Girls Trip: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary

April 2024

Two childhood friends of mine with whom I've traveled before, Schyler and Olivia, and I decided to do a girls trip during their spring breaks (as school employees). If time, energy, finances, and other realities allow, I would highly recommend traveling through Europe for a week with two old friends and a shared love of good food, wine, sights, and times -- shocker, I know!

We decided on Eastern Europe (since we could convene there from our various homes around the world), including three days/nights in Vienna, Austria; two days/nights in Bratislava, Slovakia; and three days/nights in Budapest, Hungary. We convened in Vienna on a Friday (hailing from Singapore, Richmond, and Cincinnati), and planned to depart from Budapest the following Saturday.

My flight from Cincinnati to Paris was smooth, but even with an early arrival into Paris, I was not able to de-plane, navigate the massive Paris airport, clear customs, immigration, and passport control in time to make my connector from Paris to Vienna. My sweaty and desperate sprint to the gate was dramatic but anti-climactic in the end, as I arrived six minutes after the gate closed, at which point I was ushered to the help desk where I encountered two sweet, young girls who'd also missed their connector; we commiserated briefly before parting ways and wishing each other a wonderful trip!

After rebooking a new flight to Vienna, I spent 10 hours in the Paris airport, before finally boarding, flying to, landing, and navigating to Vienna's city center by bus and train where I soon met my friends near our AirBnb. We dropped my bags in our clean and adorable flat before heading out for dinner, settling on a nearby sushi restaurant so we could get back sooner and get some much-needed rest. I was so relieved to finally be with my girls and officially kick off the trip.

The next morning, we awoke slightly groggy, having slept with the windows open and having heard club-goers throughout the night, but made our way to City Center for the Spanish Riding School, a famous Viennese activity where specially-trained horses and their handlers demonstrate choreographed routines and acquired skillsets. On our walk there, we stopped for breakfast and lattes at a corner bistro with cute, red umbrellas (Delia's Cafe) and got straight into what would become a theme of the week: talking and talking some more.

Once we made it to the beautifully ornate stadium/building where the Spanish Riding School was held, we were fascinated by the show and interested to learn more about its historical importance, plus how the horses are raised through the various levels of expertise highlighted throughout the performance.

After the show, we took the train from City Center to Schonbrunn Palace, an imposing yellow palace, known for its stunning views, expansive gardens, and perfectly-manicured grounds. We strolled the Easter markets, all brimming with handmade crafts, pretzels the size of bike wheels, and sweet, fruity beverages, before making our way around the back of the Palace, where you walk up switchbacks to an overlook of the Palace grounds, and picturesque views of Vienna and the nearby countrysides.

After relaxing and people-watching for a bit at the overlook park, we headed to a winery located in the nearby countryside; one train, bus, and a short walk later, we stumbled into an Austrian-style chalet with beautiful views of the local vineyards. After wining and dining there, we meandered through the vineyards before plopping down at another winery nearby.

Here, we encountered a cheeky waiter named Ali, an aloof kitty cat named Bruno, and enough wine to make us talk and giggle, then repeat. After a pitcher and half, many laughs, and too many games of "Would You Rather," we returned to our flat, where we freshened up before heading to a local restaurant for a late dinner and some drinks, finally calling it a day around midnight.

After such a full day the day prior, we enjoyed a slow morning that began with Easter brunch at the cafe downstairs from our flat. We encountered another cheeky waiter, who (shockingly) convinced us to order mimosas, which we enjoyed with breakfast, before strolling toward and through City Center. We walked by many bustling plazas, a gorgeous cathedral, and one quaint park before deciding to rent bikes in order to explore more of the city.

Heading first to Belvedere Palace, another beautiful Viennese landmark, we walked the grounds, accidentally lingering on the grassy portions long enough for the garden security to nearly scold us, before stopping for lunch at a nearby biergarten for some bites and flights.

After those replenishments, we continued riding bikes all around, exploring more cathedrals, the Nacshtmarkt indoor/outdoor food markets, and Vienna's museum districts with its impressive architecture and massive stone plazas, before returning to the flat for a rest and recharge. After some downtime, we took the train over to Karlsplatz where we dined at an adorable Italian restaurant called Sole (with romantic lighting and yummy dishes), before heading into the nearby cathedral (St. Anne's) for a string quartet of Mozart's classics, for which we already had reserved the tickets.

After enjoying the beautiful melodies of the quartet and ornate design of the church for about an hour, we strolled back to the flat, through plazas of fountains, shops, ice cream parlors, bars, and restaurants, before finally turning in for the night.

The next day's itinerary started with taking the train to Bratislava, but not before we grabbed breakfast and coffees in the train station cafeteria. When the boarding time came, we hopped on what we believed to be our train, baggage and lattes in hand but, after about 15 minutes or so, a train conductor approached us, indicating that the routes had changed due to construction, and that we'd need to board a different train to make it to Bratislava.

Thank goodness for that guy and Sky, our trusty navigator, who handled things swiftly, and got us aboard the correct train shortly thereafter. We were bound for Bratislava in no time. Upon arrival to the main train station there, we took a short bus ride to City Center, where we had a short, but difficult walk in which the cobblestone walkways kept bumping my luggage all about, causing various items and bags to fall over in the streets. We chuckled at my disheveled-ness at first, but by the third collapse, I was annoyed at myself for bringing wheeled luggage to Europe... (word to the wise -- bring a backpack or other non-wheeled bag for smooth navigability of the many old/uneven surfaces of European cities).

Alas, we made it to our cute and spacious AirBnb soon enough and settled in briefly before heading out to explore Slovakia's capital city. We strolled through the main square, along the promenade and the river, by countless gelato shops, restaurants, cafes, and wine bars before plopping down for a late lunch at a cafe situated along the main drag, where we had salads and spritzers under the gentle sprinkling of trees' springtime flowers.

Soon after, we got ice cream and hung out in the shade of the orange-roofed clock tower that keeps watch over the main square before settling in at a cute restaurant across from our flat to enjoy a mid-afternoon bottle of organic, sparkling red wine, as the world floated by.

After those sugary pick-me-ups, we strolled along the outskirts of City Center, where the streets, alleys, shops, and overall vibe were certainly a bit grungier, leaning into an aesthetic more modern than the quaint, historical views of Bratislava's central area. Once we'd walked enough to work up our dinner appetites, we sat down at a nice restaurant for food and (a couple bottles of) wine we shared family style. After several hours, many half laughing/half talking exchanges, one disagreement about grocery-store salmon, and a few gusts of strong winds, we made our way back to the flat, just in time as the rain started to fall.

After a good night's rest, we got ready the next day for an exploration of Devin Castle, a historical landmark along the river some miles outside of City Center. We grabbed breakfast at a Parisian-style cafe along the promenade before a 20-minute bus ride and 10-minute walk took us to the base of Devin Castle's cliffs.

We explored all around Devin Castle's park grounds, including views of the river, the nearby town with its hundreds of orange-roofed homes, and surrounding countrysides of rolling, green hills. We also meandered through the cave-style museum, admired some sheep, and enjoyed various 360-degree overlooks as the powerful wind whipped our hair, purses, and sweaters all around.

After a quick pit stop for coffee at the base of Devin Castle, we headed into town for lunch, landing at a super trendy spot in City Center called Brixton House. There, we enjoyed our food and drinks as an adorable waiter named Adam invited us to visit him at his (other) serving job that evening: a speakeasy-style bar with an impressively involved list of specialty cocktails. After agreeing, we continued on with our itinerary, making our way up the many stairs and narrow alleyways toward Bratislava Castle, perched above City Center.

We explored those grounds and bothered everyone in a 10' radius for a photo, before settling in for a bottle of wine at the restaurant overlooking the city and river below. Buzzing, from the wine, sunshine, views, and joy, we soon made our way back to the apartment, freshened up, and headed out to that speakeasy bar (Old Fashioned) for a pre-dinner cocktail.

We, unsurprisingly, encountered Adam who playfully roasted us for arriving five minutes after they opened (being the first guests of the evening) but served our specialty cocktails before wishing us well as we headed downstairs for dinner at Urban House, which we assumed is the third restaurant of the same ownership block (since the vibes and aesthetics of Brixton House, Old Fashioned, and Urban House were all similar). Some tacos and more drinks later, we wrapped up dinner and headed back to the flat to get some rest.

Wednesday was another travel day, so we rose fairly early to make our way to the train station to catch our trip to our final stop -- Budapest. As Sky finished packing, Liv and I popped out for coffee and croissants at a hole-in-the-wall place overflowing with what appeared to be locals. We fully ordered and received our items before being told it was cash-only; as the workers insisted we take the food and drink and just "drop off cash another time," we (half panicked about timing, half panicked about where to withdraw cash since we hadn't needed it up to this point) frantically searched for an ATM before returning to pay our debts/tip the baristas for their kindness and trust.

We scooped Sky from the flat before getting on our merry way -- taking the tram to the train station and securing our own cabin on the train to Budapest. The ride itself was beautiful, winding through the lush green countryside of Slovakia and Hungary, all while we discussed ideas for the matching tattoos we jokingly-at-first-but-soon-quite-seriously agreed to get in Budapest.

The conversation began at the top of the week when Sky mentioned her desire to get a finger tattoo in Budapest -- as part of her quest to collect tattoos as travel mementos. Liv and I immediately agreed, saying "cool, so we're all getting finger tats?" As the days went by, we grew more committed to the bit, most seriously spitballing ideas on our train ride to the trip's final stop.

We threw out everything from silly ideas, like wine glasses (since that is obviously representative of this trip, as you know if you've read this far) to pretzels, to more meaningful ones like a triangle (three cities, countries, girls - plus triangles represent balance, unity, and support).

As our train lurched into the Budapest station, sunshine beaming through its glass-ceiling, we were 90% committed to our design. From the train station, we took a bus to our AirBnb and got checked in at our flat with a cool blend of vintage and modern character, located in a super secure building right of the main square of Budapest Basilica.

After quickly dropping our bags, we headed out for lunch at an Italian restaurant right on the main plaza, where we shared pizza, salads, and (more) wine, before strolling the main promenade that connects the Basilica's square and the river that divides Buda ('old') and Pest ('new'), taking in the many cafes, restaurants, and shops along the promenade until we hit the waterfront, where we decided to rent bikes again and explore Pest.

After some difficulty reserving the bikes, we were finally on our way, riding past the absolutely gorgeous architectural sight that is the Palace of Parliament and all around Pest with its fascinating mix of young, hip neighborhoods with characteristically-slavic architecture sprawling in every direction.

Some miles and many palaces, castles, and a massive park with EVERYTHING you could want (sports, lounging, eco-rooftop gardens, pet play areas, ponds, mushroom-looking museum restaurants, endless walking and bike paths, etc.) later, we stopped for refreshments at a plaza littered with brightly-colored umbrellas, statues, and blooming tulips.

From there, we meandered back to our neighborhood in City Center, and strolled through the shopping district that includes clothing stores, a Ferris Wheel, street vendors, endless restaurants with outdoor seating areas, and people everywhere. We were all in the mood for a more casual dinner this night and landed at a Mediterranean-style chain restaurant near the Basilica's main plaza, so we could return to our flat soon after eating.

The next day, we planned to explore Buda, starting again with a stroll along the promenade toward the river, grabbing bagels and lattes along the way, before crossing the main bridge and making the climb up to Buda Castle, perched on the cliffside overlooking Pest and the river that divides the city. At Buda Castle, we walked all around the grounds, took in every overlook and photo op, before navigating along the main walkways to the other historical sights.

Once we arrived to the main plaza of Matthias Church with its beautifully ornate tile-work and Fisherman's Bastion with its remarkably impressive architecture, we opted to share a bottle of champagne at the cafe nestled into the stone walls and alleyways of these landmarks themselves. After many pictures, cheers, and giggles, we explored all the surrounding grounds of Buda with its colorful row-style buildings and Hungarian-style architecture, before settling in at a quaint restaurant for a late lunch.

We knew that, at some point during our Budapest visit, we wanted to visit the world-famous baths, warmed by thermal pools; not knowing exactly what to expect but understanding there were numerous locations scattered throughout the city, we headed after lunch to the Gellert Baths, the oldest and (one of the) most popular spots for this must-do tourist activity.

To be honest, we were really thrown off at first... our experience started in the locker room before we headed out to the only open outdoor pool, all of which felt like a barely-glamorous YMCA. But that soon changed, as we navigated from room to room, each elevating our experience through growing visual interest, water temperature, and overall vibes, causing us to soon feel relaxed and grateful for checking this off our list.

We waded into every pool, did a couple of polar plunges, unwinded in the sauna and steam room, and admired the architecture and interior design of this hotel-turned-thermal-baths/pools. It certainly wasn't what I or we anticipated but it ended up being an activity we were glad we experienced.

After the baths, we headed back across the river, stopping for a Budapest-famous chimney cake (essentially a large, hollow churro with sweet cream in the middle) to share at a nearby park before heading into the flat to freshen up for the evening. Cleaned up and ready for our last "full" night together, we headed down to the Basilica's plaza for dinner, where another talkative waiter talked us into infamous-Budapest shots; after choking down what I SWEAR was tequila, we enjoyed our food, and put into motion the plans for our matching tattoos.

Sky started by reaching out to a local fine-line tattoo artist to request appointments for the following day (Friday). The artist replied almost immediately, agreeing to back-to-back appointments the next day, and said she'd draft up some designs based on our final selection (a tulip).

Excited about those plans working out so smoothly, we decided to head over to the main bar district after dinner, which is located in the ruins of the old Jewish quarter; one of the most popular Budapest bars is this partially-destroyed, indoor/outdoor garage-style building with separate bars for beer, wine, cocktails, bottles, non-alcoholic, multiple dance floors, and lights, stickers, and stairs everywhere. It was really cool to see how the city rebuilt after such destruction and how, what could've been simply abandoned was powerfully repurposed.

Inside this bar, we landed at a table occupied by two French guys, with whom we struck up a conversation. After some exchanges about why we were all in town, Sky noticed that the decidedly more "French and drink [drunk]" one, Kevin, had a triangle tattoo on the top of his middle finger; she pointed to it and began explaining the irony, when Max (the other guy) produced his hand, revealing another triangle tattoo, proudly claiming that "they had matching!"

Liv, Sky, and I nearly erupted with laughter and clued the guys in on why this was such a funny coincidence: how we planned to get matching tattoos the following day but opted for tulips, instead of triangles (which were a top contender but appeared too masculine). After about 20 minutes of chatting with them, and urging them to leave for dinner to mitigate the "very drink" part of their slurring, we wished them well, and, within seconds, were joined at the table by two 20-something girls.

These two girls, ALSO French, were a hoot - and, soon after they sat down, were approached by a group of men who Liv, Sky, and I assumed they knew since they seemed familiar enough. Especially because Azia, the girl beside me, kept playfully flipping off the man talking to her friend, Lori, and at one point got up, walked around the table, bent down at the man's shoes as if to pick something up, but abruptly stood, middle finger erect, pushing it in his face. He shook his head, and soon disappeared into the night - prompting us, cracking up by now, to ask how the girls knew those men, to which they replied that they did not at all. Girls night girl code is strong across cultures, I suppose.

After some broken French/English exchanges with these new friends, we all decided to head to the karaoke bar across the street, wanting to dance and have a bit more space to hang out. Once we sunk down those steps into the basement karaoke bar, the rest was history...we sang too many songs to note, scared too many passersby with our dance floor antics and dramatic microphone performances, but made countless friends from the Adele-singing DJ and two stag Israelis missing their Bachelor to a group of Welsh women celebrating Vicki's 40th birthday and a blended group of British exchange students. After being (fun) menaces there for a couple of hours, we returned to the flat in the wee hours of the night and jogged the couple of blocks to our door as the rain started falling.

We were admittedly moving a bit slower that next morning when we headed out for the day, starting with breakfast from a coffee shop nearby that we enjoyed on the Basilica's steps, Gossip Girl style. From there, we made our way to the riverside tram and rode until we reached the stop for Margaret Island, an island situated on the river between Buda and Pest. We crossed the bridge onto Margaret Island, simultaneously spotting dozens of pedal-style 'vehicles' and agreeing (almost telepathically) to rent the 3-seater cart-style bike for our island exploration.

After putzing all around the island for about an hour (some would say recklessly, others efficiently), we saw sport fields, running trails, gardens, thermal baths, and some restaurants, before returning our self-propelled Ferrari so we could grab lunch. We strolled along "Hippie Village" and settled on an indoor/outdoor waterfront bar to satisfy our hard-earned appetites.

Lunch was refreshing and quick, and from there, we left the island and made our way over to our tattoo appointments in a neighborhood back in Pest; we arrived to the area early enough to grab some beverages at a nearby cafe, before heading into the parlor, where we met our adorable and badass tattoo artist. She had mocked up what we all agreed to be the perfect outline of a tulip and we executed on the final part of this bit.

She was detail-oriented but chill and methodically worked on Liv's hand first, then mine, before wrapping up with Sky who ended up getting two finger tattoos. After way too many awkward photos of our hands, we stopped for an early-evening dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant that had good food, cool and trendy decor, and a super kind waiter.

After that dinner, we took the bus back to our flat so we could pack and get organized for our travel the following day. As we relaxed on the couch, and un-intertwined our wardrobes, we reminisced about what an incredible week it'd been and said our goodbyes/goodnights.

I had the earliest departure (needing to be airport bound around 3:30 am), so I reserved an airport shuttle service (since Uber/Lyft are not available in Hungary), and promptly at 3:15 am, after only 4 hours of sleep, I thanked Sky for walking me out and met my ride to the airport.

Upon arrival to the Budapest airport, while awaiting check-in info about my flight (unlike most US airports, Euro airports do not have airline-specific check-in counters), I had that Spiderman meme moment when I bumped into the two young girls I'd encountered briefly in Paris a week prior!

They were confused and somewhat stressed, and so began our journey from Budapest to Paris, home to Cincinnati together; the girls, childhood besties, were visiting one of their sisters who was studying abroad in Budapest, and this was the first time, as high school seniors, they traveled outside the country without their parents. Determined to show their parents (and probably themselves) how capable they were but also grateful for my guidance as we navigated confusing systems at every turn, we spent the day as travel buddies.

For starters, we got up to the check-in counter, had to step out of line to go to a different help desk to correct some error, then were instructed to come back to the check-in counter (thankfully without having to wait again) before being cleared to head to security. The flight to Paris was then easy and smooth, but once we arrived in Paris, we needed to reprint our boarding passes to Cincy, but the kiosks nor our phones were loading them properly, at which point we all ended up at the same help desk we'd crossed paths at just eight days prior.

After a handful of confused French ladies made several phone calls and puzzled requests to see our confirmation codes or other information, one of the girls was able to load all three boarding passes on her Delta app; apparently, the Air France folks lacked access to our Paris to Cincinnati flights because the tickets appeared as two separate bookings.

We made our way to the gate in Paris, resonating with the countless people seen running for flights they surely missed, and boarded our final plane - homeward bound and able to relax for the first time since 3:30 am in Budapest. I was seated beside two perfect strangers who grew to be quite the duo, some 14 gin + tonics shared and phone numbers exchanged between them during the flight. Once we landed in Cincinnati after what felt like another marathon travel day through Paris, I helped the girls navigate customs and immigration before parting ways when I saw two sets of parents with signs saying "welcome home, girls!"

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To Do or Not To Do?

Yes, of course, I highly recommend galavanting around Europe with two old friends! As for things that should be booked in advance: we reserved our international flights (obviously), AirBnBs, international train tickets, but also activities that our research led us to believe could fill up or that had to be booked ahead of time - namely the Spanish Riding School and Mozart concert (both in Vienna). We acquired other tickets (or reservations) for public transportation including buses, trams, trains, metros, and bikes once in each city, thanks to Schyler's navigation skills and the "City Mapper" app.

I was also really pleased with our itinerary, and would recommend the activities we did to anyone wanting a fun blend of sightseeing, cultural experiences, and (of course) indulging the local wining/dining scenes. If you've read this far, you know we seemingly ate and drank our way through Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, enjoying MANY nice meals at fancy-ish, sit-down restaurants, all of which made for an expensive food and beverage aspect of our overall budget. But, you can explore and experience most European countries to the fullest on ANY budget (said from experience).

As for timing of the trip (within the calendar year and length itself), visiting these cities in the springtime was quaint and pretty without feeling overrun with other tourists and summer heat - plus we allotted the perfect amount of time to see each city's major sights over the course of the week.

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