8. Afternoon Tea at Flemings Mayfair Hotel, London
This was the best place to have my first Afternoon Tea at. It was a little awkward because I could tell they though it was weird I was by myself but the staff were so nice. They even asked if I wanted them to take my picture. They took several and asked if I liked them. Hopefully It turned out okay. I’m a terrible judge because I hate most pictures of myself. Which is why there are very few pictures of me on my own blog. This hotel has the best tea and I fell in love with white tea when I stayed here.
7. Sleeper Train, Amsterdam to Prague
This is something I wanted to try and European Sleeper had just added a route to Prague. While this isn’t a luxury experience I’m glad I did it. I roomed with another girl who was there the whole route. She was nice and open to talking although we mostly kept to ourselves but it was nice to talk to someone about what was going on. There were delays and the restroom didn’t have soap, luckily I had hand sanitizer to share. Although they never ran out of toilet paper something I took for granted until my next train ride. I’d do it again if the price was right or I had a travel companion who also liked trains.
6. Kensington Flower Walk, London
I originally decided to see the flower walk to take pictures for my Grandfather. I had already given up trying to find the London Parakeets because I had heard they were in St Jame’s Park. I was so excited when I saw them.
5. Biking Through the Royal Parks in London
I got this idea from Maddie Borge, please go check her out. I also got some great cafe and bakery recommendations from her.
I loved this so much! It was so easy. There are a few spots to rent bikes. I only had to cross one street and biked through St James, Green, and Hyde Park. The bike rental system is really easy to use but I’m sure someone could help you like I helped these ladies when I stopped for a bit by The Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. It was so fun and a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. The Perfect way to enjoy my Birthday!
4. Train Ride, Prague to Budapest
This might be the biggest adventure of my life so far!
I was really excited for this train ride and hopeful it would have some scenic views.
While I was waiting to board I heard this couple talking and it sounded like they were American. I think they were talking about Florida. I struck up a conversation with them. They actually lived in the Midwest. We were in different cars so we parted ways after boarding. I had paid for first class because it was less than $60 for 7 hours. It had big windows, was air conditioned with free water bottle and WiFi.
Although 30 minutes in we were told there was an accident on the rail and the detour would delay us. I wasn’t worried though, the only thing I had planned that night was checking into my hotel and getting dinner before it got dark. 2 hours in they had sold out of water and 3 hours in they were sold out of food. I thought this was poor inventory management but I was grateful I had brought 2 water bottles and a bag full of pastries, at least a dozen. I was more alarmed they had ran out of toilet paper and soap 30 minutes later but I had wet wipes.
9 hours in we were approaching the Hungarian border. We were told we would have to transfer to another train to get to Budapest. This was not a planned transfer but it was a small station so it seemed like an easy transfer. While boarding into the cars across from the train we were getting off of, the couple I had talked to before called me over to where they were seating.
I started talking to them about what had happened. I had seen the our previous train engine detach from the cars and take off. I think they were running out of fuel. We also thought it was weird that the bathrooms in the new train weren’t working. No one was sure what was happening. I started seeing this lady, who loudly proclaimed she was from New York as if this was enough of a credential to be an expert of public transportation, walking around the train we were on. She suddenly announced these cars weren’t attached to an engine.
As I relayed what she was saying to my new friends, I watched from the inside of our car to see if she would figure out what to do. The couple I was talking to appeared to be trusting my judgement on what to do next. I don’t know why, possibly impressed with my youth or courage to travel solo. Although my confidence to travel solo was currently at an all time low. I thought I heard her say there was another train there, so I leaned outside the open carriage door to see and hear better.
I caught the end of her conversation with a man who I assumed might be the train conductor. When I heard him confirm that train was going to Budapest and leaving in just a few minutes, I whirled around and told our car that we needed to get on that train NOW!
It seemed like everyone sprung into action seconds later, there were about 20-30 people left and at first it was mad dash until we realized we would need to work together to all make it on the train. We had to get out of the cars on the side not next to a boarding platform so the last step off was about 3 ft from the ground. I was one of the first people down, being one of the youngest with luggage I could easily handle by myself. After the American couple, I saw two tiny Asian couples all with bags at least twice the size of them. When I started to grab their bags, people were already starting an assembly line to get everyone’s luggage on the train first. Most of the people on the train were senior on their way to a river cruise in Budapest so a lot of people needed help stepping down themselves along with their bags.
Everyone made it on the new train with maybe a minute or two to spare but there was a bottle neck for at least 5 minutes because all the bags were in a pile in front of the opposite door. About half the people took their bags and moved to other cars. I stayed in that car and sat next to my new friends along with a Canadian couple they had talked to on the train before all this transfer chaos.
They introduced me and I found out they were also on their way to a river cruise although a different one and both the husbands were retired academics. I don’t remember all we talked about but it was the best time I had with other people on my trip. The adrenaline and camaraderie of going through something together was unlike anything I’ve experienced. I was in awe of their knowledge in all kinds of seemingly obscure things and they asked me about tech that I was using to travel. They seemed impressed just by the solo travel I had already done.
We still had over a hour train ride left to get to Budapest and there were a few stops along the way. Every other platform was on the other side of the train and with a lot of the bags still blocking one of the doors. They needed to be moved to the opposite side multiple times. Luckily, the Canadian husband took it upon himself to do it.
3. Walking through through the Budapest Jewish Quarter in the rain
Most of this day it was drizzling in a way that softened the rough edges of the city. Lazily walking through the streets with only design shops as a destination to occasionally get out of the rain. It felt like the best way to spend an afternoon and really helped my understand the character of Budapest.
2. Parisi Passage
This is the most beautiful cafe I’ve ever been to. It’s the hotel I want to stay in the next time I go to Budapest. It has the best cake I’ve ever had and one of the best hot chocolates I’ve ever had. The whole time I was there I couldn’t believe it. I need to go back and bring someone so they can experience it too!
1. Morning Walk in Old Town Prague
This is the most magical morning I’ve ever had!
