Interview with Savannah Grace, author of Backpacks and Bra Straps

At 14, Savannah started a long journey that 10 years after brought her to 100 countries visited, and two travel books – for now – about her experiences on the road. After the successful I grew my boobs in China, she just released the continuation of the family travel adventure, Backpacks and Bra Straps, focused on the travel experiences in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Nepal. In between the final editing and the last details of the launching campaigns, she had some time for an interview about her lessons learned and other interesting adventures. You can also find her on Twitter – @Sihpromatum – on Facebook and on Instagram – sihpromatum#. The photos were provided by the Savannah. 

What are your lessons learned from your travel experiences as a kid?

I am an entirely different person as a result of this trip. I sometimes shudder to think what my life would have been without it. I learned so much about the world, people, cultures, history and most importantly myself and my family. I discovered my strengths, pushed myself to achieve goals I considered impossible and learned that dreams are worth following! This is a world full of possibilities.

I learned to appreciate and be grateful for the things I have, which is something I try not to lose. I realized that I don’t NEED all those things I thought I needed when I was living in Vancouver, Canada.

How much did it take to realize the benefits of travel at a young age?

A definite a-ha! moment was coming into Yangshuo on my first sleeper bus, only 5 days into the trip. Looking out the window at the sunrise revealing the bizarre scenery really opened my eyes to the beauty of being abroad. It revealed the excitement travel could bring. Being on the top of a hill in Mongolia at White Lake looking out over the world was another awe inspiring moment, that was about 2.5 months in. Although I certainly had many similar moments that made me stop and think about the unbelievable experience I was being given, I was still trapped within on a roller coaster of female, teenage emotions. The entire trip was a process of learning and discovery for me and I’m thankful now to have had that opportunity.

How did you decide to write the book? 

The idea of writing this book was put in the air early on in our adventure, as evidenced in my journal entries I’d written in Mongolia. Once our adventure started developing into something bigger than any of us had ever anticipated, we were constantly being told by fellow travellers that we needed to write a book. We felt that telling the story from my perspective as the reluctant, youngest member of the group was the most unique. I dreamed of writing the book for years before I actually started working on it. During the trip I was dedicated to keeping an extremely in-depth, daily journal. After the trip I had Mom type out my journals then I collected all the blogs and brain stormed with the family to get the base for the first book.  After that I just wrote! It took me two years, from age 20-22 to write it. After being rejected numerous  times by traditional publishers because of my inexperience and youth, I made the decision to self-publish. What a sihpromatum that was!!! I researched to no end, put all the pieces together; editor, cover design, formatting, printer  and the very first proofs came into my hands in September 2012! What a moment that was to finally come face to face with my dream of 7 years!

What are your recommendations for other travellers coping with the challenges of writing? How did you start yourself writing? Do you have some favourite travel writers that inspire you?

If you are feeling sluggish and don’t know where to start, just START. I know this sounds like really unhelpful advice, but that’s what I had to keep telling myself. Thinking and stressing about doing it is harder than just DOING it. Simply sit down and start writing, even if it’s about nothing and you’ll be amazed how stuff just pours out of you. There are times where you will have a complete writers block and feel like you were never meant to be a writer and you ask yourself WHY you’re doing it…. Just tell yourself to shut up and go outside and find something beautiful to look at, get fresh air, go for a bike ride. Get the heck out of the house and feel alive again. Don’t go halfway, you have to go all the way. It will be worth it. But nobody can make it happen except YOU! I tend to read more classics than travel books. My author idol, though not a travel writer, is Diana Gabaldon, I love her writing style and the way she can make you see and smell the scenery around you.

What are your travel recommendations for 2014? What are your plans?

This year I went skiing in the French Alps and visited Cape Verde which was my 100th country! It was a wonderful trip to celebrate my 24th birthday. The rest of the year is fully booked with the publication of my second book in the Sihpromatum series, “Backpacks and Bra Straps”. I’m going on a book tour from October-December to and around Vancouver, Canada. We are planning our next major travels in 2015. Hopefully we will be able to manage a 4-6 month South East Asia trip since I have never made it to that region of the world.

What could be the challenges of travel in less travelled destinations, as a teenager and as a woman?

In some countries the mentality towards women and their rights are very different. It can be a challenge to submerse yourself fully into such different cultures and mindsets without taking offence or possibly insulting locals. Being informed is very important, especially for women.

 

Advertisement

The mysterious stories of the houses in Cristian, Romania

Less than 20 minutes away from the big city of Brasov in Romania – watch this space for two posts about this city coming up this week – there is a small locality, Cristian. If you like hiking and you are trained enough, you can find a way to go there through the hills around. Or stop there and explore the place hour by hour for more than one day. A small train is coming up once in a while, and the cars are coming and going very fast.  A bus or a taxi can bring you faster in this little quiet paradise. Travellers visiting the area cannot be indifferent to the quiet beauty of the place and they usually stop for a long photographic trip wandering on the small streets or the hills around.

In the morning, the cows are slowly going to their pasture places, for coming back late in the evening. As within the small locality, you can easily find a lot of recluse corners, but also open areas with people grilling or enjoying the sunny weekends, close to disaffected communist constructions whose initial destination was long forgotten since.

There are the houses, each with its own story not easy to be told. In most of them used to live members of the German minority in Romania. At the end of the 1980s, while the communist dictatorship was reaching higher levels of absurdity and oppression, they left, bought by the German state, one by one, and I remember how from a summer to another, we drove through empty cities, with deserted houses, with an deep sadness in the air of a place – and country – where you were unlucky enough to stay, for too complicated reasons to understand to a child’s mind.

After the end of communism, some people returned and were able to buy back their former properties, some new owners took them and changed them according to their non-local tastes. Some unlucky houses were just destroyed to the ground and in their places, new post-communist villas were built on their place not necessarily following the good architectural taste but rather displaying the joy of unexpected money abundance.

More or less repainted or rebuilt, most houses are still the same: parallelepiped elongated shapes on the fringes of the streets, with their half-circle entrances leading to large interior yards. Children are playing around or go walking with their grand parents, while their parents are working in the city or who knows, abroad in Spain or Italy.

The German minority settled on the territories of nowadays Romania starting from the 12th century, for economic reasons. They used to live in compact communities in Transylvania till the end of the 20th century, when the same economic – plus political – reasons brought them back to the Germany of their forefathers. Called ‘Sachsen’ or ‘Schwaben’ depending of the region they were originally from, they speak an old German dialect that used to be for a long time for me the only German language that I knew. (No excuse for my clumsy German language skills, I bet).

From a  political and architectural stage to the other, the houses can be read as an approximate history book. Some style mixture leads to completely unexpected results, when shapes of Greek columns, eventually coloured, are attached to old river stones and metal framed windows.

In the area near the city hall though, most houses were rebuilt keeping in mind the original 19th century local German architecture. Early in the morning, the windows are open and the careful investigation of the street life can start. Some Transylvanian houses do also have benches in the front of the houses where the old ladies can sit comfortably keeping an eye to all the social interactions and news. However, the street observation from the high of those windows looks more dignified and discrete, don’t you think?

Caught between small streets and rows of houses, the square near the city hall looks like a perfect observation point too for understanding the secret life of Cristian.

In the middle of the day, the open windows look like embracing the visitor while keeping you in the front of the gates. When the evening comes, everything is slowly closing and the center of life moves indoors. The life of the streets, except the speedy trucks and cars outside , is getting quieter too after 8-9 o’clock in the evening. There are a couple of small shops open – most of it is done in Brasov anyway – and a pizzeria with a late night program, but without a hotel or proper accommodation, most tourists have left already. Renting rooms by locals is possible though, especially if you want to experience a perfect retreat experience, with good local food and healthy sleep after long walks in the middle of the nature.

The longer you stay, the more intrigues one might be about the local stories of the houses. Asking the locals about can lead to an interesting conversation, but doesn’t mean that you will get too many revelations about the secret histories.

One afternoon, I spend my free time just walking the streets trying to catch on the camera the different styles of the houses and especially their windows. With local funds, most of them were introduced part of an open air exhibition offered to the visitors, but without too many details about their full history.

Near the city hall, there is also a small citadel, serving as a local protestant church, with some library resources.

The choice of the new colours for repainting the houses or only some details of them is sometimes hilarious, and the explanation should be either mysterious – maybe some colour combination can bring luck to the new entrepreneurs that decided to buy a property here – or clearly economic – those neon paintings are probably the cheapest ones on the market.

In most cases though the decent light pink shades were kept, with various decorations that are the trademark of the well kept houses in the Transylvanian villages. People living here are more careful to keep their face showing up well kept walls and entrances.

My short visit to Cristian was my last leg of my two-week trip to Romania – the longest stay in more than 5 years (more posts coming up this week as well). As usual, a mixture of more or less happy memories accompanies my stay there, but my visit to Cristian, after more than 20 years, reminded me of my inner child who will always keep asking lots of questions, ready to explore new territories and discover the mysterious stories hidden behind the wooden doors. As the houses are still reluctant to share their secret, I told to myself that maybe one day will spend more time listening more stories. Maybe a next time.

For more pictures from Cristian, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/cristian-romania/

Timisoara, a next European Capital of Culture?

The first time I’ve been to Timisoara more than 10 years ago, I had to cope with a massive headache and wasn’t able see too much from the city. The second time I arrived was on a long train-way from Budapest, trying to cope with just another massive headache. Plus a shocking dirty looking train station where I was helped though by a nice lady to get the best price for the next leg of the trip to Brasov. Once I had the ticket in my pocket and was out of the station, I calmed down in a cafeteria called La Noemi, serving a good cappuccino and some traditional tasty pretzel (covrigi). Around me, I had a lot of very ugly looking communist housing projects, trying to get a bit out of the grey crowd, like this pinky ground floor. What we gonna do next?

On the way to the small hotel we stayed, were the friendliness of the people helped me to ignore some muddy streets and dirty alleys, we noticed a lot of deserted industrial spaces, another testimony of the communist past of the city. With a nuance of regret, our taxi driver, in his mid-50s complained how the local industry doesn’t exist any more, forgetting that probably he would have not been able to talk with foreigners if the communist dictator was still in power.

Too many historical considerations for a poor head like mine, so I rather tried to focus on the colourful present of the city, with colourful graffiti joyously invading the deserted urban spaces. Things changed a little bit more than some might want to recognize, it seems.

The contrasts are easy to notice in Romania, where poverty and luxury can co-exist easily only steps away. Close to the dirty industrial space, it is situated a huge multi-storey mall with a sophisticated multiplex home theater, a favourite meeting point of young people. Although they probably don’t have the money to buy all the expensive clothes or electronics displayed, they enjoy the ambiance, meeting at the food court for social networking. The food is not that expensive, and besides the popular Mc Donald’s and pizza and Asian foods there are also some local Balkan dishes one should definitely not miss, such as the pleskavica, made of various ground meats and potatoes.

One good news about my headaches is that when it happens, I should definitely try to spend as much time as possible outdoors. Hoping the cold rain will make me feel better, I took on Cuza Street, passing near a nice park with even nicer graffiti. Lacking too many tourist signs, we rather follow streets intuitively, hoping that sooner or later we will arrive somehow near the central area.

Slowly, we entered Eugeniu de Savoia Street and from there on, we were in the historical area. Compared to many other big Romanian cities, like Bucharest, for instance, Timisoara was not affected by megalomanic urbanist reshape that might have been destroyed the old constructions. However, for decades, the local budgets are suffering for underfunding and the result is the decayed facades of classical buildings.

The closer we were from the center, the bigger the problems. As Timisoara wants to apply its candidacy for the status of European Cultural City in 2020, the new mayor started a massive refurbishing of the streets. On the long term, it can be a good thing, and only considered myself very unlucky to be here at the wrong time. On the other side of the muddy holes, cute shops and youngish coffee shops were winking at me.

Among the rest of the country, Timisoara as the capital city of the Banat Region, assumed always a leading intellectual role, the city enjoying for a long time a multicultural reality of many languages spoken and an intermingling of cultures and identities. It was said that at the beginning of the century, Serbian, Hungarian, German, Yiddish as well as French were spoken currently on the elegant streets of the city. Streets that were the first in Europe to enjoy the benefits of electric light. Even during the communism, who mostly destroyed the multicultural past, Timisoara was always considered the door to Europe, and given its vicinity with the more liberal Hungary and Serbia, many products prohibited in the rest of the country – including soaps, and shampoos and chewing gum – were more available here on the black market.

All these horror histories are hopefully gone for ever, and the city is trying to get back its charming days. Going back in the early time it’s almost impossible, because many of the minorities and their representative intellectuals are long gone. Instead, the search for a new identity can be more interesting for the future of the new generation of people still living here.

Timisoara is an university city, with many young people from the rest of the country and all over the world living here which can change and dramatically challenge the grey narrative of the past. The graffiti in the central historical area are one of the best I’ve seen during my whole European trip and at a certain extent could be read as the message in a bottle of a new generation of Romanians.

Timisoara was the first Romanian city that in December 1989 decided to end up the fear-hate relationship with the communist dictatorship. People went out of the street, prompting other cities to do the same. In just a couple of weeks, the country was finally out of the nightmare and although there are different interpretations and versions of what and why things happened there, it was about time that the darkness in which Romanian citizens were kept for too long to end up.

The Opera Square was one of the symbolic reunion points of the anti-communist demonstrators. Now, it was only the rain, us and some local people hurrying up. Very close from there, the small Tourist Information where we received a lot of insights about where to go next.

Interesting Art Nouveau buildings, relatively well preserved, showed a different face of the city and I wished I can find an extensive book about the history of the local architecture. Maybe the next time.

The square in the front of the Cathedral is another place where people risked their life to fight for the freedom of children to play freely near the alleys, without the need to hurry up to spend their after school time waiting in the front of the shops for a little bit more sugar or maybe some bread. Despite the rain, the restaurants around were full of people and a carefree feeling was in the air.

The architecture can be surprising if you dare to explore more and more. There are a couple of guided tours in English that dedicated to the culture and history including of the huge Roma palaces around the city. If you ask the locals about them, they will feel a bit annoyed about the topic, but it’s one in a lifetime experience that tells something about the a relatively unknown European minority.

The bad weather, the ugly headache, the exhaustion of the last long hours of train ride plus the perspective of an equally long trip shortened our stay in Timisoara. After a little walk on the bridge over the river Bega, we decided to slowly head back home for a healthy sleep. It was a short trip, but maybe of the city will win the competition to be an European Cultural City, I will dare to come back for getting to know the city in its newly restored glory.

For more pictures from Timisoara, check the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/timisoara-romania/

Visegrad and Szentendre on a rainy day

Every time I am visiting Budapest, I rarely have time to anything but spending time in the city, socializing or visiting a new exhibition. Thus, except a very short visit to Szeged once and a little tour of the country just passing around Balaton, I never seen properly anything else. This time, I am decided to make it at least till Szentendre, the favourite weekend destination of both locals and expats. As usual, I have ambitious plans that can lead me as far as as Visegrad, 60 km. away from the capital city, close to the border with Slovakia and with the help of a guided tour I am able to make them both, by car. Otherwise, buses and trains are regularly leaving the city direction Szentendre – the ride is around 44 minutes – from where a connection by bus to Visegrad is possible. The journey from Budapest is going fine, passing near Aquaincum, a large archaeological site exploring the first capital city of Pannonia during the Roman Empire, or Kalanpark, the adventure park built on the site of a former camping park. We are following the line of the Danube, a bit on the raise after the rain. We can follow it as far away as near the border with Slovakia, a junction point that we can see from the many panoramic view near the road.

Visegrad means upper castle or fortification in Slavic. There is at least another city with the same name in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A small castle town, it hosts the summer palace of king Matthias and a medieval citadel, built during the reign of King Bela the IVth of Hungary. For the observers of the post-communist Central and Eastern European politics, Visegrad was known for giving the name of an alliance between Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia aimed to speed-up the European integration of those countries.

Unfortunately, the rain doesn’t seem to stop and thus, a walking till the top of the hill is out of question. Back in the car, we drove back to Szentendre, passing near an impressive number of small houses on sale. As our guide explains, many of them are on the market for almost 5 years, the reason for not finding new owners being either the limited financial resources of the population or the problematic neighbourhood with the Danube whose waters are raising dangerously.

Most pictures from Szentendre I’ve seen are of sunny alleys with colourful flowers and busy outdoors. There are tourists and a lot of colourful merchandises displayed but there is no sun. The vivid colours of the houses or of the pottery brings more warm and make me forget about my apparent failure to see what most travellers see. Instead, I am trying to enjoy the architecture, spending as much as possible time indoors.

There are a lot of downsides of tourism, one being an excessive focus on souvenirs and low quality products. But in small little places, where the financial and natural resources are limited, it supplies an important income. Although excessive, the traditional shopping in Szentendre is sometimes too cute to criticise it: from the lavender stuffed toys to fine jewellery inspired by Hungarian traditional models of beautiful skirts hand sewed, sold at relatively accessible prices.

Smaller or bigger wooden boxes, with secret openings remind me of childhood, and everyone is too nice to not stay over and over in the shop trying to catch up with the language while watching new tricks about how to open those boxes.

Small streets are leading to the heart of the maze of street, a bit far near the small hill, where people are living and less tourists are curious to go. Traditionally, Szentendre was established as a town of painters which explains some colourful facades, or just the adventurous spirit that with a little bit of attention one can notice on the streets. There are a couple of art galleries, but not directly near the main tourist avenue.

After the first half on hour of walking, we realize that we should pay attention to every detail, look at the windows or at the doors to spot some unexpected details that are part of the picturesque spirit of the place.

In the main square, there is a little fountain, where our guide advices us to drink from if we want to meet our other special half. Sometimes, wishful thinking can be very helpful, but I rather stay away for more water for now. Wish I can find out more details about this urban legend created around the lovers’ fountain.

Unexpectedly, we arrive at a small house, with a sign that I can clearly read: Marzipan House. It looks like Hansel und Graetel little cottage, and I am brave enough and very much in love with the marzipan to risk a visit. From Lady Diana to Michael Jackson or characters from the Hungarian history or from the fairy tales, everything is made with care and a lot of marzipan. It’s incredible how much work and how many details can be done. Mozart’s violin took 25 hours of work, we read, while  in some other cases, the amount can reach 336 hours or more. Here is a short video of some of the sweet beauties from the museum. Of course, I did not miss the opportunity for a tasting: it’s a bit less sweeter than the one I had in the German capital city of marzipan, Lübeck, nutty, with smell and good taste of vanilla. I buy some for the later sweet tooth from the local shop, and move forward for more walking in the rain.

For those less keen to have some rainy walks, there are plenty of restaurants, mostly serving traditional Hungarian food and sweet pancakes or icecream.

Beautiful pottery, adorned with local motives or national symbols are displayed everywhere. The visitors looking for something more elegant for their tables, can find maybe what they are looking for at the local Herend shop, selling traditional Hungarian hand painted porcelain.

It’s hardly anything that you cannot find here: metal keys or bells, or antiquities, clothes or shoes, jewellery or some dried paprika. A little tour only will help you to have a serious overview of the Hungarian folk traditions.

The same can be said for the architecture, with the small colourful houses in yellow and white, with some touches of blue for the most courageous builders.

Back to Budapest, with the boat, I sum up that the day might have not been a success in terms of photo opportunities, but I finally made it there and I spend some enjoyable hours in a small colourful settlement. With some sweet marzipan bonus. Not bad at all for a short one-day trip.

My dedicated Pinterest boards can show you more pictures from Visegrad – http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/visegrad-hungary/ – and Szentendre – http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/szentendre-hungary/.

A tour of Jewish Budapest

Budapest, and Hungary in general, used to have a very active intellectual Jewish life, and an equally interesting Jewish religious life. Most of the Jews were killed during Shoah, and the survivors who chose to stay in the country, had to fight, not always successfully, against the pressure of assimilation and frequent outbursts of anti-Semitism during the communism. Anti-Semitism is back now and life keeps being complicated. In and around the Jewish quarter, you keep seeing a lot of memorials and monuments in the memory of the innocent people murdered with cold blood and the memories of the past are always there.

Every time I visited Budapest I went to the Jewish quarter, either for an exhibition or a visit to one of the many synagogues. But I never had a proper tour of the entire area and my memories were mostly based on stories told by friends and family. This time, I made everything more professional and booked a tour in English that explained very much the art, history and architecture of the area, with interesting insights about kosher restaurants and daily events in the life of Budapest Jewry. The walking tours, in English or Hebrew, can be booked at the kiosk near the Dohany utca synagogue and last around 2 hours. The guides are knowledgeable and familiar with the history, and equally able to explain to both the Jewish – less or more observant – and non-Jewish visitors about customs, religious detail or history.

All the streets around Dohany utca synagogue has traces of Jewish history. Some of them are clear, like Hebrew writing and symbols some, like in the case of architecture, are only using discretely motives that can be spotted on the walls or on the old metal doors.

The area has precious constructions from the 19th century, with 2-3 storeys, a symbol of the relative economic well-being of the Hungarian Jews at the time. The predominant style is Art Nouveau, with a choice of decorations inspired by nature and vegetation. Most of them look like carefully decorated with a lot of love and care, just to make sure that it does not contradict in any way with the environment.

One of the most interesting discovery of this tour was the visit at the Orthodox Kazinczy Synagogue. It was built in one year, between 1912-1913, part of a larger effort to counter the Reformist movements within Judaism.  The facade, as well as the interior, seems to have some strong inspiration from the Iraqi Jewish architecture, although the construction was made by the brothers Löffler. The two brothers were very productive during 1908-1917, when they had their own architecture bureau, as they built almost most of the Art Nouveau houses in the Jewish quarter.

The synagogue, colourfully painted, was part of a complex that also included a Jewish girl schools. Nowadays, it is predominantly used during the high-holidays, on some Shabbats and for various tourist tours. The joyous colours of the wall paintings are contrasting with the seriousness around the Torah Ark.

The traditional Menorah that used to be in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem is represented always with 6 branches, but because the Temple is no more the menorot on the walls of this synagogue do have 5, as a message of incompleteness of our times.

The beautiful stained glass were painted by the famous Hungarian artist Miksa Róth, imperial and royal court glass painter who also made the painted glass at the Hungarian Parliament. Heavily destroyed during the war, and even used as a stable, it was rebuilt and repainted and part of the Jewish heritage of Budapest. Especially after 2012, the street were the synagogue is situated got a new life, cultural events organized around, as well as many kosher restaurants and small Judaica shops.

A synagogue that needs a lot of restoration though is Rumbach – in Budapest, the synagogues are named according to the name of the streets where are located. The Moorish-style construction was built at the end of the 19th century by the Viennese architect Otto Wagner. It cannot be visited, but the style reminded me a bit of some similar synagogues in Timisoara and Bucharest (Romania).

The memories of the past are everywhere in the Jewish quarter and it’s impossible to not start asking questions yourself about how and why happened. Before the war, Hungary used to have a very big Jewish community, of around 450,00 people, half of them being situated in the capital city. The prosperous economic situation and a relative tolerance encouraged Jews from all over Central Europe to move here. But the promises were short-term and illusory, and more than half of the population being murdered.

The Dohany utca synagogue, second largest in the world, hosts also a Museum dedicated to the Hungarian Jewry, as well as periodical concerts and exhibitions – years ago I visited an impressive Chagal exhibition here. It belongs to the Neologue/Reformist movement and is hosted concerts of Franz Liszt or Camile Saint-Saens. Especially during the Jewish Summer Festival, a regular week of Jewish culture and history organized since 1998, here are organized concerts and many cultural events. Last but not least, on Dohany was born the famous Theodor Herzl, who reshaped the aims of the Jewish communities in Europe.

Nowadays, there are around 20 synagogues of different orientations answering the spiritual and religious needs of the community as well as of the many visitors from all over the world visiting Hungary and Budapest. There is also a kindergarten, and school, as well as a Jewish center organizing various cultural events.

What many of the Jewish travellers will always enjoy is the chance to find a little bit of homemade food prepared well according to the highest standards of kashrut. The Jewish Budapest offers a lot of healthy, good quality and kosher food to the hungry traveller. In addition, in many big food stores, as Corso Gourmet on the popular Vaci utca, there are a lot of kosher certified food, but mostly from the snacks type. After the interesting tour, we made a long stop at the Carmel kosher restaurant, near Kazinszky synagogue. It has a classical ambiance of Central European Jewish restaurant, with Judaica paintings and decorations on the walls, leather chairs or some comfy couches and many Cloisonée lamps. The menu offers a variety of Hungarian inspired dishes – veal goulash with Hungarian noodles, for instance – but I was rather hungry for a classical crunchy Schnitzel with hummus and French fries. Call it my usual comfort food when I miss my childhood.

The fruit salad – apples, water melon and oranges – was a bit of disappointment, and the service was slow – the disadvantage of not being part of a big group of customers, but otherwise, it was good to have a stop in the air-conditioned space after so much walk.

The food temptations brought us more often in the Jewish quarter of Pest during our stay. Another afternoon, we were back for a slice of cheese pizza at Carimama, a very small but welcoming dairy pizzeria. Is very cheap, tasty – although a bit too burned and too salty – popular among tourists on the run and with a very fast service.

I could not have the heart to leave Budapest without at least one stop at the historical Fröhlich, the oldest kosher pastry shop in Budapest, who deliciously survived the communism to bring us today a lot of delicious sweets that I’m glad still exist. Their speciality is the flodni, a mixture of apple, walnut and poppy seeds cream stuck between dough layers and a coverage of caramel and there is also the famous Hungarian dobos, delivered kosher style. As for me, I was too nostalgic for a slice of ishler to answer the call of any other temptation: layers of nuts cream between creamy biscuits with a caramelized sweet chocolate cover. The sweetness of every bit is getting deeper and deeper. The ambiance is also pleasant, with a very friendly lady that makes you feel like you are just back in your lost home.

Jewish Budapest quarter has a lot of stories to tell, many of them about the past. For the young generation or for those unable to learn a realistic story of their past memory benchmarks are needed. The stumbling stones – Stolpersteine – , a project started in Berlin arrived a couple of years ago to Budapest too, aiming to mention the memory of the Jewish inhabitants of the city, with a little golden-looking stone placed in the front of their former homes.

In the sea of indifference and cruelty,  little sparkling stars of humanity happen. One of them was Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomatic envoy to Budapest, who risked his own life to rescue Jews. I left Budapest, as usual, not only with the hope to return, but with the belief of hope that at least the new young generation, many of them leaving in big number the country in the last 7 years, will have more courage and determination to simply say ‘no’ to madness.

Island hopping in Budapest, can you believe it?

Budapest has around 7 islands, the most popular by far being Margit/Margaret Island, famous as destination for various sports events and activities. The shell-shaped Margit bears the name of Margaret, the daughter of king Bela IV who lived on the Dominican convent on the island.

The island can be reached either by boat or directly from the yellow Arpad bridge, via tram or bus. A former location for Knight of St. John in the 12th century and of various religious orders, but in the last century was used predominantly for cultural and sport activities. As we were walking on the other side of the bridge, we noticed rows of people going at the same direction, although it was the middle of the week. We assumed right that it should be a special tournament taking place: apparently it was a handball game taking place and many were hurrying up to support their favourite team.

The sports seem to be the most frequent activity practised on the islands, and many stadium, playgrounds and swimming pool being open all round the year to the public. Bikes, including tandem ones, can be rented for one hour or more.

However, most visitors prefer walking slowly the 2,6 km of the island or going there for the daily portion of jogging. In maximum 30 minutes, one can make the full tour of it and although the areas around the entrance can be crowded, there are still some quiet alleys left for a quiet meditative walking.

On the island there are two UNESCO heritage sites: the water tower and the music fountain. It seems that the happiest visitors are the children, enjoying the big spaces and the many playgrounds as well as the temptations of street food and sweets that their parents and grand parents cannot resist to do not buy them something.

Before the 14 th century, the island was called Rabbits Island, for the number of long eared inhabitants. As in the case of the Peacock’s Island near Berlin, I haven’t seen any proud representative of the animal world. Maybe all were taken to the small zoo on the island. Two hotels, one of them a thermal one, are inviting the guests to spend more quality time on the island, a bit far away from the busy day and night life in the capital city.

One of my favourite corners are those with a quiet view over the Danube. Although the view might include some old blocks of houses, they are too far away though to bother with their daily problems and routine.

Seeing so many people doing seriously their portion of running, I wished that at least from time to time – or maybe only when I’m on the road, which is a lot already – I am practising more sports than intensive walking and hiking.

As we left, I praised my time spent on the island and I was glad that although nothing special was going during my short visit, at least I had some great uneventful time. From time to time, such experiences are part of the good life on the road.

Budapest, ten years after

In the last ten years, Budapest changed a lot but still stays the same. Many of the people I used to spend unforgettable evenings talking for long hours in the bars near the Danube left the country, but meanwhile the city got new heroes and statues and the streets outside the areas of main historical – and political – interests – might look neglected a bit dirtier as before. The courageous spirit of the city is there as are the bullets from the 1956 Revolution left on the walls of some buildings though. After a long bus trip from Berlin, via Prague, I was finally back, and after a good night spent at my residence for the trip, Hotel Palazzo Zichy, I took a map and tried to revisit old places while always curious to discover some more new ones.

Regardless of how fit and well trained for intensive jogging you might consider yourself to be, sooner or later you will need to rely on public transportation. During this trip, I used a lot the metro, the oldest metro line in Europe, which has good connections, is mostly in time and fast. Groups of ticket controllers are out on the field from early in the morning, especially at the entrance or exit from the stations, but friendly and helpful with the lost tourists. Some stations look elegant and well maintained, some – especially the old dusty trains – remind me permanently that I am in a Central European country after all that was under harsh communist control. This is a short video I made while descending on the huge stairs, that strangely reminded me both of Kyiv and of London. Using the yellow taxis is the most convenient way for those not keen to commute too much on holidays, but one must be careful to check if is using a licensed taxi.

Whatever the good and bad changes, Budapest remains creative, and between the massive historical facelift of the city – even as a local or a person well familiar with the country’s history, I bet you will still need a lot of lectures to get the references to historical personalities and events outlined very often all over the city – the non-conformist minds left traces everywhere. Most of them do not have English translations, so all you have to do is to take notes and find the full history later on.

I must confess that lost in testing various foods and enjoying the very warm summer time, my artistic activities were very limited this time. As during previous trips I marked all the important permanent exhibitions and museums this time I was, as usual, hungry for something new. However, I could not resist the temptation to go to Toulouse-Lautrec retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, the first extensive display of the works of Lautrec in Budapest in the last 50 years. While walking to Oktogon area, one of the city’s major interections, on Andrassy avenue where the museum is situated, I passed by the controversial Terror House, hosted in the former headquarters of both the Nazi and communist secret service, offering an interpretation of communist too much infused by political opportunism, as well as many galleries and a good collection of Asian Art. Old Italian looking palaces situated on this street were either in various stages of decay or put on sale. 

Close to the Oktogon  it is situated the Museum of Agriculture, hosted in Vajdahunyad Baroque Castle, built at the beginning of the 20th century, on the occasion of Millenium festivities, celebrating 1,000 years of Hungarian presence in the Carpathian basic. The Castle is surrounded by a garden, near a lake offering boats to rent during the summer and ice skating possibilities during the winter. Those interested in learning fast about Hungary, can visit also the Museum of Popular Arts.

The Oktogon square is not only an important junction, but equally a crossing point of attractions. Besides the allegorical historical complex from the main the square, aimed to outline the strength and lineage of the Hungarian influence in the area, the Zoo is only a couple of steps away, and so are the Szechenyi thermal baths.

One of the things I haven’t done before was a trip on the Danube. While returning from Szentendre and Visegrad – more about this trip in the next posts – I took a ride on the water which offered the possibility of a new perspective over both Buda and Pest. Here is a short video of this new adventure. The Parliament, which can be visited through various guided tours, was built in 18 years and is the largest and most famous building in Hungary. Those interested in the more or less recent history of the country should definitely book a tour.

I wish I could have found an extensive guided tour into the architecture of the city. In order to catch up as many beautiful building as possible, it is very important to be very careful to all the details and look always high for spotting unexpected statues and details. All those pleasant surprises are part of the mysterious way in which Budapest makes itself loveable with the same charm to the first or 10th-time visitor.

When history has a sweet wrapping, it tastes even better. At the fancy Vorosmarty square I went directly to the famous Gérbeaud, where Sissy, the sophisticated wife of Emperor Franz Joseph and queen of Hungary used to treat her sweet tooth. Created in 1858 by Henrik Kugler, it was sold to Emil Gérbeaud belonging to a long line of Swiss confectionery artists who turned it into one of the finest coffee house and pastry shop in Central and Eastern Europe.

The sons of Gérbeaud left the country in 1945 after the installation of communists and the shop was took over by the state. In 1997, it was dramatically renovated and embellished, and new wood panels and typical decorations were added. A new restaurant, Onyx, was created in 2007 who is a proud owner of a Michelin star since 2011. The coffee keeps selling the traditional Sacher torte and Dobos torte, as well as macarons of all colours and flavour combinations.

Convinced that I can keep my head clear and my objectivity not influenced by rich historical evidences, I decided to have a tasty stop here. The prices are high, and the service is a big disappointment, although we arrived there 40 minutes before closing. I ordered Gérbeaud’s slice, that screamed pure sour cocoa from every bit. The layers of nutty and fruity cream were re-establishing the sweet balance. So much concentration of cocoa gives the feeling of full satiety. If I could not finish it is only my fault, I know.

Either if I was looking for new architectural surprises or checking the gossips that a lot of vegan and vegetarian shops and restaurants were opened in the last year, the same feeling of surprise kept me company. Sometimes I felt that at a certain historical time, architects got together and decided to introduce into the life of the city all their dreams, fantasies and desires. The rest of us, talking pictures, passing by or even living in those buildings, we are just part of the constant audience of their secret life, without being left with a dictionary for translating this secret language.

The Danube is crossed by 14 bridges, connecting Buda and Pest in many points. Most of them were built at the end of the 19th century, and still are important characters into the tourist and daily life of the city. The bridges enforced the new unity of the city that was achieved administratively in 1873.

Budapest, and Hungary in general, is famous for its hot springs, well known as tourist destinations but also for their health qualities. In Budapest only, there are around 118 natural springs. One of the most famous thermal bath is Gellert, inaugurated in 1918 and added since a big outdoor pool. One of the most famous spa in Hungary, it used a water source that was known since the 13th century. The interior is at least as impressive as its history: massive Art Nouveau decorations, mosaiques, colourful stained glass windows reflecting the various natural lights.

In the vicinity of the thermal baths building, facing the Erzsebet bridge, there is a little hill, with a natural waterfall where I climbed for a little bit, trying to find some coolness against the heated sun.

As in many such places in Central and Eastern Europe, I discovered a small improvised shop of an old lady selling various hand made traditional Hungarian products. Although she was not speaking other language but Hungarian, she was so friendly and good hearted that was about to buy her entire shop only for a smile.

From the top of the little hill, both Buda and Pest looked busy, ready for a new day and week of work and very serious about everything on the agenda. Busy traffic both on the highway and on the water.

An important part of my travels is dedicated to check and discover new local products. As I grew up with so many of them – the plum jam, eventually with some hidden nuts near many layers of flesh – I like to see if my beloved recipes are still popular. On Vaci utca (utca means street in Hungarian) which become too touristic, with predominantly Hungarian gourmet expensive restaurants serving goulash and paprika based meals, I made a long stop at Corso Gourmet. A special section of this huge shop dedicated to the traditional spirits, made of plums, as well as to the famous Unicum and the many fine wines, Tokaj included.

More than the elegant Corso, I enjoyed spending a lot of time at Vasarcsarnok, the Great Market Hall, at the end of Vaci utca, resisting painfully the temptation to buy a little bit of Kapia paprika, or some Szeged Paprika or maybe some fresh good looking melons or tomatoes.

I left a bit disappointed and with a heavy heart, and only the beautiful ethereal apparitions on the top of the buildings near the Jewish quarter – an extensive account of the tour and Jewish life coming up next – made me feel better. In the vicinity, the Hungarian National Museum can offer to the curious visitor another long excursus in the history of the country.

Inside the Jewish quarter, between Kiraly utca and Dob utca, the Gozsdu courts are the newest attraction in town. Formerly an abandoned area, it was turned into an attractive avenue with pubs, restaurants, small shops and workshops for creative people, as well as antiquities shops presenting, among other, old collection cars.

Although I accepted for being out of time for too many artistic luxuries, I regretted deeply for not being able to attend this Invisible Exhibition where the participants are experiencing a small part of the daily life of visually impaired people.

Not too much time for shopping either, although Vorosmarty Ter, with its tempting fashion avenue and shops and many restaurants calling my name for an after-shopping relaxing appeared very open in my walking plans. After my elegant afternoon tea at Kempinski Hotel Corvinus I was not very tempted to get some street food displayed there, but at least I had a look at some of the wooden traditional products offered to the tourists. When it comes to touristic experiences, although the national currency is the Hungarian Forint, euro and also the dollars can be easily used in the touristic shops or for booking guided tours. The main languages are English, German and extensively Russian.

Late in the afternoon, when the heat is regressing, I always enjoy walking near the Danube, passing near the interesting statues or just looking on the other side of the Danube.

On the other side of the Danube, it is the famous Buda Castle, where I was back one again, using the small mini train. It was first finished in 1265, and nowadays includes a complex of buildings from different historical stages, some archaeological sites, museums of arts, restaurants and small shops offering traditional products.

If you were so unlucky to arrive when all the exhibitions and most of the attractions were closed, there is always something good left: a perspective over Pest, and a very good standpoint to observe the life of the city in the afternoon.

As usual, Budapest was good to me, offering me the chance to know more of its secrets, while tempting me again to come back for finding out even more, maybe sooner than the last time. I left with the good feeling that, from time to time, it’s good to be back in places that used to be home.

For more insights from the city, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/budapest/

Five places I cannot live without

I am so addicted to travel that my (secret) plan is – not to conquer the world, calm down – but to see this world at least once. Thus, when it comes to finding a new travel destination I would rather pledge for going to a place I never been before. However, there are a couple of places where I left a bit of piece of my heart and where I am always ready to go once again. And again, and again…

When both lovely ladies Kasha from Lines of Escape and Dorothée from The Touristin challenged me to be part of the campaign Top Destinations to go There initiated by Booked.net, I made a bit of order into my thoughts and here there are my five places that I’m happy to know. Ask me in one year time and maybe the list will slightly change, who knows?

1. Tel Aviv, Israel

When I cannot stand the cold and I am starving for good food and the Babel of languages and beautiful people and the sea, I know where I want to be: in Tel Aviv. Taking a chair close to Lalaland beach bar, ordering a glass of red wine and watching the waves is all I need for relaxing, feeling happy and carefree.

2. Jerusalem, Israel 

When the sea and the sun from the city that never sleeps, Tel Aviv, are not enough, I love to get lost in the maze of streets of Jerusalem. Every stone has so many stories to tell and feeling part of the big story makes you feel humble yet privileged to have the opportunity to be there.

3. Potsdam, Germany

Less than one hour away from Berlin there is a jewel city of Potsdam. Although very crowded with tourists all round the year, there are enough palaces and gardens where to get lost at your own pace. Add to the cultural and historical layers a lot of foodie temptations and some hills to practise hiking every Sunday and you have the full picture of a place where you would love to come back over and over again. Its advantage is that it’s equally charming in winter and summer.

4. Llandrindod Wells, Wales

I discovered Wales during my stay at Llandrindod Wells, and from the natural landscape to chic and affordable hotels and welcoming people, I instantly decided that I should come back as soon as I can.

5. Paris, France

I don’t care how often I’ve been or I plan to be in Paris, I will never have enough of this city. This is not only the beautiful opportunity of speaking nothing else but French, but the happiness to be in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. One of my medium-terms plans is to spend two full months there, trying to live as Parisiens do! Wish me a lot of good luck!

Now, that you know my secret 5 places, it’s time to find out where other travel bloggers are revisiting every time and again.

My five nominations – one of the lucky bloggers part of this promotion can be a lucky winner of an iPhone 6 – are:

Vlad, from Eff It, I’m Holiday

Jens, from Vagabond’s Log

Ali, from Travel Made Simple

Stephanie, the Lady from the Zoos

Colleen from Ad-lib traveller

Good luck to all who entered the competition and a week full of nice travels everyone!

 

 

 

 

Afternoon tea chez Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest

Budapest is a source of permanent temptations for the travel blogger, and I during my stay – more details and stories coming up soon – I hardly had some free time left. The weather was hot and the streets were busy, with so many things to do that I needed to be up early in the morning every day. With such a crazy schedule, when invited to spend one full hour tasting the afternoon tea at Kempinski Hotel Corvinus I sigh with relief: I was finally able to have some free time only for myself without running in as many directions as possible. After a tour in the Jewish quarter, I walk around 15 minutes till I spotted the modernist architecture of the hotel, close to Budapest’s fashion street. A soothing background music, and the moderate cold accompanied the beginning of the relaxing process that was about to continue for the next 60 minutes or so.

Compared to other Kempinski hotels I visited in the last years, the one in Budapest has a bold revolutionary look, with irregular shapes of the furniture and unusual angles of the building, reflected in the pieces of mirrors that give even greater perspective of grandness and multiple perspectives. A mixture of modern styles – the pop-art being easily recognized in some colorful patches and pieces of furniture that doesn’t bother the visitor in any way. I took a seat in the corner and had a look at the latest news from The Economist and some daily German publications available for consultation. With a mixture of customers, from travellers to business people, the selection was good enough for keeping various guests well informed.

At the bar, a pastel coloured background that made me intensively think at cotton candy was displaying tempting sinful pieces of chocolate – small or big, with fruity decorations or just another layer of chocolate. As a late believer in the charms of chocolate, I might be so hungry for catching up with the long time of deprivation that I better keep myself away of an overdose. I returned to my seat, entering the stage 2 of relaxation, resting my traveller body on the pillows of the comfy plush chairs with the buzz of Babel around me, mostly German and American tourists telling stories about their latest travels.

The service was prompt, friendly and patient with my begging for more time till having a final decision about the tea. Not sure what will be next, I decided for a simple red fruit tea, served in a traditional Zsolnay porcelain. It was refreshing, perfumed and equally tasty either hot or cold. The metal teapot kept the content warm till the end. What can be better on a very hot day than a hotter good tea?

The tea was accompanied by a red box containing not diamonds – this time – but four different sorts of sugar. I admired the choices but decided to have my tea with a little bit of honey from the small jar brought on the tray.

I have no idea in which stage of my relaxation I was when the 3-tiered plate had arrived, but from that moment on, I was already far away on a happy cloud. The smells of fresh pastry and pure cocoa met the seriousness of the sandwiches with salmon and cucumber. Very inspired and welcomed was the idea to bring different sets of cutlery for being used for the very different types of foods. The sandwiches were simple, not very sophisticated yet with genuine full tastes of cheese and salmon and well made white bread.

In the middle, a very welcomed Hungarian-Austrian pastry, an apple strudel wrapped in Hungarian made dough. The crunchy feuilletage was soaked in a sweet creamy sauce, aromated by a leaf of mint and refreshed by the elegant strawberry on the top.

The four petit fours were unforgettable for a long time. A massive drop of cocoa with a touch of gold, followed by a sandwich biscuits with milky cocoa cream, a white chocolate variant with a bit of white cream and the small fruits embraced in a fine yet consistent layer of chocolate.

With every single bit I was feeling more at home in the small lobby, separated from the rest of the building by discrete parenthesis of the space. The huge flowers arrangements or the delicate pieces of arts and interior design were creating almost invisible separations of the area, enough for giving a special sense of intimacy not easy to grasp at the first sight.

With a punctilious care, unexpected pieces of art were appearing from the space openings, while the colours and shapes of ceilings, pavement or furniture matched in the most spectacular compositions.

When my afternoon tea experience was over, I walked a bit more in the lobby, for some last memories and more details of this futuristic space. In one corner, I discovered the lightning entrance to the Nobu restaurant while in another corner of the lobby, some beautiful macarons were displayed in pyramids. For me, the relaxation was over though. True is that chocolate makes you happy, but eating chocolate in a beautiful place can make you even happier. Now, my spirit was high enough for even more travels.

For more insights from the hotel and their elegant afternoon tea, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/hotel-kempinski-budapest/

Disclaimer: I was invited to test the afternoon tea at Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, but the opinions are, as usual, my own.

Hotel review: Hotel Palazzo Zichy, the Italian palace in the heart of Budapest

After a long journey from Berlin to Budapest, with a short stop in the lovely city of Prague, arriving at Hotel Palazzo Zichy, our residence for the next days of adventures in the city was the classical one: taking a cab from the international bus station. If I would have prepared better my travel homework I have discovered that there is a metro connection which takes around 15 minutes. In a way, it was not such a bad decision, as I had enough time to get in touch with a city I haven’t visited in ten years. Although situated in an area that is getting only now more interest for tourists and local developers, the streets around Lorincz pap ter are leading to the main attractions in the city: the National Museum is within minutes of walk, and so is the Jewish quarter. The metro connections are also efficient.

Once I closed the door entrance to the hotel, a new world was ahead of me, introduced by the cozy game of lights: quietness and discretion, fresh air and mystery, smiling faces and efficient friendliness as the check-in procedures were faster than a beautiful dream. The next step was the entrance into our room bubble, designed simply yet with elegant taste.

When you know you will be on the road for weeks, changing cities and currencies, memorizing directions and addresses and trading languages every other day and note sure any more where your home is exactly, nothing makes you feel better than a personalized note welcoming you. Nearby, a plate with fresh fruits, plus some small squares of chocolate made in Italy: enough energy supplies to keep fit and refreshed till tomorrow. The hotel does not have a restaurant of its own, but for late arrivals, there is a big range of restaurants on the streets around serving Italian, Russian or Asian dishes till late in the evening.

Home slippers were waiting in the wooden closets, discretely hidden behind the sliding doors. I started the air condition – in Central Europe the summers are original trademark, with heat and hot temperature all round the day – and started to do a little bit of work. Fortunately, the Internet connection, complimentary gift for the guests, was very fast and I was able to finish all my work within one hour. On my desk, a detailed directory with information in English, French, Italian and German about various practical tips you need to make the best of your stay in Budapest.

The bathroom has branded products, pleasantly smelling the  jasmine. Everything looks elegant yet with a lot of modernist touch. In a plain translation: quality Italian design fit to answer the basic needs of the various visitors of this 4-star boutique hotel.

Take, for instance, the bathroom. Wall papers reminding of silk bad covers from the modern palaces and a wooden floor in the shower space. At the first sight, it gives a certain feeling of frugality, but visiting such a great city, with so many sightseeing requests a Spartan time management.

The rooms are also provided with a mini bar – a bit disappointing at the first sight, but you can survive this feeling – with some basic products that will help you to survive the high hydration emergencies. There are also some Made in Hungary products, such as the classical Unicum.

While we were heading to the breakfast room the next day, we noticed the mysterious discretion of the hall, with what seem to be the typical wallpapers in a very chic black variant. The numbers of the rooms are situated on the upper left side of the entrance. At the beginning, you can get a bit lost, especially if you have a predisposition for that – as I do – but after a while one can get used with the right directions around the simple maze from each floor.

The breakfast space is situated at the ground level, in the cubicle bordered by glass that delineate the middle of the lobby. A transparent glass square outlines some old stones from the original building creating the feeling of surprise and unexpected adventure. As the hotel has only 80 rooms, the space is relatively small, and if you go to eat after 8.30, there is a bit of hustle around and an entire Babel of languages. But there is a reason to rush for: the diversity of breads and cheese, a troubling selection of pastry, the fresh salads and the fish, as well as the delicious coffee – the lucky heritage of the Turkish presence in the area.

During my stay, I made a fixation for the jams: silky, fresh and natural, work of decades of traditional art, fit to match the black breads and other simple mouthwatering pastries. The customer service is not only friendly, but ready to help, as I notice often in the case of families with children trying to find the best chairs for their very small ones or when hot milk was especially prepared for them. There are a couple of rooms – including with connection that can turn them into parts of a bigger appartment –  that suit the needs of family with children and a child under 12 years can be hosted free of charge.

The guests arriving at the hotel are either on vacation or on a short visit for checking the local business opportunities. In the lobby, one can find small discrete places where you can start a warm-up discussion and the offer of Internet free of charge is also available here. The busiest time for the hotel is between May and September, with most guests originally from Italy, Germany, Austria and the UK. The personal was always helpful, giving me the right insights for finding my way through the city or helping me with other basic requests.

Coffee and tea are available free of charge in the lobby till 17 o’clock every day. There is also a small wellness area for those keen to keep up with their physical training during the holiday time, that can also be used free of charge by the guests. For the massage room, there is necessary an appointment in advance.

One of the first boutique hotels in Budapest, Hotel Palazzo Zichy was built in the 19th century, and used to be the residence of Nandor Zichy, an educated local noble. Going through serious renovation under the Italian management, it succeeded to harmonize the classical style of the Hungarian architecture to the boldness of the Italian elegance.

The feeling of home was added by the care to add to every cold corner of the building into a personalized element that invites you to comfort and relaxation.

Especially if you stay there for more than one day, this feeling will conquer you easily and when we were in the rush to leave for new travel adventures, we felt the nostalgia of saying ‘good bye’ to a new friend. Maybe we should be ready to drop a ‘hello’ soon!

For more images from this 4-star boutique hotel, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/hotel-palazzo-zichy-budapest/

Disclaimer: I was offered a free stayed at Hotel Palazzo Zichy during my visit to Budapest, but the opinions are, as usual, my own.