Illiberal Democracy

Hungary has had a controversial prime minister, Viktor Orbán, since 2010. His party is the far right Fidesz. From Wikipedia: “His tenure has seen Hungary government shift towards what he has called “illiberal democracy” — citing countries such as China, Russia, India, Singapore, and Turkey as models of governance — while simultaneously promoting Euroscepticism and […]

Magyars

This excerpt from Rick Steves sums up well the feeling one gets in Budapest. It just doesn’t feel like any of the four Slavic places I’ve visited on this trip. But I will say that it is also the most touristy, I think even more than Prague! And I hear English and Spanish (why Spanish?) […]

Schindler’s List

On Sunday I visited the factory where Oskar Schindler helped keep many Krakow Jews alive, and he is credited with saving 1200 total. The museum is very well put together, and it’s super-informative, with lots of interactive exhibits and touchscreens where you can dive deeper. You could easily spend a few days there just absorbing […]

Crazy as a Balloon

On Saturday I took my first balloon ride! Granted, it’s a tethered balloon, but it goes very high and provides great views. The balloon is full of helium and ascends up to around 500 feet (150m). It was overcast that morning, but sunny clear days are not common around here this time of year, and […]

Crack Cow

After finishing up with Wrocław, I took another FlixBus ride, this time to Krakow, also in Poland. I was here once before, with my brother in 2005. The past 17 years have been kind to the tourist scene, and while I really like Wrocław, it clearly isn’t on the tourist radar yet like Krakow is. […]

Polski Stuff

Under license from Fiat, Polish versions of this car brand were manufactured or assembled in Poland, called Polski Fiat. These cars were popular during Communist times due to their simplicity and relative affordability. Here’s a legacy one I found in town: Polish restrooms are often marked with symbols to indicate the intended sex. It’s not […]

Nature, Festivities, a Battle vs Russians, and Language Struggles

The river Oder passes through the middle of Wrocław, and along its banks are many nice parks. Additionally, there are several other parks around the city, including a couple of very large ones. While Wrocław itself is mostly pretty and not industrial or gritty, it’s still refreshing to get out into green spaces with loads […]

Konspira

There’s a fantastic Polish restaurant in old town Wrocław that strongly represents its freedom and peace movement connection with a thick menu highlighting historic information and backgrounds of the various traditional Polish dishes on offer. They’ve also added some recent signage protesting Putin’s war in Ukraine. Bonus side note: So far I have managed to […]

Miscellaneous Prague

While wandering Prague’s streets, you begin to learn some Czech words due to their repetition and context, such as “pozor” (caution) and “zákaz” (prohibited), as you’re often told what not to do (just like anywhere else). There is a lot of prominent Jewish history in Prague, and the historic Jewish quarter Josefov remains intact today, […]