I'll Miss You

Things I Miss About Home:
- family and friends is a given
- Free and endless ice water in restaurants (here you have to buy bottled mineral water and it's usually at least $1.50 for about 11 oz of water)
- Ice (it's possible to get ice in some places, but not generally - I'm now addicted to McD's iced tea because I can have as much ice as I want)
- Air conditioning everywhere (it's been SO HOT here and maybe 1 out of 10 places have air conditioning and that's probably being generous; thank God my office does, too bad THE MALL doesn't [I know, I couldn't believe it])
- Driving (I'm totally okay with not driving here because they're nuts and the roads are tiny, but I miss driving at home)
- The vegetables - it's so SO much easier to get fresh vegetables at home, this probably has something to do with the AC, veggies wilt a lot faster in the heat and the produce selections at most markets is pretty tiny; also, this was more in Vienna than Budapest, but they don't generally serve veggies as a side for meals and their side salads are either potatoes or cabbage covered in mayo
- Breakfast - there is almost no breakfast culture here. They usually grab a roll or croissant. The closest to american breakfast I've been able to find was this place that had "ham and eggs" on the menu - this meant that a couple slices of deli ham were laid in a large skillet, then three eggs were cracked on top, leaving the yolks whole, cooked sunny side up then served on a plate intact. And I was really happy about this because it's the closest I've gotten to american style breakfast.
- WIFI - I never realized how much I now take wifi for granted, and it hasn't even been around that long. A dependable wifi connection is hard to come by here.

Things I'll Miss About Europe:
- The beer, it's just seriously so delicious, even the really cheap stuff
- Leisurely meals, you can sit and talk for as long as you want, no pressure, no bigger tip expected and they don't bring the check until you ask for it
- The pillows, they're huge and firm, which is perfect for a side sleeper like me (not so good for stomach or back sleepers)
- The atmosphere, everything has tons of history, I wish some of the buildings could talk
- The public transportation system, I miss driving, but I almost don't. I've been able to get everywhere I've wanted to quickly and easily between the trams and undergrounds (I haven't even bothered with the buses).
- The white asparagus - this was pretty much just Vienna, but it was white asparagus season when we first got there and it was EVERYWHERE, soups, main dishes, side dishes, etc. and it was amazingly delicious.
- The food in general - I don't think I've had a single meal that I've disliked here. They are all at least good, but most are super good. Most especially these rolls they have that are basically a roll version of crusty french bread - so good with butter.
- Clothes dryers - there are washers, but everything is line dried. I need to shrink up my jeans SO BAD and I've really missed the smell of clothes right out of the dryer. Also, their washers have like half the capacity of washers at home, so because most places charge by the load you end up paying double.

Things I Won't Miss About Europe:
- Not bringing the check until you ask for it - yea, this is great for leisurely meals, but sometimes you really just need to get a move on to somewhere else. I don't think I've had a sit down waiter meal that's lasted under an hour and a half.
- Manpris - I'm pretty sure every european male owns at least one pair of manpris and they are AWFUL. I wish they would just wear normal shorts, the manpris are just so, so bad.
- Sundays - in Vienna more so than Budapest, but EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays: grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants; the only places open are chain fast food places; this always threw me off because at home I'm used to gearing up for the week on Sunday and doing grocery shopping and running errands. I consistently forgot that I needed to go to the grocery store on Saturday, not Sunday.