DS

Finally watching Oppenheimer today and the non imax theater is full!

Domestic air travel is suffering it seems while international air travel is booming according to Airlines. Good! Who the fuck will want to travel domestically if they can travel international for almost the same prices these days? I as an American genuinely do not feel safe traveling to at least half the states within my own country, so yeah I’d rather travel internationally than pay out of my nose here and contribute to states that are so fucked up that people should think thrice to even consider going there (Yeah, I am looking at you Florida).

For our central Europe trip, we booked Le Meredian at both Munich (for one night) and Vienna, and IHG intercontinental at Budapest. At Innsbruck and Prague we booked boutique hotels, with Prague being a 5 star as a trip ender. Each of the big chain hotels were fantastic in their own ways. The room at Vienna was huge even by American standards and comfortable, while IHG had an amazing view of the Buda Castle with a comfortable sized room. Munich was great as well. At Vienna, the staff went out of their way to give us recommendations on things to do, tell us which places were overrated and where to get good coffee that locals went. At Budapest the hotel gave us nice chocolates and snacks on checking in.

The worst experiences? both the boutique hotels at Innsbruck and Prague, though the Innsbruck hotel made up for it. We booked a “triple” room at Innsbruck hotel, and when we checked in they told us they gave us a standard double because we didnt indicate 3 people. We were like why the F would we book a triple room if we were not three people to begin with, especially considering the room was more expensive! After a rude conversation with the hotel front desk, the staff came back and simply gave us a third room and comped it. The third room came super handy and staff then also ensured we had all we needed in terms of room.

At Prague however it was a different story all together. This was by far the worst 5 star I have stayed at and it was frustrating. To begin with, we booked their one bedroom suite with note that we had kids, and we also wanted rooms next to each other. We also told them we’d be checking in late and wanted a surprise champagne for our wives in room. Cue to checkin time, there is only one person manning the checkin counter and the dude had some serious attitude. First he was surprised we were three people and then he’s like yeah your rooms are floors apart and nothing can be done. We get to the room and find out there is no third bed for the kid. So we go down again to checkin and complain, at which point the front desk guy threw a fit and said ok he will set up the beds for us. After one hour, he finally shows up and makes the third bed, with much huffing & puffing and throwing a fit. I was like dude, fuck you, its a 5 star, I empathize this is not your job, but if you’ve been told to man the hotel shut the fuck up and do your job. Next up, our champagnes are left warm in the room and we are both like uh, what the F do we do with warm champagne bottles? It doesnt end here - the other family discovered a dirty towel in their bathroom which wasn’t changed. What did we get for all the complains we made? Sorry, it shouldn’t have happened by the manager and thats it. We of course made an official complaint against the night manager but something tells me nothing much will come of it.

This experience has basically affirmed that when in Europe, skip the boutiques and stick to the American hotel chains. You will be in much better hands, in much better accommodations and much better service.

I’ll say this about Americans: they are some of the most approachable people you can run into while traveling overseas. They are often the chattiest and will offer you help without you even asking; they’ll happily share (annoyingly also) whatever they know and more. Most of ‘em will have no qualms starting and continuing a convo with you for a while. Next to them, Australians are another bunch of people with similar nature. Of course as a desi I wouldn’t have any problem talking to an Indian, but they are reserved, as are most Europeans. I’ll be honest - I love that about our countrymen and often find it so easy to just get information from a fellow American than anyone else coz they will have no problem sharing that info.

One key thing we noticed everywhere in Europe we went is how warm it is indoors, unlike America. Each of the hotels we stayed at by default was warm, and then we needed to cool it down if needed. Every day we came back to windows opened with fresh air circulating in room, and not AC blasting. The corridors of hotels were not freezing or cold by any means. Pretty much all the restaurants we had food at had their windows and doors open at all times. Whenever we used Taxis/Uber we noticed they’d keep their windows down too instead of AC. Even the airports felt warm. Which is all very very refreshing and nice! Unlike out here, every fucking indoor thing is freezing cold. The hotels are cold, the restaurants are cold, taxis are cold! America loves its fucking ACs and freezing colds! And we expect this country to do anything about climate change. Americans can’t even do the simplest fucking things like these and we expect them to tackle climate change it seems lol.

One of my weirdest memory of this Europe trip will be how casually we were approached by someone in Prague at 11 in night (so lots of tourists still around), in town square, and he goes - You want to buy ganja? hashish? cocaine? lsd? - and we were like huh, what?! It was all so casual and unexpected that it took a few seconds to register what was happening. We quickly said no and walked away, only to be met by another guy 100 meters away who goes Strip club? I get you free entry!" . Whatever the F happens in Prague, stays there I suppose. This is not to suggest Prague is unsafe - in fact, it very much is, but it was the sheer casualness it of all that shocked us. I am glad kids were not with us. Prague is very much an adult place post evening in that regards for sure!

Over the last 2 weeks (or 12 days to be precise) we visited multiple cities in Central Europe as part of our summer vacation. What started out as a family booking very quickly became a group trip with another family who joined in on the trip, which also influenced some of the decisions on cities we went. All in all, we had a great time in Europe, and here are the cities ranked from bottom to top for us (and for a change, me, my wife and kid were all on same page for city rankings!).

Munich - We started our journey from Munich and ended in Prague mostly out of necessity because that was the cheapest combination of tickets available. We had a vague idea of what we wanted to do in between but not much. Rating Munich is harsh because we did not even get time to explore Munich properly - we were there a little more than a day before shuttling out to next destination. That said, whatever we did explore, Munich was great, especially the food and biergartens.

Prague: Prague was astoundingly pretty. The main areas of city are just like a post card. Turn at any corner and you have a post card picture waiting to be shot. I shot most pictures at Prague because I couldn’t stop clicking at all. Prague is compact, but that also goes against it because the main touristy areas are so crowded it feels like walking in Disneyland constantly. After the second time we walked the main town square we just dreaded going back into crowds. Prague’s night life is awesome, but the food was just meh across the board. We had the sweetest grandma waitress in a restaurant here, but a majority of people were just unfriendly and not really helpful. Also because the main touristy area is in one place, it feels like you see the same damn shops again & again - and the rest of the city actually feels very disconnected from the main tourist area. As pretty as Prague was, it was not a city that was on top of my list because of how touristy it really is. We just never felt we were in a “city”.

Budapest: Budapest completely surprised me! We wouldn’t have done Budapest had it not been for our friends, but I am glad we did. This is a city that grew on me in the 3 days we spent there. The city is vast, the monuments are staggering in size and best of all, it all feels like you are a part of a city and not in some part of sequestered zone like Prague did. The size of any of the places - parliament, buda castle, the thermal baths etc was just huge and overwhelming and completely caught me by surprise. The food was fantastic, as were the people in the city who seemed far far more relaxed, friendly and chill than Chech. We had the best Lebanese meal here. Even after 3 days we really needed more time to soak in the city and what it had to offer.

Vienna: Stunning. Thats the only word that comes to mind over and over again to describe this city. This is a magnificent city in every sense of word - public transportation, public spaces, biking roads and pavements, and the actual city area itself. This was a place where our jaws kept dropping at every turn because it was just so gorgeous. The city palaces, the grandeur, and the overall “classiness” of this city was just too much to resist. Plus, we found the Austrians so friendly and helpful everywhere - whether restaurants, city transport or otherwise - they were always so nice to talk to. The food scene in the city was phenomenal, and we had the best Israeli food in Naschmarkt here. This was a city that just truly stuck with me, and all of us felt like we could just move here!

Innsbruck: For a majority of us, Innsbruck was where we left our hearts at. Sure it does not have the grandeur of Vienna, or the prettiness of Prague, or the sheer size of Budapest, but what it does have is the alps. When you combine the alps, the rivers, the mountains and a beautiful city in midst of it, the package simply is a 10/10. The food was phenomenal, the scenery was just outrageous, and the small city vibe just gave it such a nice chill feel to it. Though it rained a bit in our stay here, if there is one place we all want to go back to an explore all the areas around it, it is Innsbruck and the Austrian alps around that area. This was the place we truly felt we were on a vacation.

Thats it, five cities in 12 days, though its more like 4. Do I recommend this itinerary to everyone? Hell no. We did over 100 miles of walking in the 12 days and it was a LOT. If I had to choose, I would have taken out one city and spent more time in other cities. If possible I wouldn’t even have gone to Munich and strictly done a in-out from Vienna, but it is what it is. This was an absolutely fantastic summer vacay. Now to just sift through some 6000+ photos we took collectively, its going to be a fun task for next couple of weeks!

All in all a terrrific trip to Central Europe spent in company of good friends. Lots of walking left us exhausted but also charged. Pedometer stats say we walked over 100 miles over last 12 days. I am so proud of the 12 year snd 9 year old in our group who also did the 100 plus miles over last 12 days - so so proud of them!

Home sweet home. All things said and done feels good to be back in comfort of home. Cant wait to sleep on my own bed tonight!

The priority pass lounge access in Europe is super useful for resting up and eating a quick bite

We finally cross the bridge and check out the old old town today.

The joys of taking the tram in opposite direction is you discover completely new random things. Like yesterday we took the tram in opposite direction without realizing and ended up in an area that had so many desis I was like is this where most of desis live? Was just interesting is all.