So, there you have the end of my trip posts. There are several things I'll remember or take away from this trip.
1. If you asked me to go back to Austria or Budapest, I would do it in a heartbeat. Absolutely, 100%, yes. There's hardly been a day that's gone by where I don't wish that I was back in Austria.
2. If you asked me if you should go to Austria or Budapest, I would highly suggest that you go - and take me along with you.
3. I wouldn't say that Austrians are the kindest people. They aren't rude or mean, but they are reserved and polite. Americans (especially midwesterners) are used to loud friendliness, and that just isn't the Austrian way.
4. Before we booked our tickets, I really struggled with whether we should go to Prague or Budapest. Everything I'd seen about Prague said that it was super touristy. Everything I'd read about Budapest made it seem scary. I'd read that people either really love or really hate Budapest. Budapest is NOT scary and I think I'm in the camp of people that really loved it! It wasn't as modern and clean as Vienna, but it was still charming and the history was very interesting.
5. You'll notice that my mom and I ate a lot of pastries. It made me giggle as I was doing all of these posts to see how many pictures I had taken of cakes and pastries. I weighed myself when I got home to see if all of the sugar had affected me. Turns out you CAN eat tons of pastries if you walk for miles on end each day and not gain weight! I confided my victory to my mom, and she said she had the same results!
6. I think it was almost guaranteed that there would be some disagreement between me and my mom at some point on this adventure. We were both prepared for it to happen. It just seems like a rite of passage with whomever you're traveling with. But would I take a trip with my mom again? Absolutely! In fact, we're already planning a trip in another 5 years, but this time it's her turn to pick the location. She's thinking either London or Paris, to which I say, "Yes!" and "Yes!" But this time, Mom, please bring walking shoes!
7. While I'm on the subject, there are definite perks to traveling with your mom. As Brian observed, "There's no way I would have spent 3 hours with you in some sort of jewelry store." (How can you say that about Swarovski?!?!) I don't think he would have been game for the shows we saw or some of the museums, either. He told me he'd rather go to Austria or Germany to see WWII history. Psssh, men!
8. This trip confirmed to me that rather than have a big house or fancy cars or gobs of jewelry, that I would much rather spend my money on traveling the world. There's so much to see, so many people to meet, so much culture. Let's be honest: I want to collect stamps in my passport as a hobby. This is my second passport so I had to start over with my stamp collecting (my old passport had Peru and New Zealand stamps in it). My new passport has Belize, Guatemala, U.S., Austrian, and German stamps in it (no Hungary stamp because there's free travel between countries that belong to the European Union). Where should my next stamp come from, is the question?
9. My Canon S5 IS failed me on this trip. There's something wrong with the battery connectors on it because I went through batteries like it was nobody's business. It was so frustrating. My camera takes 4 AA batteries, and a pack of batteries over there cost roughly $8. I think I bought at least 4 packs of batteries during the whole trip. LAME.
Other observations:
Der Mann has the best apple strudel
Sachertorte isn't all that
The Austrians have Aldi, but they called if "Hofer"
Everyone should visit a concentration camp as least once in your life
You must try a curry dog, pretzels, and schnitzel to get the full Austrian experience
Don't forget the goulash in Budapest (and bring home a tin of paprika like we did!)
I think it would be pretty awesome to travel through Europe by train
Even if you think something is going to be dorky or weird, do it anyway (like going down the luge in the hills of Salzburg and spinning around a la "The Hills are Alive")
Pack lightly, but also bring an extra backpack for all of your souvenirs
Thank heaven for credit cards, which were accepted almost everywhere. The only cash I carried I got out of the local ATM.
