Orta Avrupa'da on gün

[Guest Post by Nishant Jain in Central Europe] Urban-sketching has taken hold of my life only since the beginning of this year. But as early as this summer I was on my fourth sketchbook, and ready with a new one for a short vacation in Central Europe.

This sketchbook was drawn over 10 days in July. The wife and I traveled from Chicago to see Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, followed by a little town in the middle of Poland called Radom, where our friends were getting married.

I love accordion sketchbooks, because it is fun to unfold and discover the sketches. I couldn’t wait to get started, so I stopped waiting.

Getting ready to board the flight to Budapest, I was reminded of my last trip here. That was my first solo trip, and I was concluding my stay in Europe before moving to the US. It’s one of my favourite cities in the world. I wanted to draw everything!

Immediately after checking into our Airbnb, the wife and I went out to soak in the city, and grab some much-needed coffee.

Despite being tired, we stayed out all evening, watched the sun set and the buildings light up. I got us some palinka and we opened it up and drank some on the steps of the Parliament building by the Danube River.

The next day, we did a walking tour of Budapest, which culminated at the Fisherman’s Bastion, the inspiration behind the Disney icon (sketch at the top of the page).

That evening, we went to the New York Cafe, which has baroque interiors and a live orchestra worthy of a palace.

The following afternoon, we took a train to Vienna, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We went to its museums, and walked and walked and walked under a harsh sun.

The Leopold Museum in Vienna houses the art of Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and others.

Outside the Vienna Opera House, they were still selling tickets for the Vienna Jazz Fest. I couldn’t believe I had the chance to see not only the historic music venue but also one of my favourite jazz musicians, Madeleine Peyroux. This was drawn during the concert.

We took the overnight train to Poland, and got off at Krakow. When you tell someone who has been to Krakow that you are going there, their face lights up. I now know why. We spent just 12 hours in this little town, doing a walking tour, eating good food, walking, walking gladly under rain-clouds, and just seeing this beautiful place.

In the evening, we took a bus to Radom, another small town in the middle of Poland. Our friends were getting married here, and we were reuniting with each other and several others after many years.

We checked into a small hostel in Radom, grabbed breakfast with old friends, and in the evening got dressed up for a traditional Polish wedding and after-party.

We had so little time on this trip, that the very next day we were on our way to Warsaw, for just a day in the Old Town.

And the next morning, we flew back to Chicago.

Nishant Jain is a comic artist, writer and urban sketcher. He lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin (USA). Urban sketching is his way of learning about the world. You can follow his work Burada.