Split, Croatia

From Budapest it was on to the Croatia, the crown jewel of our trip. A long journey should always end in paradise or death. Our trip together finished with the former, thankfully. We rode the train to the town of Split where we walked the old town and relaxed on the island of Havar.

Turkish Bath Budapest Style

The Turkish bath in Budapest was the highlight of the trip so far. As my travels will take me through Turkey I will save a full-on description when I attend one in the country of it’s origin. Goodbye Hungary. Thinks: saunas, hot springs, pools, showers, whirlpools, food, sun, and people from all over the world.

Grindin'

Samir saw this one and thought it was a cool shot. Therefore I post.

Budapest, Hungary

There was a complete breakdown in picture taking documentation on the stint in Budapest. In retrospect, the breakdown also applies to cultural visits as well. All we did was enjoy the place. We ate. We drank. We caffe’d. We clubbed. Turkish bathed. We left. It was awesome. After nearly two weeks of seeing everything we were supposed to in each city visited, we took the opposite approach in Budapest. Please take the few posts, the few words, and the pictures as indicative of an incredible visit to an exciting city.

Kaisekreiner

There weren’t a lot of pictures taken in Vienna so this will be the grand finale. Oh how grand it was though. Meet the Kaisekreiner. This sausage is the sausage that ends all sausages. It is like a kielbasa but with a huge asset – there is mouth-watering delectable myserious cheese in the middle. As it cooks, the cheese melts and provides the perfect dance partner for a minuet of flavors. Horseradish, spicy mustard, and a wheat roll were also welcomed to the ball. This was inarguably the best food on the trip. One particular day it provided both lunch and dinner.

Chess Catastrophe

Is there a better way to follow-up a few mugs of Ottakringer beer at the Vienna summer film festival than to engage in some mental Olympics? No. Samir and I wandered into the behemoth of a government building to view its innards. Surprisingly, its chambers were filled with chess enthusiasts participating in a rigorous tournament. Not to be out-nerded we grabbed an open practice table and went to battle. It was a massacre – on both sides. I am sure passersby were appalled at our tactical imprecision. At the end, one of us had to rise victorious, a victory reminiscent of Rock I. Basically, we aren’t very good and should stick to our day jobs.

Mystery Government Building

From the film festival outside, we went into the beautiful and massive…. actually I didn’t catch what this place was. As you will read, it is home to a chess tournament extravaganza.

Ottakringer Beer

I will allow myself to post one risqué photo verging on the precipice of wide scale scandal. I do it because I must. Ottakringer beer is one of the best I have tested. It is so good it deserves moderation. Its taste lies somewhere between Amstel and a Heffeweisen but without any bitter after-taste. Although I am indifferent to their dalliance with raspberries for the summer ale (it is actually a purplish hue), the original recipe is superb. Ignorantly, Ottakringer is likely to be the only Austrian word I will remember from this trip. (Yes, that is a Mark Sanchez hat).

Vienna Flowers

This is a Viennese garden of the kind dotted throughout the landscape of the city.

Tresniewski

This place was celebrated in the guidebooks as the best sandwich shop in Vienna. It lived up to its billing. Hering, salami, tuna, hard boiled eggs and sardines are all chopped and processed into a hummus-like paste which is then spread over fresh wheat bread. It would serve as a harbinger of the tasty quality of the cuisine over the stay in Vienna.

St. Stephens Heist

Underneath St. Stephens, and therefore under the tourist square, sits a crypt with the tombs of religious clergy and a catacomb full with bones of individuals who died during the plague. Our young but vociferous tourguide, a portly master of annunciation in multiple languages, provided a humorous soundtrack in a morbid environment. We were impressed by him and our free tour! That is, until we reached the stairs to reemerge from the depths and there stood our rotund leader requiring the purchase of a full-price ticket at the exit? In my opinion that is undoubtedly offensive of the 8^th commandment.

Subway Fresh

Vienna is one of the cleanest metropolitan areas I have visited. This is the subway if you can believe it. If this jewelry store existed in a New York subway system a homeless person (residentially challenged?) would be bedazzled and sleeping on one of the shelves. Samir says you can eat off the rails if you want to.

High Volume

Contemporary music of an unknown genre resonated throughout the courtyard of the museum district from these high hanging speakers.

Kunsthalle Surrealismo

The Kunsthalle has a current exhibition on Dali and Surrealism. The end product of a movement that posits there is no distinction between the real world and the dream world is likely to be cool stuff. It was. What better way to revel in an introduction to such concepts than to take a quick nap on the courtyard furniture outside to test out the theory.

Cafe Culture Vienna

This is breakfast at one of the oldest cafes in Vienna. Kiki said this is boring and no one cares. I tend to agree but took very few pictures in Vienna so I’m reaching for content.

Rembrandt

The museum is home to some very famous pieces by Vermeer, Bruegel, and Rembrandt. I studied some of these specific works in Art History class with Samir’s older brother Conall. And there I was seeing the actual work with the younger brother. Life is fun that way. Pictured is one of Rembrandt’s famous self-portraits.

Blue Pen Doodles

A special exhibit was interposed among the classical European art. Jan Fabre’s drawings, interspersed throughout the gallery, provided a refreshing respite from the many religious pieces. You think your doodles at work are good??? This skull is drawn entirely in blue ballpoint pen on paper.

Kunsthistorische Museum

The galleries were exquisite.

King of the Jungle

This Egyptian art reminded of my high school football team’s huddle break mantra Lions pride! and the fight song of my college Alma Mater Roar! Lions! Roar!

"Throw it back"

The museum was replete with Egyptian and Greek artifacts. The collection was extensive completely filling room after room in the palace-like wings of the museum. It took only five minutes of viewing the collection of ancient pieces to ask myself: How is it that I am looking at Egyptian art in Austria? I was looking at important cultural pieces of another country’s history. I thought shouldn’t they give all this stuff back??? I decided to chill out, reminded myself I should just enjoy the experience, and proceeded on the visit. Not but 15 minutes later Samir, without suggestion, insinuation or provocation on my end, said, matter of factly, “they should give this stuff all back.” The opinion reflects one way I view the world on my travels. It seems my new travel partner suffers from the same affliction.

Vienna, Austria

I enjoyed a relaxing stopover in Salzburg, Vienna last summer so I looked forward to a return to the clean and picturesque country. This is of course the home of the former Governator of California. We arrived to a canopy of clouds and eventually we zipped around the town sloshing through a light rainstorm. Both voluntarily and by necessity we visited the Museum of Historical Art that is pictured here. Also, as a result of not taking a lot of pictures in Vienna I will have to protect this house with words more than admirable photos.

Czeching Out

Although this was my second trip to Prague I am still unsatisfied with all that I saw. There are still parts of the city still undiscovered and only a prolonged stay would do it justice. It is massive and sprawling and has character in every area. It was enough for now however and I applaud the dark richness that the city offers.

Czech Food

Amazing local dishes from the Pilsner Urquell (Berer) restaurant. Beef above and pork with potato dumplings and spinach below.

The Dancing Building

I haven't looked up the history behind this building but it is now being used as residence space and also a restaurant.

Nice Kicks

This Christ on the cross sculpture is composed completely of shoes. It is a form of flattery and also subversive. It is both humorous and serious. These are some of my favorite elements of today’s works.

DOX-Center for Contemporary Art

This is change-the-game cool. It can be found circling high above the contemporary art museum DOX in Prague. Even traveling should be an expression of one’s self. My approach now takes me to places like these instead of one more place that highlights the past. As I move into an era of applied study the present take on new meaning. The skull speaks to me.

Cross Club

Samir and I visited a unique dance club called Cross Club. The entire structure of the indoor and outdoor areas was composed of a conglomeration of metal pieces (as shown). The wall behind the DJ was made of lights that were synchronized to the music. The lights formed a face reminiscent of a painted African tribesman. Heavy drum beats (look up Dubstep) filled the air of the cramped dance floor which itself was filled with fist-pumping males. We also had to wander through desolate industrial areas just to find the place. It was a calculated risk that paid the kind of dividends one will brood upon when they are too old to visit such venues. (I had to go back and get a picture the next day)

Kafka Statue

What’s not there is what is important, that which lies in the shadows. The unknown.

Kafka Museum Part 2

I returned to my favorite museum in the world. Now having traveled a bit, the cliché “in the world” has more umph. I mean it. Kafka is an intriguing figure who provides lessons for those who will listen. We can learn from his inner conflict so we can deal with our similar dilemmas. This especially applies to us lawyers – a professional community to which he belonged. He struggled between his role as civil servant and artist. He was tortured by bureaucracy and manifested those feelings in his art. Read “The Trial” then visit the museum and you will begin to make light of something seemingly incomprehensible.

Unknown Pastry

We didn’t eat these but we should have.

Kielbasa

Meet Kielbasa with mustard in a roll. I usually like my Kielbasa campaigns to be a little spicier but when it has the support of Grog it can’t lose.

Grog

While in Prague castle we had some rain. This provided a good reason to seek cover under the outdoor umbrellas and indulge. This local drink is Grog, A hot rum, water, lemon, and honey concoction that is typically drunk in the winter. I’ll take another.

Medieval Weapons

What a bad way to go out.

Prague!

This! Is! Prague!

St. Vitus Cathedral

Another cathedral. However, Gothic architecture is fine by me.

Prague Castle

Prague castle is a disappointment after having visited Wawel castle in Krakow. It is more of a tourist trap than anything else. Of course the architecture and cathedral is beautiful but this can be said in reference to any European city really. The castle grounds lack the necessary elements that make it feel like an actual castle. No moat. No dragon. No turrets. No drawbridge. Once inside the walls it is mostly shopping.

Lennon Wall

This Lennon Wall is on all the maps and in the guidebooks. The graffiti is really weak. The only really good graffiti happens when it is illegal. But illicit behavior is bad. So I guess there is no good graffiti. Hm.

Praha Return

When I left Prague two summers ago I knew I needed more time. This opinion was validated on this visit because there was very little overlap between what I did then and what I did presently. And I still feel like I could do more. The picture is of the main square with the astronomical clock on the left. The tourists arrive in droves but that aside this is a beautifully dark and overwhelming city.

Goodbye Cracovia

I leave Poland with information that I will not soon forget. I can’t write that about every place I visit. The people are hospitable and it has raw character. It is a place I never expected to visit but it is now a place to which I hope to return.

Birkenau, Auschwitz

This is the 2^nd larger concentration camp in Auschwitz. It is larger than 20 or more football fields set in twos side-by-side. It was a labor and extermination camp of an enormous scale. This picture taken inside the former barracks is enough.

Auschwitz

My fingers tread lightly on the keys here. We visited a graveyard. It is a solemn place and a preserved site of one of the greatest human atrocities. It is a place whose continued existence is necessary for the world to learn from the past but it is also a place that should be razed and turned to dust. I walked the campus of infamous Auschwitz in silence. Few places or persons have stirred me as this visit did. The injustice is palpable. The injustice overwhelms like the dust of an erupted volcano. Rooms of discarded shoes. Rooms of uselessly towed family valuables. Rooms of shaved human hair. In the underground gas chamber I felt as a trespasser. I am more educated for having visited but I felt guilty – possibly for being a part of a global human community capable of such things. I detest prisons and I detest injustice.

Necessary Good

I was in St. Mary’s Cathedral. I visit famous churches to say I was there. It is a 3-minute necessary stroll. Basically, it is the equivalent of brushing my teeth.

Molly

Since my family’s first visit to New Orleans, horse drawn carriages have reminded me of my sister. She loved the Molly horses of the N.O. This one’s for her.

Influential Past

The past continues to influence the psyches of the present.

Set You Free

In German, this sign reads: “Art will set you free.” A sign similar in form was erected above the concentration camp at Auschwitz reading: “Work will set you free.” The point: art itself, like forced labor in the camp, will never set you free.

The MOCAK

This is Samir in the café at the Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow. I am dragging him to every new museum that has something that arguably resembles an art form. These spaces provide balance the many old word sites. One of my interests on this trip is to learn about the current state of these countries through the expression of its contemporary artists. Barely a few years old, this space is amazing. Modern architecture might be slowly wearing me down.