#every day it gets harder to separate the art from the artist with harry potter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lexyvey · 3 years

Photo

Check out ‘Malfoy • The Boy Who Had No Choice’ on AO3 and Wattpad now!

Chapters 1-6 out now

Excerpt:

MAY 2nd, 1998

Draco, his mother, and father all sat at the manor in silence. Each in the same drawing-room. Draco looked down at his hands, Narcissa fiddling with the bottom of her robes, and Lucius pacing. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak. They knew what was coming. They knew Potter would win the war and they’d all be arrested, so they sat. They sat and waited for the Aurors to come, to arrest them, to take them to Azkaban where they’d spend the rest of their lives. They deserved it. They accepted it the second they walked away from the school. Instead of spending the last bits of their freedom fighting and possibly dying, they left. Some might call them cowards, but they didn’t leave out of fear. They left to say goodbye. To say goodbye to each other and their home which when approaching Draco was only ever reminded of the bad times now though he knew it used to be a haven.

Draco didn’t know how long it was before his mother, with tears in her eyes hugged him one last time.

“I’m glad you’re alive. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he told her as she pulled out of the embrace and raised her wand, which Draco gave back to her as they left the castle, and removed the wards surrounding the manor they once called home.

Draco used to be able to look around at every room and see flashbacks of the good days from his childhood, but now everything was a reminder of a cruel world. ‘At least it would be better now. Potter will fix it all,’ he thought to himself. It wasn’t like the world had always been cruel to the Malfoys. No, they used to thrive in this world, but others had paid the price for it. Now it was the Malfoy family’s turn to suffer underneath it. It wasn’t like they didn’t deserve it. They did this to themselves. They could have acted better, but they chose not to, and now they must accept the consequences of their actions.

Draco sat back down and started playing with the singed tips of his robes. Each time he ran a hand through it he was taken back to the Room of Requirement. He heard Greg talking in his ear as if he was back there, he felt the heat of the fiendfyre which swallowed the room whole. When he closed his eyes, he saw as Greg fell to his death. Each reminder made him rub the burnt ends harder and harder until he started rubbing frantically and realized he couldn’t escape it. Greg was gone and he wasn’t.

It didn’t matter that he almost killed everyone with that idiotic spell, he was still better than Draco. He was a supportive friend who Draco always took for granted. Draco poisoned him like he did everything else in sight of him. Where Greg once sat smiling and kind, Draco hurt and laughed at him. He’s the reason Greg was gone. He pushed him too far. He hurt him too much. Greg was a good person. He made a mistake, a deadly one, and he died. But if he died because of one deadly and dangerous mistake, why was Draco still alive?

Draco didn’t realize when he started scaring his mother, but suddenly she was shaking him, trying to get his attention.

“Draco. Draco, calm down. Draco.”

Draco wasn’t listening though. He was still replaying Greg’s death over and over in his mind. He couldn’t stop seeing it. Blaise, Greg, and he were climbing frantically trying to escape the flames of the room. They were going to die, all three of them. That’s what Draco was preparing himself for. To be burnt to death alongside his two friends, but that’s not what happened. Greg grabbed something on the pile, it must have been loose because the next thing Draco remembers was hearing Greg scream. He looked back and saw his face just seconds before the flames took him out.

Draco was too high on adrenaline at the time to stop, his survival instincts told him to keep going and that’s what he did. Blaise and he got to the top, there was nowhere else for them to go. This was it. It should have been it. But hero Potter swooped in and saved him. He should have died with Greg though. Why’d Potter saved him? If he could save him then why couldn’t he have gotten there to save Greg too? Why?

“He’s gone.”

“Who, Draco?” his mother asked hoping it would help, but Draco still wasn’t fully aware yet. He was still frantically scrubbing his robes while his mother tried to hold him by the wrists to stop him. Tears were cascading down his cheeks as he struggled against his mother’s grip to continue scrubbing, but eventually, the tears in his eyes made it too hard to see and he just sank into the chair crying.

“He’s gone, but – but I’m – I’m still here,” his voice was breaking.

Narcissa tried to cradle her son as if she could protect him or make things better, never mind her continuous failing at such a task in the past. It broke her heart to see her son like this. Lucius was even beside his son rubbing his head hoping he would calm down, but that wasn’t the case.

They all held each other while Draco cried and even afterward up until the Aurors finally arrived and they had to separate. Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius stood up and placed their hands up in surrender. Narcissa went to place her wand down on the coffee table, but the Aurors still felt the need to snatch the wand themselves with an ‘expelliarmus’ to take as well as spell their arms behind their back and forcibly push them onto their knees. Draco doesn’t remember what happened then. He remembered the Aurors talking to them as they took them away, but he wasn’t listening. He just remembers suddenly being in a cold dark cell for who knows how long.

Summary:

This is the story of Draco Lucius Malfoy, the boy who had no choice. The story begins with the Battle of Hogwarts before we get to the trial. This is the attempted redemption of Draco Malfoy and during his trial, we finally see all the good he had done to help the golden trio over the years. Was Draco Malfoy a bad guy or did he simply never have a choice?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters used in this book. They belong to JK Rowling. I also do not support JK's transphobic views. Love the art, just not the artist.

There are a few continuity issues in this since I was unable to go strictly by just the books and instead implemented elements from the movies as well. For example, like in the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Gregory Goyle was the one to die in the Room of Requirement, not Vincent Crabbe.

I hope you enjoy the story; comments are always welcome and appreciated. The updates for this story may sometimes come irregularly since life gets hectic sometimes, nonetheless, I will try my best.

9 notes · View notes

battlestar-royco · 5 years

Note

I notice that lately people buy books and “Stan” authors more than they do the material. Before it used to be that you’d hardly see authors you’d just see their work and judge based on work, and now Authors are everywhere and people have opinions on them and they let their opinion of the author influence the love of the book.

This is something I’ve started thinking about ever since I fell out of love with Mess’s books. I think with the rise of social media, the “author + book” package deal is exacerbated. Platforms like Twitter and Instagram can allow a different connection with an author that gives you the illusion of them being closer or more accessible to the audience. In some ways that’s true, but in others it’s not. Now we are able to screenshot or link receipts of authors being problematic (like the whole J0nsa thing on YA Twitter), being deafeningly silent on issues concerning them (like Mess), or going haywire and constantly posting ridiculous things like JKR. I understand the mentality of separating the art from the artist but it’s also become harder to do that because depending on the author, their entire personality and belief system may be on display for everyone to see. Every reader has to use their own discretion to decide when the art vs artist dichotomy is appropriate or not. Like, if an author writes a searing political commentary about something, but their Twitter is completely immature and unprofessional then you gotta consider whether they are worth it and whether they even intentionally wrote the takeaways you specifically got out of reading their book. I understand that if someone made a creative work that really spoke to you, you’d want to watch their interviews and monitor their tweets and such, but it’s really easy to fall into the trap of projection and mistaking their social media presence for their actual personality. The best balance I’ve come up with for books I really love authored by problematic people, I try to separate the author from my enjoyment of the books, but I also try to be aware of the author and their problematic nature. That’s why I love Harry Potter but I’ve essentially cancelled JKR in my mind, and why I love certain T0G/AC0TAR characters but I also run this blog. It can get very tiring to be 100% critical all the time, just like it can get very toxic to be 100% stanning all the time. I think you’re right; authors and books have become very intertwined these days with all the long and permanent history for author receipts of bullying, plagiarism, immaturity, discrimination etc--and, on the more positive side, growth--that the internet allows. Everyone just has to strike their balance. It’s totally possible to love a book independent of the author and hold authors accountable when they make mistakes.

11 notes · View notes

nosidam · 7 years

Text

Last day...

Sunday, Feb. 26

One thing about the Spanish and Portuguese, they stay up late but don’t get up early - harder to find a place for coffee at 9:30 in the morning. The only place in the area was busy, I somehow must have offended the clerk as she did not hide her disdain for me. From there I made my way to the bookstore, it opened at 10 and already had a lineup. I have to say it was worth the wait…pretty spectacular place. Livraria Lello Bookstore - one of oldest bookstores in Portugal. JK Rowling wrote in the cafe on the second floor. I felt like I was on a Harry Potter movie set, despite the mass of people that flooded the place, it was really enjoyable to experience the elegance and charm of this truly unique and handsome book store.

Actually, the scene where Harry goes for the first time to Ollivanders is shot in Lelo's library - I will need to review the Harry Potter films.

Just a little information from the brochure;

The Bookseller - is the soul of a bookshop. Mr. Domingos worked in Lello for 52 years, starting at an entry-level job and working his way up the ranks to the top as senior bookseller.

THE ART OF THE BOOKSELLER ACCORDING TO MR. DOMINGOS:

A bookseller must;

Know the shop’s entire catalogue by heart. (authors, titles, dates)

Be able to recognize rare editions.

Be adequate and polite with all customers.

Gather relevant information from his top customers.

Know how to sell well.

The bookseller activity in Porto, at the beginning of the twentieth century, was very much tied with other cultural, intellectual and artistic circles. There was a clear and close relationship between booksellers, publishers, authors, thinkers and artists.

This being my last day in Porto I wanted to make sure I covered all areas, no stone left unturned so to speak. I also wanted to pick up some Port to bring to Germany. I wandered up towards the top of the hill with a tremendous view of the Dom Luis I Bridge and the river below.

I wandered into a pastry shop and decided a treat would be in order. There were so many tempting treats to choose from - the dessert item I choose was so big it required it’s own box. I found myself in the area near the bus depot when I first arrived. Funny how the context has shifted after being here for a few days and having a sense of familiarity with the surroundings. I’ve come to realize I like that feeling, sense of comfort and safety for me. Sitting down with a view of the Church of Saint Ildefonso, I carefully pulled out my dessert being very wary of the multiple seagulls sharing the square with me. It was delicious by the way!

I walked up the Rua Santa Catarina, I was looking for the market having overheard that is was somewhere down this street. Stopping in a local store, I inquired as to the whereabouts of this Market and was sadly informed that it was closed on Sundays - of course it was :(

I meandered the streets for some time, wanting to walk off the half eaten pastry I’d indulged in. Back to one of my favourite streets, the Rua de Cedofeita - still on the hunt for a bottle of Port, I was hoping to find an open grocery store. Sunday is not the ideal day to be shopping, you would think that by now I would figure that out - the majority of shops and cafes even seemed to be closed. Seeing some locals with shopping bags in hand I knew I was close to finding a store…and there it was.

Perusing the aisles, I came across massive bottles of Port at incredibly cheap prices - realizing the size and of course weight of such a bottle would create a problem at the airport, I opted to forgo the purchase and alternatively, buy at the airport.

Down the street I went to the corner of Praça de Carlos Alberto and Rua do Carmo to check out the church across from the University - first, Igreja do Carmo and then realizing there was another church attached to the left of it called Igreja dos Carmelitas, they were twin churches. The church was built between 1756 and 1768. The two churches are separated by a very narrow (1m wide) house that was inhabited until the 1980's. The house was built so that the two churches would not share a common wall and to prevent any relations between the nuns of Igreja dos Carmelitas and the monks of Igreja do Carmo. (Ya, right!)

Went to grab some lunch as I knew there likely wouldn’t be much at the airport. I found a busy area and popped in to grab a seat. Making my meal selection from a photo posted on the menu, I sat and waited. My lunch arrived, raw salmon burger - oh dear…not something I wanted to eat. Obviously my error, I thought it was a fish burger, as in “cooked”. After some effort (servers never check back on you in Europe it seems) I was able to get my servers attention and apologize that I wasn’t able to eat the burger, as I had assumed it was cooked. She kindly checked with the kitchen to get me said item, in the meantime I at least had some fries to fill me up. When the burger finally arrived, it was indeed cooked however, it was actually terrible. I tried my best to choke some of it down, I felt bad after all the hassle I’d caused. I hurriedly paid my bill and exited quickly, leaving a partially eaten meal behind. It seemed to take hours for the taste to leave my mouth!

I eventually made my way back to the flat…the rain was threatening and as I’ve mentioned, I refused to buy an umbrella and admit rain. Eventually I made my way to the train station to find my way to the airport. There were no good byes or anything from my hosts…I did find them a tad strange, definitely not my most favorite of places I’ve stayed.

Luckily the rain held off as I made my way to the train station. Getting a ticket proved to be a bit problematic, the machine was out of tickets and I needed the assistance of one of the staffers. I made my way over to the platform, the station seemed super busy and buzzing with energy. Thinking I was ridiculously early for my flight, I stood by waiting for my train. At last our train approached, loud singing was coming from the train, as it was slowing to a stop it became apparent that it was totally packed with wall to wall people - mostly guys to be exact. They were singing and banging on the walls of the train - I tried several doors in attempt to board and kept being shooed away. The train then pulled away…we were all left standing there feeling a little stunned with what just happened. The staff person said something about another train arriving in 20 minutes - 45 minutes later a train finally showed up. At this point I was feeling pretty grateful that I had left as early as I did…the train was still full and I found myself struggling to remain standing the half hour trip with nothing to hang on to, being surrounded by bodies.

Checked in at the gate, then at security I was looking for my passport…frantically searching every pocket, I rushed back to the desk where I had checked in. The attendant gave me a scolding look (rightly so) as she handed me back my passport - crisis averted!

I love exploring new airports, browsing the shops for items of interest. I almost got on the wrong flight…it was still going to Lisbon, just earlier than the flight I was scheduled for. Feeling slightly foolish, I went back to my seat to wait for the next flight.

The trip from Porto to Lisbon is only an hour long, but from start to finish, it was more like 5.5 hours until I arrived in Lisbon. The bus would have been a shorter and alternative at 3.5 hours. Once in Lisbon I purchased some Port to bring to Germany before the shops closed for the night. I found some benches to lay down on…once again super grateful for having packed along my AirTransat blanket. I logged onto the airports internet and watched some Netflix until I fell asleep. At midnight I wished myself a happy Birthday.

Side note….airports are horribly bright and terribly loud when you’re trying to grab some shut eye!

0 notes

jamaicasantiago · 7 years

Text

Loving life living

There are people that are sadder than they ought to be in life. It can be you; or someone else. But how can you make yourself, or any one, love and fall back into loving life living? Here are some tips that can hopefully help…

Love yourself first

You always hear this phrase on different advices because it is true: love comes from within. You cannot love purely without having it firsthand for your own. It seems not easy for some people but you can acquire it little by little. It is just a matter of choice between living the way you are and living the way you pretend to be.

Number one rule is embracing your individuality, of what and who you are; both good and bad. Nourish and improve your good traits and start working to at least weaken and reduce your bad traits.

Reveal the hidden confidence in you – not from the compliments of others but by the acceptance of your flaws and empowerment of your beauty, capabilities, and self esteem – despite of your imperfections. With that being said, it does not mean you cannot entirely take such comments from others but you have to learn to receive the compliments as something that will make you more humbly proud of yourself, and in the contrary, turn the negative feedbacks into constructive criticisms. Some may say you are ugly, a coward or misfortunate. But they can never truly know. They can never feel and think exactly how you do with particular things and they can never experience the life you are living. Never let people degrade you. Know your worth.

Celebrate your accomplishments

It is good to be proud of your achievements, congratulate your self. This will be an encouragement to do more successful stuff in the future.

Forgive

There will always be a person or two who disappointed you at some point in life (it can even be yourself). But before you can go miles of exploration in life, you have to do yourself a favor and release your self out of the anger of any past event you caged yourself in. It is time to be free from frustration and accept that they passed by your course just to teach you some lesson or vice versa.

Exercise appreciation and gratitude

A positive perspective in life can change your approach on different things. Say, there are two girls who received a single rose. One can be happier with the other because the former appreciates thought while the latter appreciates quantity.

Life may feel a little unfair to you probably because you tend to look at the darker pictures. As some may seem more fortunate when it comes to education (or career), love, family, and social status, treasure what is yours and toil for what you do not. There will always be someone with lesser wealth than you have (just as someone with more than what you got), some stories you are just about to hear that might even make you say that “lucky” that you are is an understatement because you will realize you are beyond blessed. Be thankful of how your mom can laugh at your corny jokes, how your dad is working hard for your daily needs and finances, how your significant other makes faces in front of you, how your friends greet you happy birthday with smiles and a cupcake that they bought in the campus’ canteen for six pesos with a used candle lit in the middle of it and how your dog licks your toes. And if you will have more than these, be more grateful.

Modify yourself

There are different types of people – introvert and extrovert are just two of some personality classifications. But not every introvert is shy and not every extrovert is sociable which most of the people think, and this, on the other hand, is called ambivert. There are also factors of being optimistic and pessimistic in the combination of personalities and in certain events.

Take note that you do not need to change any part of your personality… Just as you are different to another, allow yourself to have little adjustments not for others, but for your own good.

Identify the type of a person you are and work with your strengths and weaknesses. In order to do this, you should find what, where, and when you are comfortable on specific situations in your daily life and routine. After identifying, the next step is to try to exert more effort to improve your weaknesses so that they can complement together with your strengths.

Example is, one can have a sociable facade but with an introverted personality. This comes unhandy sometimes because of his contrasting qualities. For instance, he can be so much friendly but it gets hard for him to open up, even on the slightest of issues, because of his tendencies to keep everything for himself. But in a way, this can be worked out by having to try to practice himself to share some of his cases without revealing much sensitive information to others.

Step out of your comfort zone

It will not hurt to try new things. Find a new hobby. Learn to play an instrument or a video game you are not familiar with. Or maybe try another type of sport you find interesting. Or you can be open to know more about people and learn from them. There are lots of options! Do something you never thought you would.

Don't over think too often

Thinking too much can be unhealthy if it cannot be managed in proper way, especially if it is caused by a very serious problem or a stressful life situation. Over thinking can turn into depression which can lead an individual into committing suicide. This issue is getting very serious as the time passes by… According to the World Health Organization, suicide is the second leading cause of death around the globe among the people of 15 to 29 years old.

Try to separate the positives from the negatives, then, allow only the positives to take into you. Of course you do not always need to do this on your own so do not be afraid seek help from your parents or any family member or a friend. Talking about a problem with a trusted company can minimize your worries.

Face your problems

Face your problems (and fears) before it can consume you. Cry a bucket of tears but never forget that life can offer you more; that you can always do better and have better than whatever it is. Never forget to smile again.

Dream

Set a goal. Give your self a purpose. Aspiring to be something or having to want something can help you look forward and move forward for brighter days ahead.

Live in the moment

You are not on a time machine to live in a specific time of your life in the past and to try to look into the future that is too far away, because apparently, everything else around is uncertain. Now is where you have control over your life. And whether you like it or not, you need to pass by the roads en route to your destination.

Continue to do what you love

Some of us, are taking an academic course that is far from what we are truly passionate about. But it does not mean you should stop yourself from doing it just because. You can still keep practicing to improve your skills while working on your diploma. Pursue it. Maybe not in a manner of career but you can use it as a hobby, for relaxation, or in channeling your negative energy into it. You know what they say some people make an art more intense when they are on an unpleasant phase in life? J.K. Rowling is an example. Her mother died while she was writing Harry Potter. She executed more detail about Harry’s loss in the first book of the Potter series because she knew what it was like going though the situation.

Release the inner artist in you

This doesn’t mean you literally need to become an artist. As an art needs to be created, it also needs to be felt. Dance in the sound of the rhythm even if you have two left feet. Write a poem or a letter for someone, even if you have no intention of letting them read it. Sing in the shower even if you’re not good at it. If you can feel the life, you will have an intimate connection with it. And if you have an intimate connection with life, you will love life.

Laugh.

Another common fact is that laugh can reduce stress. “Laughter is the best medicine”, they say.

My most embarrassing moment is one of the greatest memories I have. It was during my accident on a C.A.T. activity in high school when I over-ran before an obstacle as high as four to five feet which made me land left-hip first and on right arm the next. I think I lost a couple of seconds before I came back from dizziness; before my eyes focused on my teacher, friends and classmates to realize they were gathered so close to me with worried faces. I could have chosen to cry at that moment (because I swear, I felt a pang on an ankle and my hip ached a week long), but instead, I laughed. They all laughed, too. And I never felt so alive. I almost forgot I had an accident for five seconds.

Lesson: You can laugh even if it hurts. Just kidding! Haha! But, really, laugh at yourself, too… Laugh at jokes, laugh with friends, laugh about life.

Appreciate nature

Just look at them more often. Listen as the birds sing in unison, watch as the sun sets or rises, or as the clouds continue to move. Nature is something that can be seen anywhere which means it can give you delight anytime. Personally, this helps a lot. Knowing I can swim the water, knowing I can claim the air, and knowing I can watch the clouds, the skies as the sun rises and sets, is overwhelming, surreal.

“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

Be kind

The man in the street looking at your water bottle might be thirsty for over five hours; or even more. Ask him to drink. Or just hand it to him. Pick up the twenty bucks a busy mother drops, because babysitting is harder than it looks like. Say out loud what a granny can’t utter for the driver on the jeepney, it never hurt to speak a word.

Perform generosity or any act of kindness without expecting anything in return, as simple or grand as it may be for this will only make your heart flutter in happiness.

Inspire people

Seeing another human being getting an inspiration by your words, mundane experiences, or just being the change you want to be seen can bring you numerous emotions you never think you can muster. If you can motivate them to be better, you can prove yourself there is hope.

Grow

We’re all just humans after all; we make mistakes that make us create a better self. Beat the person you are yesterday. Have some time gathering your thoughts about yourself. Rethink some things you did for a day, a week, or a month. “What good have I done in the past few weeks? And what bad have I done in between those?” Keep doing the good ones, left the bad ones and correct them if necessary.

(This article I made in 2016 is originally for our campus’ publication called, “The Krant”, which will be released soon after this posting. The soon-to-be-printed copy of this article has been modified.)

#article #non-fiction #2016

0 notes

fromwinnipeg2everywhere · 7 years

Text

Central Europe: Two Weeks, Three Languages and Four Cities

We are now hopelessly addicted to Europe and it is becoming harder and harder to decide which city to visit next. Last November, we managed to cross off four cities from our bucket list - Munich, Prague, Vienna and Budapest.

We are used to cold weather, living in the Canadian prairies, so when the forecast called for +4 Celsius for the entire trip, we thought, “shorts weather!”, however, I guess it is more humid out there so it was lot wetter and chillier than we expected. We maybe got two days with sunshine out of the entire two weeks were there. On a positive note, there are definitely a lot less tourists at this time of year so we got to enjoy the attractions without the crowds.

Munich

Our first stop was Munich, Germany. From the airport, we took the S1 train to Munich Hauptbahnhof, where our hotel, Hotel Dolomit, was just a block away. Train fare is EUR 12.80 per person for a day ticket, which is significantly cheaper than a cab ride for two people, and this ticket can be used up to 6AM the following day. For more information, visit the Munich public transportation website: http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/tickets-fares/tickets/day-tickets/airport-city-day-ticket/

In Munich, we visited museums and castles, including the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, Pinakothek der Modern, Residenz Munchen and Schloss Nymphenburg. If you are in Munich on the first Sunday of the month, entrance to the Alte, Neue and Modern is only EUR 1 per person. We also took a day trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the castle that served as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The museums and castles are a little bit underwhelming compared to the museums and castles in Florence, however, I still quite enjoyed the highlights. The Neue Pinakothek has one of Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings, and Neuschwanstein Castle indeed looked like a fairy tale castle covered in fresh snow. The Marienbrucke bridge is closed during the winter, however, we did not let closed gates stop us from hiking to see the Neuschwanstein Castle from afar. The hike was slippery and steep, but the views are worth it. The ticket center is about a twenty minute walk to the castle, so if the buses aren’t running, save your money and just walk – you’ll get there just as fast as those poor horses.

Aside from the museums and castles, we enjoyed walking around Marienplatz. Unfortunately, the Christmas Markets were not yet ready at the beginning of November, but there are a lot of stores and restaurants in the area to visit. German cuisine consists of a lot of meat and potatoes, and I missed having some vegetables in my meals. Our favourite restaurant in Munich is Hofbrauhaus Munchen. The atmosphere is undeniably German and the beer is the best I’ve ever tasted. It was the first time I’ve ever had beer served in a one-liter tankard, and while it was quite the experience for me, I’m sure my liver did not appreciate it.

After four nights in Munich, we took the 4:55AM train from Munich HBF to Prague Hlavni. It was a scenic six-hour train ride through German and Czech country sides. I’m used to the modern, high-speed European trains, but the ALEX train we were on was old and slow, and looked like the trains from Harry Potter. There were separate compartments within the carriage, and a door separated the compartment from the hall. We had an entire compartment to ourselves all the way to Pilsen, so it was a very comfortable, albeit lengthy, ride. Trains from Munich to Prague can be booked on www.cd.cz/eshop 90 days in advance.

Prague

From Prague Hlavni station, we walked to our hotel, Palac U Kocku, near Old Town square. It is only a 1.5 km walk, however, it felt much longer with heavy luggage pulled through cobblestone streets. The google map directions are also thoroughly confusing so we got lost which added more time and distance to the walk. Once we found the hotel, we explored Prague by foot almost the entire time we were there. The only time we took the Metro was to go to Andy’s Laundromat to wash our clothes.

Most of the attractions in Prague are outdoors, and while it was cold and rainy the entire time we were there, it still did not take away from the beauty of the city. For me, the main attraction is the Charles Bridge. Being able to walk across the river, on a beautiful, historic, pedestrian bridge is very romantic, and the picturesque views on either side of the bridge entices you to both dawdle to enjoy the scenery and hurry to get to them at the same time. On the east side of the bridge is Old Town Square, full of shops, restaurants and people, and on the west side of the bridge is the castle and Petrin Hill. Despite the cold weather, there’s still a fair number of tourists in Prague, so I can only imagine how busy it gets during the summer. We visited the Loreto, Strahov Monastery, Lennon Wall and the Powder Gate. We wanted to go visit the Golden Lane to see Franz Kafka’s home, but it turned out that you had to enter through the castle to get there, and the lineup was way too long for us to even bother.

I have heard good things about Czech beer, but I have to say that German beer was better. The thing I will remember the most from Prague is our dinner at Field Restaurant - a Michelin starred restaurant located just a few blocks northeast of Old Town Square. I love good food served with creativity and flair, and Field did not disappoint. We ordered off the a la carte menu and tried as many new things as we can. Everything that we ordered plus all the amuse-bouches compliments of the kitchen were superb, and all for a reasonable price. I would not pass up a chance to return to Prague, if only to visit Field Restaurant again.

Vienna

After three nights in Prague, our journey continued onward to Vienna, Austria. We took the train from Prague Hlavni to Wien HBF. Trains from Prague to Vienna can be booked on www.cd.cz/eshop 90 days in advance. From Wien HBF, it is just one short metro ride to Stephensplatz where Graben Hotel is located. When googling directions in Vienna, do not always trust Google will give you the best way to get to certain place. Make sure you go to the Vienna Metro website instead. However, while in Vienna, you will not need to take the Metro or trams a lot. Vienna is a bustling, walkable, compact city and Stephensplatz is in the center of it all.

Vienna was a pleasant surprise. I did not know what to expect and only added this city to the itinerary because it made sense geographically with it being between Prague and Budapest. We scheduled the “must-sees” – the Kunsthistoriches Museum, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Ring Road, an opera at the opera house, a sachertorte at Café Central – but my favourite was an unscheduled stop at Upper Belvedere Museum. By the third city of a European trip, I’m usually already all museumed-out. When my husband suggested to switch Schonbrunn palace to Belvedere palace at the last minute, I just went along with it. I’m really glad I did because I enjoyed Belvedere so much that I could have stayed there the whole day and just looked at the Klimt’s paintings. My favourites are The Kiss and Water Serpents 2. The one thing I love most about travelling is learning or trying something new, and before this trip, I was not at all familiar with Gustav Klimt’s work and now he is one of my favourite artists.

The weather in Vienna was not that much better than Munich and Prague, however, it was perfect weather for Christmas markets which were already in full swing here. It seems that in every corner of the city, there was a Christmas market, and in every Christmas market, there was mulled wine. This is another first for me, I’ve never heard of “hot wine” before and would have never imagined that wine could even be better! I enjoyed the Christmas market at Rathaus the most, and although I didn’t really buy anything, I had a lot of mulled wine and ate a lot of Goulash soup in bread bowls. The mood was so festive and despite the chilly weather, the crowds were out in full force and having fun.

Vienna was my favourite out of the four cities we visited on this trip. I liked how it was compact and walkable, and that there’s so much music and art and culture. It was a very friendly, culturally diverse and progressive city (I loved their crosswalks in particular!), and definitely a city I would highly recommend visiting.

Budapest

After three nights in Vienna, we took the train to Budapest for our last stop of the trip. Trains from Vienna to Budapest can be booked on www.oebb.at 90 days in advance. The Budapest Keleti station is the least modern and least tourist friendly with regards to signage, but it certainly felt safe. As soon as we found the metro station (just outside the main station but not connected to it) to take us to the city centre, pretty much everywhere we went was just walking distance or a short metro ride away.

For this last stop, we decided to splurge a little bit and booked a luxury room at Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge. The rates were not at all bad for a five-star hotel and the view was just breathtaking. From our bed, I can see the Chain Bridge and the Buda Castle all lit up, which made it hard to sleep, not because it was bright, but because I didn’t want to stop looking outside.

We spent four days in Budapest and it was the perfect amount of time to enjoy all the highlights at a leisurely pace. We went to the Fisherman’s Bastion, Hungarian Parliament, Great Market Hall, Heroes’ Square and walked along the Danube River. On our last day in Budapest, we went to Szechenyi Baths and enjoyed the hot pools on a cold morning. It was a very unique Hungarian experience and we did not get as cold as I thought we would transferring to and from the indoor and outdoor baths.

We enjoyed dining in Budapest very much. One of the four nights we were there, we had dinner at Borkonyha, a Michelin-starred restaurant just a few blocks from Chain Bridge. The meal and service was superb, but not quite as good as Field in Prague. The rest of the nights we were in Budapest, we had dinner at Hungarikum Bistro. It’s a little family owned restaurant just a few blocks northeast of the Chain Bridge. It was highly rated on TripAdvisor so we decided to book a reservation on our first evening there. We loved the food so much that we booked reservations for the rest of the evenings we had left in Budapest. My favourite part of the meal is at the end where we are given a free shot of palinka, a fruit brandy, with an alcohol content of 50%.

After four nights in Budapest it was time to go back home to Canada. The concierge at the hotel suggested we take a taxi to make it to our early flight out of Budapest, but because I’m cheap, we opted for the metro. I was a little apprehensive during the walk to the metro station, but I was assured that Budapest was safe even at four in the morning, and it certainly felt that way. So for a fraction of the cost of a taxi, we made it to the airport easily and with lots of time to spare. I would not recommend this if you have lots of luggage because it involves a lot of walking, some stairs and transferring from the metro to a bus, but I have heard some horror stories about Budapest cabs and the metro ride turned out to be a positive experience for us.

I wish I can say that our experience at the airport was as positive as the ride there, but it was a complete disaster. Upon checking in, we were told that we had to pay almost $500 for our luggage. Of course they were wrong, and Lufthansa eventually refunded us the money, but no amount of reasoning or arguing with the Budapest Lufthansa airport staff helped so we just agreed to pay it just to make our flight. They were probably just doing their jobs, very incompetently, but I have never met airport staff so smug and clueless about their baggage policies. Getting the refund was not easy either. The Lufthansa customer care centre had no North American toll free number, and when you call the long distance number (with a Montreal area code), it actually directed you to a call centre in the Philippines. How do I know it was in the Philippines? Because I could understand every side conversation happening in the background while I was being told by the agent I was talking to that although I was charged incorrectly, they had no power to refund me the money and they had no idea who can. Good thing the folks at Elliot.org helped with directing me to the proper people in New York and I eventually got a refund. Also, seriously, who charges $500 for luggage? If Lufthansa attempted this scam, with say, maybe $50, then they would have had a better chance of me saying “Forget it” and them keeping the money. But, they got greedy. So watch out, if you choose to fly Lufthansa or have no choice but to fly Lufthansa, make sure that you have proof that your baggage is included in the fee that you paid, and make sure to print their baggage policies from their website. Their website is very helpful and detailed, their North American reservation customer service people are also very helpful and knowledgeable, unfortunately, their Customer Relations people and airport staff – not as much. It was really such a terrible and stressful way to end the vacation. Instead of my husband and I just relaxing and enjoying the last few days of our holidays, Lufthansa subjected us to a lot of stress and inconvenience trying to get our money back.

So, all in all, other than the kerfuffle with Lufthansa on the last day, the trip was very enjoyable. We travelled to four new major cities, and a couple of smaller ones in between. We had new experiences such as going to the opera and Christmas markets. We tried new food and drinks such as goulash, rooster testicles, mulled wine, palinka, tokaji and reindeer sausages. We learned to say please, thank you, goodbye and hello in three new languages. We saw beautiful art from our favourite artists and gained new favourites along the way (hello Klimt and Bruegel). This trip was a reminder of why we love to travel. We look forward to our next adventure.

#central europe #prague #czech #czech republic #munich #munchen #germany #budapest #Hungary #Vienna #Austria

0 notes