This past weekend was my schools' winter break. It was just a longer weekend but it gave my friends and I enough time to visit two countries! We woke up extremely early on Thursday morning to catch the first flight of the day. We arrived in Prague early in the morning. We navigated our way from the airport to our hostel. They let us drop off our bags while we went out exploring. By the time we were done doing all that it was almost time for our walking tour. We were able to grab lunch at this delicious pasta place and we (barely) made it to our tour on time. I enjoyed this tour much more than the ones I have done in other countries because our tour guide was American. It was interesting to experience Prague and their history from an American perspective. Americans are a small percentage of the population here in Europe that aren't afraid to talk about politics. Specifically in many of the countries I have visited guides and locals are unwilling to discuss communism. I liked this guide because he was so candid about the country's past and their affiliation to the taboo political system. After the tour we explored the city. We walked across the Charles bridge and saw some amazing artists along the way. We went back to our hostel and took a quick nap. Later that evening we went to dinner at a local place that our guide had recommended. It was so good! Then we were in search of chimney cakes for desert. Chimney cakes are baked dough covered in cinnamon sugar shaped like a cone and they filled with ice cream. I cannot stress enough how amazing they are. I seriously ate one everyday. They aren't a traditional Czech dish but they are insanely popular on the streets of Prague.

The next morning we woke up pretty early. We started the day by grabbing pastries and coffee at a local cafe. We then walked to the dancing building, one of Prague's most famous buildings. After getting some amazing photos (and a bunch of weird looks from fellow tourists) we ventured across the river and made our way to the John Lennon wall. It was awesome to see almost every global movement displayed in one place. Our next stop was for coffee because we needed to warm up from the cold. After that we started the trek up to the castle and cathedral. Along the way we found the most amazing gallery. Of course I had to buy a painting. My friends even bought some too! We eventually made our way to the castle and we got to soak in some of the most beautiful views of the city. The cathedral is located inside the walls of the castle and we were stunned silent when we caught a glimpse of the glorious church. We wandered through the castle until we found one of the most famous look out points. While we were there it started to snow! Just flurries but still. We then grabbed tea to warm up. Then we left the castle grounds and made our way to a local spot for lunch. Our next stop was back to the Charles Bridge. This time we climbed the tower and watched the sunset from the top of the building. After the sunset we found a local pub to try some famous Czech beer. Everyone knows that I hate beer but I found one that was actually decent! We went to a different restaurant to get dinner. One of their local dishes is fried cheese (basically a huge mozzarella stick) and of course I had to try it before we left. It was so good! Our last stop in Prague was to the bus station. We took a night bus to Budapest and continued our journey!

The bus dropped us off at the "city center" at 5:45am. AKA they dropped us in the middle of nowhere and left us. Nothing was open so we took a taxi to our hostel and hung out in the lobby until things started to open up. We got coffee after some much needed rest. Then we walked to the famous thermal baths. Even though it was kinda chilly outside it was nice swim!!! I haven't been able to swim in months so it felt great to be in the water again. We had to rush out of the baths a few hours later because we had to eat and get to our tour. The walking tour was nice but our guide wasn't amazing. The tour ended on the Buda side of the city. We got to watch the sunset from the castle and it was gorgeous. After dark we walked back to our hostel. The famous bridge was stunning all lit up and I'm so proud of the photos I captured. We checked into our hostel and enjoyed a casual dinner at a local restaurant. We wandered through a local market and stopped to get more chimney cakes along the way. After an extremely long day I was exhausted and passed up on drinks.

The last morning of our trip we made our way to a famous bagel shop, Budapest Bagel. I've been craving bagels so badly while I've been here and they're so hard to find in Europe. I would highly recommend this place because the bagel I got was amazing! After breakfast we walked the river and explored some local shops. We made our way to the gorgeous Parliament building. Our last stop in Budapest was one of their famous coffee houses. We enjoyed some amazing coffee and then headed to the airport. At the airport I got hit with a migraine and blacked out as I was going through security. I ended up okay and made it safety back home but it was the worst possible way to end the trip. I loved both cities I visited and I cannot wait to return soon!