Polish Zloty

The currency of Poland is the Polish Zloty. The current exchange rate is about 1 Dollar to 3.36 Zloty. Also, like we have Dollars and Cents, Poland has Zloty and Groszy. There are 100 Groszy in a Zloty.

Great Synagogue

Europe's largest synagogue is located in Budapest, Hungary. The building was originally completed during 1859. Unfortunately, it was damaged extensively during World War II. Thankfully, due to many private donations, the building was restored in the late 90's.

The synagogue itself was located in the Jewish Ghetto that existed after the Nazis took over the city. Many people went here for refuge during the troubled times. However, the synagogue could not protect the Jewish people from the cold and starvation of the 1944-1945 winter. Over 2,000 people died during this time. These people are now buried in the synagogue's courtyard as a way to honor and remember them.

the outside of the synagogue

the synagogue's alter

the floor of the synagogue

a close up of an outside wall

window's inside in the shape of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments

Hungarian Forint

Despite being in the European Union, Hungary stills uses its own type of currency called the Forint. However, some business will except Euros.  Right now, one US dollar is worth about 246 Hungarian Forint.

All of the banknotes have famous Hungarian leaders or politicians on them. They come in bills of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000.

Coins come in values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200.

Viennese Cuisine

Two iconic foods in Vienna are wienerschnitzel and the pastry strudel.

Wienerschnitzel is similar to a tenderloin. It is breaded veal and also the national dish of Austria.

Strudel is a type of layered dessert that usually has some sort of sweet filling.

Both of these foods were very tasty and I would highly recommend trying them if you ever get the chance.

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. The city has a population of about half a million people. Slovakia has been an independent state since 1993. Prior to that it was part of Czechoslovakia and before that it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bratislava is extremely close to the Austrian border. I was in two world capitals today (Vienna and Bratislava) within an hour via train. On the way back I decided to take a slightly longer route. I took an hour and a half boat ride along the famous Danube River which connects these two cities.

A view of the Danube

Bratislava Castle by day

the "UFO Bridge" over the Danube

Bratislava Castle by night

City of Music

Vienna's nickname is the "City of Music." There are many theaters and opera houses in the city. One of the most famous opera houses is the Vienna State Opera. Here you can see world class productions of many famous operas. For example, when I was here I want and saw a performance of La Boheme. This is the opera that the musical Rent is loosely based on. They also sometimes do concerts here. There have been many famous musicians that were either born or lived in Vienna; Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Strauss are just of few who left a musical legacy in Vienna.

the inside of the Vienna State Opera

the outside of the opera house

looking down from the gallery

Serbian Dinar

The Serbian Dinar is the currency used in Serbia. The current exchange rate is about 1 US Dollar to 85 Serbian Dinar. The amount pictured below is worth about $3.75.

Pictured on the 200 Dinar banknote is Nadežda Petrović, a famous Serbian painter.

On the 100 Dinar banknote is Nikola Tesla, a man of Serbian descent who was an electrical pioneer.

On the 20 Dinar banknote is Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, a statesman, philosopher, and poet who is sometimes considered the father of modern Montenegro.