Varun Patil - Me|I|Ego

Rome, Italy

Rome, Italy

The Vatican City

Once you enter the Vatican, you really don’t need a map to decide upon the places you want to cover. Whatever there is to explore is right in front of you!

Rome, Italy

Rome wasn’t built in a day. And trust me, you need all of the 24 hours in a day just to plan a sight seeing tour of the city and you will still end up missing so many places! There are very few cities in the world where you can ‘feel’ the history still move all around you and Rome is one of them. Of course it is crowded mostly due to the large number of tourists flocking its streets, however, the crowd is there for a reason. There is just too much to explore in Rome.

Start your Roman experience by visiting the very foundations of the city: the Roman Forum. Feel puny in the mighty Colosseum and be a part of the gladiator fights or stand aside the tall pillars in the Forum and visualize victorious armies marching in front of you. Walk and walk and walk until you cannot walk any more!

Notes:

1. Rome is full of history, thus attracts a lot of visitors. Be ready for long queues to everywhere.

2. Psssst…The Vatican museum is free for all on the last Sunday of them month.

Murano, Burano, San Lazzaro & Lido - island hopping in Venice 

Venice is not limited to the fish shaped islands. Hopping ferries can be very frustrating within Venice because most stops are just too close and the ferries are too crowded. Enjoy the Venitian Lagoon by taking the less crowded ferries and discover the lesser known islands in it. 

Our first stop was the San Lazzaro Monastary. Though closed to visitors till 3:30 PM, the 15 minute ferry ride to this small island teleports you from the crowded and noisy streets of Venice to a calm serene garden. Watch out for the ferry timings as the ferries to this small island are very limited.

Next stop was the world famous glass manufacturing island of Murano. Ferries are aplenty and most people head out here to buy glass ware made from the sands beneath this island, however, behind the shops and the crowded streets is the rest of the island with quiet cafe’s and secluded spots that provide amazing views of the lagoon, which are other ignored owing to the crowd. Frankly, we just found the glass work to be little hyped :/ However, there is no harm in picking up a thing or two!

Farther out in the Lagoon is the Island of Burano. Nothing striking about this place apart from being the least crowded of Venice’s neighbors(owing to the distance) and the fact that no 2 neighboring homes are of the same color. And trust me, they are really bright colors! Oh! And in case you are not going to Pisa, Burano has a leaning you cannot miss.

Venice being over water, gets beach bums restless with the sun and sea. However, there is no sand. At least not on the main island group of Venice. Lido is a long shapes island whose one side is all sand. Unfortunately, the FREE/public beach stretch is really small, hence, crowded. But beach bums don’t care! Take a ferry and BAM! You are there!

Notes:

1. Island hopping is fun but keep track of Ferry time tables. Else be ready to pay heavy for water taxis.

2. Ferry time tables change seasonally. Pick up the latest time tables.

3. If you miss the last ferry, do not worry. There are few night ferries that can get you back to main Venice during late hours.

4. Murano shops shut down by 6/6:30 PM.

Venice, Italy

Venice may be very crowded and full of tourist, however, the city is an experience not to be missed. Specially if you love walking! When in Venice, know your Traghetto(ferry, which you will end up using at least once) and their routes, supermarcato(supermarket, because Venice being very touristy is little heavy on the pocket when it comes to food) and campeggio(camping site,in sub urban Venice mostly, because there are hardly any affordable hostels in Venice). Apart from this, always remember: In Venice, no bus, no cycle, no taxi…only *makes walking sign using fingres* or water bus.

You can just walk all over this lagoon-ed city and still find a street hidden from the bumpy tourist’s eye. There are SO MANY streets you can walk on without leaving way for annoying traffic or ringing bicyclers! Every street you cross feels unique, a bridge here, a water alley there, pigeons galore! The easiest way to discover Venice is to walk along the grand canal. If you get tired of walking, you can always take a ferry back to where you need to go. 

We started walking from Piazza Le Roma, West Venice and moved east and south slowly. Even if you move around without a map, you will surely bump into The Rialto Bridge(Oldest bridge built over the Grand Canal), San Basso, The Doge’s Palace, St Mark’s Square etc etc! Enjoy chillers are local cafe because the humidity can really suck your energy out. Once done with the days exploration, enjoy surprisingly cheap wine which is available(@ Galle De La Chiesa) by the liter for as low as 1.40 Euros/ltr(Buy a 2 ltr water bottle, drink all the water, piss to cleanse system, fill empty bottle with wine, DRINK!) We liked a small Pizzeria right behind the Fondamenta Nouve Ferry station. It is affordable and the food is nice.

Notes:

1. Plus Camping, Mestre, Venice is recommended highly for stay in case you don’t want to spend much.

2. Venice 12/24/48 hr transport passes are costly. Purchase wisely, only if think you will need to use the ferry service.

3. Most places to see in and around St Mark’s square do not allow bags. San Marco Basilica does not allow cut sleeves and shorts.

4. Venice stinks, literally. It is bearable.

Visegrad, Hungary

Visegrad is a castle town situated north of Budapest. Its population is under 1200 so expect solace, however, being on the west bank of Danube with amazing views from a Medivial Castle means it comes for cost. The Lower Castle entry is free, however, stay here is costly owing to the resort built around it.

If you are JUST visiting, do not miss hiking to the Upper Castle located on top of the hill. Its a 30-45 minutes climb that is easy on your body but refreshes you anyway. Be advised though, there is a tar road leading right up to the castle top in case you want to drive. The view from the top is amazing. You can see the Danube bend as boats chug along it slowly and green hills all around you. If you are lucky, you might get to see some locals enjoy ‘Falconry’ during the day. You can pay and enter the upper castle to see collectibles from the medieval period or you can just roam around the outer walls and marvel at the models of siege machines used at times of war.

Note: Visegrad can only be reached by road or Boat. Check the Ferry & Bus time table(the buses shut down before 7:30 PM).

Szentendre, Hungary

If you are bored of visiting cities on the Danube River, Szentendre is a town that will not disappoint. Just an hours HEV ride from Budapest, this small town is ignored by most mainstream tourists. Unlike many river fronts, the Szentendre’s river front is full of quite cafes. This is a place where you can actually hear the birds chirp when you take a leisurely stroll along the Danube.

The town offers a lot in terms of photography and food. You can visit its world famous open air museum or just roam around the small streets watching artist at work. 

A Day in Budapest

In Hungary, 1 Euro ~ 300 HUF! If you plan to reach here late at night via the Nepliget Bus Station, either have HUF with you or be ready to search for the lone ATM opposite the bus stand because by 10 PM all the money changers are shut down. Tram, Bus and Metro will only accept HUF and even the vending machines at Nepliget Metro do not accept credit cards.

We stayed at Thumbs Up Hostel. The hostel location is good for budget travelers but the locality is very shady at night(though it does not look like in the day time). The hostel itself is located on the second floor of a very old building. The hostel is OK because the owner Mike had just opened it and the lack of staff meant the bathrooms were not clean. I hope by the time I return again, it’ll be in much better shape.

The regular tourist round up involves walking through the market till you are adjacent to the parliament, get on the chain bridge and keep walking towards Buda Castle. BEWARE of betting set ups where you have to bet on the location of the pea beneath one of the 3 bottle caps. You will never win and will only realize it is a set up once you are down 100/200 Euros(No they dont take HUF bets!). Ignore the betting tables and move to the castle entry, where you can either take the funicular up the castle or walk all the way up. Once in, don’t miss Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church and the Labyrinth.

After a day of exploring the castle, you can sit besides the Danube to enjoy a sunset with some Wine, watch the boats go up and down the Danube and watch the chain bridge & Buda castle light up for the night.

Notes:

1. Budapest is very touristy in the day and very underground/shady party types in the night.

2. Budapest metro is Bombay Local running in underground tunnels sans the crowd. 

3. Good news for Indians, Hungarians love spices in their food. Bad news is that its mostly paprika in their world famous ‘Goulash’!

4. On weekends, people come out to party. The young drink beer at the many gardens in the city till sun rise, the party people hit the clubs and the classy ones dance in open air squares like the one in front of St Stephens Basilica. Yes, just like Bollywood movies, the music starts playing and everyone just starts dancing(be advised though, bhangra might not be as recognized as tango or salsa!)

Prague, Czech Republick

Prague welcomed us with heavy rainfall and a currency shock(The bigger shock was about to come in Budapest)! We lost the Hostel address but somehow remembered bits and pieces of it and took a chance by boarding a tram which was hopefully going in our direction! We were lucky; it stopped raining and the tram left us just a short distance from our Hostel: Arpacay

Prague is a city full of surprises. It can be shady and dark, but as soon as you turn a corner, it can come back to life. Be ready to be wooed by the beauty of the city and also its women! The city is well connected via trams and metro and it makes sense to buy a 24 hr travel pass.

There are many places of interest in Prague, the most significant being the Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. Be ready to shell out a lot of money if you want to explore Prague Castle properly. The complex holds multiple places of interest and can easily engage you for a day. Charles bridge is a walk down history, taking you to the Old Town Square. You can get a picture taken at the Charles Bridge Gate while listening to the trumpeter blowing his instrument every hour. The tune is catchy and can be heard at many historical sights, making the experience complete. If you have a sweet tooth, you can have a Trdlo, a Czech sweet pastry, from the shop right after you enter the bridge gate. Once at the Old Town Square, don’t miss the hourly gong of the Medevial Clock tower, it is a SHOW. You can chill out and absorb the city by spending some time at the Old Town Square and watching the Sun go down.

Prague has a very different Architecture which will never fail to amaze even the regular visitor. The people here are nice, though not very friendly. The best to explore is on foot as getting directions is easy even though there is a language barrier. As compared to western European cities, Prague was comparatively cheaper in terms of food and beverage costs.