When I think of Munich, I definitely don't think of the circus. However, Munich has one of the largest circuses in Europe and it's had its own permanent venue since 1919. It's kind of a big deal. Advertising was plastered all over the city months in advance and it worked. After some research and weighing of morals, we decided to go. Happy belated birthday, Matt. The venue was magical and smelled of hay. The acts included incredibly talented and fearless gymnasts and impressive animals. The lead clown thankfully did not rely too much on German to thoroughly entertain us all. Universal humor for the win. There was a little too much audience participation with members randomly being selected to come inside the ring. The most terrifying part of the entire evening was the ever-present realization that you could get pulled into the act! Actually, the scariest part was when a lion tamer was in a cage with two dozen lions and tigers. They just kept coming in. I thought for sure he was going to be eaten. He did, however, break into a river of sweat and angry yelling when an audience member in the first row left his seat (which was absolutely forbidden while these beautiful beasts were center-ring!). Thankfully, utter chaos was avoided.
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To cap off our family adventure, we traveled to Budapest, which proved to be a very cool city to explore. Budapest is all about superlatives. For example, the Budapest Parliament (above and below) is the third largest Parliament building in the world. Bring on the grandeur and decadence! There were rooms that looked like they were straight out of the movies - as in, cue the burglar stealthily lowering herself from the ceiling to steal the crown jewels. (We weren't allowed to take pictures in that room, which involved a regular changing of the guards to protect the majestic crown.) Additionally, the Szechenyi Medicinal Bath is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. This was probably the highlight of our trip and made for the most unique memories. It really brought out the kid in you - sans squealing - as you strategically ran from the bath house through the freezing cold to sink into the thermal baths. Dignity be gone, for sure. Our good friend Rick Steves suggested that we look for men playing chess. Turns out it was too cold for chess but not for speedos! We easily could have spent every evening in the baths. Finally, capable of seating 3,0000 people, the Dohány Street Synagogue (below) is the largest synagogue in Europe. We also wandered over to Vajdahunyad Castle, which was initially built out of cardboard and wood in 1896 for Hungary's millennial celebrations. Thankfully, the locals loved it so much they decided to turn the castle into a more permanent structure. If felt very Disneyesque. For nightlife we checked out the colorful and eclectic ruin bars. These bars started popping up in the 2000s when it became trendy to convert derelict buildings and parking lots that had been abandoned after WWII into quirky spaces with a lot of unique personality. As we wandered from room to room in the sprawling building, we encountered flea market furniture and artwork to fit random themes. It was a feast for the senses.
On our way from Innsbruck to Vienna, we took a train through the mountains. It was foggy and oh, so lovely. Some communities had recently received the worst snowfall in decades, which left them temporarily isolated from the world. At one point we saw a man shoveling snow off of his roof, a task I'd heard many have had to do with heavy snowfall. While it's hard to compare city views with the natural beauty of country landscapes, Vienna is elegantly impressive. Passing through rather quickly, we observed the coolest public ice-skating set-up in front of the town hall, ate all the chocolate Mozart balls, explored St. Stephen's Cathedral and catacombs, and visited the most wonderful library.
Sorry for the hiatus! In February my mom and brother rendezvoused in Munich and we hopped on a train heading for the Austrian Alps. First stop, Innsbruck. Humble Innsbruck has some incredible mountain views, some stylish palaces with preening peacocks, and an incredible ski jump (hello, 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics). With some essential assistance from a gondola, we were whisked to the top of the world where we enjoyed panoramic views at dusk and marveled at the adrenaline junkies who were launching themselves over impossibly steep precipices as they skied, snowboarded, and even paraglided to their inevitable doom. Exposed to the arctic elements at the top, a few of us struggled to simply stay vertical in the raging wind. It was the highlight of the trip! Innsbruck - Totally worth it and we didn't even ski. We will be back for some summer hikes.
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