. “Give me a minute.”

“Okay,” I say.

After a few minutes he says, “I can accommodate you if you don’t mind changing rooms during your stay.”

“I don’t mind,” I say.

“You can stay here for your first, third and fourth night. For your second night, you’ll have to stay with my parents.”

“Um…uh…do your parents own their own hotel?”

“No, they live just around the corner.”

“Uh…do you normally send people over there to stay?”

“Sure, my parents don’t mind. They’ve got two extra rooms. You’ll have your own key.”

As you might imagine, I was a bit stunned that the manager of the hotel was trying to put me up with his parents for a night. Then I realized what had happened. I had dialed the wrong number. I meant to call a specific hotel listed in the guidebook, when in fact I had dialed the number of the entry below it, which is for a guy who rents out rooms in canal houses. It took me a few moments to realize my mistake. To be honest, the price he quoted was so fabulous — and so far below almost everything else I had found — that I would have taken him up on his offer regardless.

In other Amsterdam hilarity, I was going to stay in a boat hotel, called a “botel,” but my friend convinced me this was a typo in my guidebook and that it was actually a brothel. Best to just avoid it, I think.

3 June, 2008 | 4 Comments

Well, my trip is all planned. Thanks to the ONE person who offered me travel advice! What is up with that?

I would tell you where I decided to go but I won’t…because I’m pouting.

So there.

31 May, 2008 | 6 Comments

I’m going to Budapest in little more than a week! The purpose of my trip is to have some dental work done. I need to have relatively minor (yet very expensive) dental surgery. I can’t afford to do it in London, so I am going to do it in Budapest. This may seem strange, but a lot of Western Europeans go to Budapest for dental work, primarily Germans and Austrians and now, increasingly, the British too.

I’ve decided to combine all of this with a little holiday. I desperately need a holiday — preferably two whole weeks away, if I can afford it. I am flying to Budapest, staying there for four days and then I am taking the train back to London. The question is, what to see and do along the way back to London? I know I want to go to Prague for a few days. I had my heart set on Austria, but the UEFA tournament (football/soccer) is being held there throughout June, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to go. Do you think this assumption is right?

This is all rather last minute, so I don’t have much time to plan. Any advice/tips/suggestions on which route I should take back to London would be greatly appreciated. I will probably buy a rail pass. I’ve traveled almost everywhere in Western Europe (though not Scandinavia or Portugal, but I probably can’t do those on this trip). My goal is not necessarily to see anything new, just to feel invigorated. A mix of big cities and small-town quaintness would be good. I just like wandering around mostly. I’d also love any tips re: Budapest. I went there once before on a day-trip from Vienna, but remember virtually nothing. I may be in pain while in Budapest, but I still hope to see some sights.

27 January, 2008 | 7 Comments

I predicted I would take a lot of photos in Paris last weekend, but I didn’t — well, not many good ones, anyway. It was completely overcast the whole time, with not even a tiny patch of blue sky or sun to be found:

The occasional flower shop (as seen at the top) provided the only brightness. One cannot take stellar photos of Paris without copious amounts of natural light — it’s just not possible. Still, it’s not like I don’t already have 10,000 photos of Paris. Plus, the weather was quite balmy. It was even possible to walk around without a coat for some of the time, which was nice.

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22 January, 2008 | 6 Comments

I spent the rest of my trip home in North Carolina. My parents have a little place there now near Asheville and they will eventually relocate to NC permanently. During this last part of the trip, I was in my pajamas sitting on the sofa for most of the time, which is exactly what I wanted to be doing.

One of the great things about the Southern U.S. is the food and in particular (at least for me) the breakfasts. Southern breakfasts are the ultimate comfort food: Warm biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs. What I wouldn’t give for a plate of that right now! My maternal grandfather was from Alabama and he loved to cook; I grew up eating biscuits and gravy and grits — the works. There’s nothing like it.

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18 January, 2008 | Comments

After my whirlwind visit to NYC, I Amtrak’d it down to DC.  [There's the phallic Washington Monument shrouded in fog.]  I must say that Amtrak is nicer than that horrific Eurostar. I arrived at the wondrous Union Station:

I went to DC because that is where I planned to meet my parents. They still live in The Place That Cannot Be Named, but we planned to spend the holidays in North Carolina. They know how much I hate flying, so instead of making me catch a flight from NYC during the Christmas rush, we decided to meet in DC and then drive to NC. Yes, I am a diva. What else is new?

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16 January, 2008 | 4 Comments

As I’ve already written, I spent my birthday in New York City. It’s only about an hour on the commuter rail from William’s house. I had about 24 hours in Gotham, which was plenty. I find NYC to be overwhelming and intense. How I lived there for five years I’ll never know.

First things first, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was my brilliant idea. It was pretty damn cold. The pedestrian footpath goes down the middle of the bridge, above the roadway, so there’s no leaning over the side of the bridge and looking into the water (or possibly jumping off). Walking across London’s bridges is much preferable, but still, given how steeped in history the Brooklyn Bridge is, it was a bit of a thrill. I already posted my favorite photo of the bridge. There were wind-swept views of the Manhattan skyline:

And of the Statue of Liberty:

As I articulated the last time I was in NYC, the absence of the Twin Towers from the skyline of lower Manhattan fills me with grief.

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15 January, 2008 | 3 Comments

I think it’s time I finish writing about my trip home in more detail. Later this week I’m going to Paris and you know that means — beaucoup de photos! If I don’t finish going through the photos from my American trip now, I’ll never get to them.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of my trip home was that I didn’t experience any culture shock really. I hadn’t been home for over a year, but once I got there it felt as if I’d never left. Likewise, when I came back to London nothing seemed foreign. I guess this is a good sign. Of course, my trip was a bit of a whirlwind, so it’s possible I didn’t have time to relax for long enough to even register that I was in a different country.

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6 January, 2008 | 2 Comments

Brooklyn Bridge, originally uploaded by Anglofille.

On my birthday, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really cold, but then New York Harbor in December tends to be that way.

4 January, 2008 | 5 Comments

I spent my birthday in New York City and my birthday wish was to see the sunset. (Yes, it was my birthday wish. I’m a loser.) Given that it was December 21st, it was quite dreary and overcast, but I was satisfied with what I got. All of these photos were taken from the top of 30 Rock. More on NYC soon!

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