Eastern Europe

I took two trips to eastern Europe in April, visiting Budapest and Krakow. Both cities were beautiful with lots of historical sights to see. I really liked the use of color in the architecture, such as the lovely multi-colored tile roof of the castle in Budapest. I also enjoyed the liveliness in both cities. There were many people out in the streets, parks and plazas, and there were outdoor concerts and festivals that drew even more people out. I was able to enjoy an evening spa in both cities - one of my favorite ways to relax. Budapest has natural hot springs and so bath houses have been built throughout the city to take advantage of them. I went to a spa with a range of pools of different temperatures as well as several saunas. It was the perfect way to relax after a day of walking around the city. In Krakow I was visiting my friend Anita, another Fulbrighter I met at the conference in Brussels. She has a hot tub and sauna in her apartment building. Anita, Brenna (another friend from the conference), and I spent an evening there relaxing. Overall, I enjoyed both cities and they were both fairly inexpensive - another bonus. I'm very interested to try more traveling around eastern Europe.