Budapest Spotlight: Margaret Island (Margitsziget)

Bike-powered cars - we took the blue one!

I have a new favorite place. It's a sprawling public park in the middle of a densely packed city. There are locals basking in the sun, tourists wandering around, and quaint food vendors along the edges. Oh, and it is NOT in New York City.

Margaret Island was my favorite part of our recent trip to Budapest. It is literally an island in the middle of the Danube River with no motorized traffic except for one bus line. Instead of driving, people stroll, roller blade, bike, or take one of the bike-powered cars we ventured on for a 30-minute adventure.

Musical fountain with spectators

Sunbathers along the Danube

Unlike most city parks, Margaret Island has a wide range of entertainment options, including a Budapest thermal spa, beer gardens, 13th century ruins, restaurants, a musical fountain (think mini-Bellagio), an impressive pool facility, and jogging path. They hold an annual summer festival in the park, along with several open-air concerts. Even just walking with a Hungarian beer is a treat on a nice day on the island.

Before it became a park in 1908, Margaret Island was home to nuns and monks for hundreds of years.

Margaret was a 13th century princess whose father, King Béla IV, vowed to send her to the newly built nunnery on the island if he could fix his country, recently devastated by the Mongol invasion. Hungary was restored and Margaret was sent to the island at the ripe age of 11. You can still see her burial site on the island today.

We have seen our share of city parks in Europe, but Margaret Island offers everything you could want in a park. I highly recommend building in at least a few hours - it's an easy stopover between Buda and Pest as you cross either the Margaret Bridge on the southern tip or the Árpád Bridge at the north end. We were caught off guard by this gem in the middle of the city!

World Cup Victory

In case you haven't heard, two months ago Germany won the World Cup. For those of you wondering what it was like to be in Germany for the win, here is a peek into the late-night festivities that occurred at our local traffic circle (and yes, those are full-grown men at the top of the street signs):

Rhine Valley

Whenever people discover that we live in Bavaria, they often sigh and say it is the prettiest area of Germany. The half-timbered houses in quaint villages among green forests, hills, and even the Alps do provide quite the postcard.

What we learned recently is that these people (us included) are sorely mistaken. The Rhine Valley region trumps them all. We had previously seen the Liechtenstein and Swiss segments of the Rhine Valley, and those the Rhine Falls were breathtaking, but the Middle Rhine area just west of Frankfurt was our favorite of all.

Imagine colorful, traditional German houses lining a beautiful river. Add the Alps in the background. Now paint in vineyards with grape vines crawling up the hills from the river. Pretty, right? Top it all off by sticking a Disney-quality 12th century castle every mile. Any child that witnesses this region probably believes all princesses come from Germany, and every fairy-tale is based here. I might agree with them, as well!


This is a too-easy side trip from Frankfurt. It's an hour drive from the airport, and a great alternative to staying in the industrial city center. It is a must-see in Germany! Below are my recommendations for the best activities in the Rhine Valley region:

Burg Rheinstein

Cruise along the river: We did not have time for a river cruise, but instead opted to take advantage of our fabulous hotel's free bikes. We snagged two beach cruisers and took a leisurely, 16 km ride to Bingen, a slightly bigger town. There are convenient bike paths along the river, and most of the towns have a cluster of restaurants with water-views.








Sample local wines: It's obvious as you look around that the region produces a fair amount of wine. Interestingly, many of the vineyards are actually government subsidized. Regardless, the white wines are delicious. Many restaurants offer a tasting option that includes a Lazy Susan of wines (seriously!). With 15 samples, it's easy to make a night out of it!



Hike to the best views: We took trusty Rick Steve's advice (also vetted by our friends Kyle and Catilin) and stayed in the town of Bacharach. It was smaller than the rest of the towns, but less touristy. One of the highlights was walking to the top of town, then hiking up past vineyard to a lookout tower. From here, we could see the city's castle (which is now an affordable hostel), the river, and the bones of an old church which lost its wooden roof and doors in a fire. Though I am not a fan of hiking, it was worth it for the view!

View of Bacharach from the top

Catch a local festival: Particularly during the summer, every town hosts at least a couple festivals. They come in all shapes and sizes: wine, beer, firemen, church, etc. We stopped by the strawberry festival (Edbeerfest), but unfortunately missed the opening ceremonies. If you can, plan your trip around one to enjoy a more authentic experience.

Burg Eltz

Tour a castle (or two, or five): I was serious when I said there is a castle every mile. If you take the Rhine river down the 38-mile stretch from Bingen to Koblenz, there are 40 castles along the way. This piece of the valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a great place for anyone to get their European castle-fix.
We toured two: Burg Rheinstein (pictured above) and Burg Eltz (pictured here). If I had to pick one, Burg Eltz provides a much more rounded experience. The castle is actually a compound of three castles, which were homes to the three offshoots of one family. The family still owns the castle today, and one is decorated with original furniture, fixtures, and artwork. The extremely informative English tour was included in the €9 entrance fee. Only problem is: it's a little more difficult to reach. We drove on our way out with no problem. If you plan appropriately, you will not be sorry!

What to do while in Bruges

1) The Halve Maan brewery tour was undoubtedly our favorite stop. The informative, funny, English tour through their newly renovated brewery includes one free beer and a view that trumps that of the Belfort 10 times over. €7.50, tours leave hourly. Times and information here. My full tour review here.  

2) Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk) is currently under construction; however, you can still see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child up close in a separate section for a small fee. We watched Monuments Men the day before and appreciated the statue, and the sacrifices made to save it, even more. Church entrance is free, but €2 to enter the section with Madonna and Child (fee is currently reduced due to construction). Website with address here and opening times here. 

3) The food in this city is amazing. How can you pick between Belgian chocolates, waffles, beer, and French fries? Don't! Sample them all. Though our waffles were not as good as the ones we had in Brussels, they let me eat just the dough. Weird, I know, but delicious. I was validated to hear that I am not even close to the first person to enjoy the waffle this way.



4) We were lucky enough to visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood (Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed) on a day they were offering adoration of the Relic containing Jesus' blood. This meant we were actually able to walk up to it, place our hand on it and say a prayer. The blood was collected as Joseph of Arimathea washed the dead body of Christ. It made its way to Bruges in the 12th century after the King of Jerusalem gave it to the Count of Flanders for his heroism during the 2nd Crusade. If you're lucky enough to visit Bruges on a Ascension Day (May 14 in 2015),  you can catch the Procession of the Holy Blood (Heilig Bloedprocessie), during which the Relic is taken through the city as part of a large procession. Entrance to the church (including the relic) is free. Opening times available here. Adoration is offered every Wednesday from 10:00 - 11:00 and during the Week of Prayers (May 10-17 in 2015).

5) The Markt is the beautiful market square in the the center of Bruges, and home to the Belfry (bell tower), Provincial Court, great architecture, and boat loads of tourists. Try to make out there early to avoid the latter. Skip the long lines and €8 fee at the Belfry - we waited for an hour and regretted it after seeing the included view during the tour of the Halve Maan Brewery. The view from the Belfry is obstructed by caged in windows.

6) Walk around! The city couldn't be more perfect if I plucked it out of my imagination. The canals are beautiful, there is interesting architecture everywhere, and the food is amazing. Find a place to take some pictures, but don't feel pressured to do so at the locations recommended by the guidebooks. Those were filled with tourists and not worth the struggle. Minnewater Lake is a beautiful stop, or peruse one of the markets around the city.

Kusadasi Bazaar

What should you do in Kusadasi if you do not want to go to Ephesus? We were recently faced with this question - not only was it a rainy, cold day, but we had both been fortunate enough to see the ruins in Ephesus before. So we decided to explore the port of Kusadasi with our day in Turkey. We were both pleasantly surprised!

Evil eyes in the sidewalk

Though there were a few ruins, museums, and other traditional sights, we focused our time on the bazaar since our cruise did not stop at any other Turkish destinations. Don't be fooled by the vendors in the port building - that is not the bazaar. The real Kusadasi bazaar (complete with bazaar prices) is just a 10 minute walk from the dock. At first we were skeptical: it appeared as though the bazaar was just one short arcade of traditional Turkish vendors. But as we neared the end, we could see that there was actually a network of several bazaars linked together. Though some were nicer than the others, we found scarves, rugs, pottery, Turkish delights, jewelry, and pretty much everything else you can imagine one would find at a street market (i.e. Counterfeit products of all shapes and sizes). 

True to tradition, everything is negotiable. The vendors are pushy, yet courteous, and speak perfect English. I was focused on the gorgeous, ornate Turkish pottery pieces. I held out until the end when we stumbled upon a pottery factory with the best variety in the bazaar - the Hacivat Ceramic Shop. Needless to say, we came home with a few treasures. If you check this store out, don't miss the room in the back that contains pieces with glow-in-the-dark detailing. It was a pretty neat sight to be surrounded by intricate designs on pottery pieces from floor to ceiling. Though they said they did not negotiate, of course they did; however, either my skills are a little rusty or they are less willing to come down on the price than the other vendors.

Though the bazaar is not a reason to go to Kusadasi alone, it does offer a great alternative to the Ephesus ruins. The prices and variety were slightly poorer than the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; however, it was a more manageable size and there were practically no other tourists around, despite the three large ships docked that day. If you have even an extra 30 minutes in port, it is absolutely worth the trip!

Bruges Spotlight: Halve Maan Brewery

Meet St. Arnold. A statue of this 6th century saint is found in breweries all over the world (ever heard of St. Arnold's Brewery in Houston??) to bless their brewery and their beer. The Halve Maan Brewery in Belgium has several, perhaps one of the reasons they are the only remaining brewery in Bruges, Belgium, a city which was once home to 28 large breweries at the turn of the 20th century.                                         I'm not sure exactly why Halve Maan flourished over the other breweries in the precious northern Belgium town of Bruges, but I do know that they do a good job of staying strong today partly due to their fantastic brewery tours. 

Living in Germany, we have been on more than our fair share of brewery tours. Though the Bruges guide books rated a trip to the Halve Maan Brewery highly, we filed it in the lower half of our to-do list when we spent the day in Bruges. After hitting many of the major sights (more to come on those later), we developed a thirst that could only be quenched by a sweet yet potent Belgian Tripel, and honestly, at €7.50 per ticket, it seemed almost like the tour was included with the beer, not the other way around!

Our 45-minute, English tour was led by a hi-larious Bruges native who really knew her stuff and had the whole group (even a hung-over bachelor party) rolling. She was hands-down the best tour guide of any tour I have ever experienced. One of the more interesting tidbits we learned from her is why the Belgian beer is so strong (the Tripel - my favorite - is 9% ABV, but the Quadrupel is a stiff 11% ABV; Budlight is 4.2%, Prosecco is 11%). Apparently when the government imposed the same tax on beer as wine, the brewers were upset: the alcohol content in wine is higher than beer, so people consume less by volume. The tax was disproportionately hurting beer prices. So what is a brewery to do?  They simply responded by brewing beers with alcohol content similar to wine. Another fun piece of Belgian beer history was our guide's account of working in the brewery in the 1950s. Employees were entitled to seven free beers a day. Clearly, it was the place to work in town. 

Another bonus of this tour is the view from the top of the brewery. Patrick and I had just waited an hour to pay €8 each for the privilege of climbing the Belfort's 366 steps for the "best view of Bruges." No one mentioned how the view was obstructed by cages covering the windows at the top. At the Halve Maan Brewery, we were treated to the below view as part of the tour - much better view at a much better price.

Fair warning: we were in Bruges at the beginning of the high season (late May), but we still bought our tickets an hour in advance. It seemed as though they filled up the tours about 15 minutes before hand. If you want to take this tour, the brewery is very close to other sights- I recommend getting your ticket ahead of time just in case! Check their English website for more information. This tour is not to be missed while in Bruges!

Port Destination: Santorini

When I woke up and peered out the window at Santorini, it looked like we were surrounded by snow-capped mountains. After waking up a little more, I realized that the "snow" was actually made up of the beautifully white-washed villages that top the island. We spent our day docked in Santorini in the village of Oia wandering the streets, shopping, and snacking on Greek frozen yogurt. Pictures do this Greek island more justice than I could ever do with words!

We happened upon a great view from a side street on our walk

Church bells overlooking the ocean

Farewell in style on a well-behaved donkey!