Untourists of the Week: Mary Ellen and Larry Goldfarb

May 28, 2012 by Mtaussig

Here are Larry and Mary Ellen Goldfarb at the Lennon (John) Wall in Prague. Instead of asking Larry and Mary Ellen our standard questions, we just chatted with them. The result is a laundry list of the things they really loved about their trip last year to Budapest and Prague:

We loved the locations we stayed in both cities. In both cases, the location had the two things we prize most in a location: quiet, but easy to get everywhere
- In Prague, our apartment was over an art gallery, and the owner was great. She gave us several recommendations for restaurants we really liked.
- In Budapest, our apartment was a block from the river, which was great. One of the best things about Budapest is the river. And the city lights up all the monuments that are along the river, so standing on the river from near our apartment in the evening….the view with all those amazing buildings lit up was unforgettable.

It’s probably obvious, because we were on an Untour, but we really like living in an apartment, going to the store, living a life that has the same rhythms as the people who live here.
We thought your onsite staff in both cities were extremely pleasant, well-informed and ready to help.
We went to the Hungarian Folk Dance Concert, which we didn’t think we’d like….and it was tremendous!
We went to the Cafe New York, (pictured here) a cafe restored in the 1890 ‘high-society’ style, with all the gilded age trappings. We splurged a little here, but really enjoyed it.
The Postal Museum in Budapest sounds dull, but it wasn’t. They showed all the different ways that mail had been delivered throughout the centuries. The staff there didn’t speak much English and our Hungarian is non-existent but once we got interested, and they saw our interest, they really worked hard to give us even more information…even if it involve telling us something via sign language.
Transportation in both cities was quite easy, once you got the hang of it.
Terezin Concentration camp: we won’t say we enjoyed this, but we found the guide, the exhibits and the entire experience both moving, and in a odd way, lovely. We didn’t feel we had a choice; this is something one must remember but by having a great guide, and seeing how the camp is now surrounded by life, we felt that we really learned and were the better for it.

What was your favorite thing of all about this trip?

“To see a place that was off-limits for most of my life and see how people live now, with their freedom, in these beautiful cities that have all this incredible history was the best thing about the trip…to see the people in their cities, and with their freedom.”