I first went to Budapest after two weeks in Romania, arriving via an overnight train from Bucharest, also known as a solid 16 1/2 hours in a six bed sleeper perched on the top bunk, reached by monkey climbing up the bunks below (God forbid they provide something like a ladder...). It was loud, bouncy, and involved being woken up at 6am, and then again at 6:30, for passport control.
As a result of this adventure and subsequent ones I am not the biggest fan of sleeper trains.
So there it was, 9am, and in looking at my map I thought, "well, the distance to the hostel looks walkable, so rather than figuring out another foreign bus system I'll just wander that way."
This is where I discover that maps of Budapest do not accurately convey just how far things really are.
Roughly 45 minutes later I made it, and to my delight I didn't have to wait to check in so I got myself settled, took a much-needed shower, and went out to find some lunch.
Hostels everywhere should take note of the Loft Hostel's "useful map," which shows the immediate neighborhood and all the best and cheapest places to eat, drink, shop, etc. It led me straight to a row of restaurants, where I picked one and for the equivalent of $10 I had goulash, chicken paprikash, a dessert of crepe with chocolate, and a beer.
Not shabby.
Also, the Hungarian currency, forints, is insane. The conversion rate is something like 270 to 1, which means I felt like a baller the whole time since I had several 10,000 forint notes in my purse.
Rich girl.
I spent the rest of that afternoon at the wine bar, taking in an easy night accompanied by several beers with a Finnish gentleman I met at the hostel.
A good start.
Day two Laurie (the Finn) and I went on the walking tour, which took roughly three hours and took us all over the main part of the city, ending with a nice view from the Buda side of the river.
This guy gives you good luck if you rub his belly, and good luck in your love life if you twirl his mustache. I'll let you know how effective this turns out to be.
Crossing from Pest to Buda.
Changing of the guard.
The parliament.
(For those of you that don't know, Budapest is split by the river into Buda and Pest; Buda is the old side with the castle, while Pest is the "new" side where most people live and party).
After our tour we made our way to a local place for lunch, where we ate an exceptionally cheap meal of chicken paprikash. Then we decided to pop by Szimpla, which is the original ruin bar, for a beer.
The ruin bars are a huge thing in the city, and originally started because people saw these empty, unused and falling apart spaces and thought "what the hell, I could start up a bar here." Add some mismatched furniture and a few other random hipster touches and voila, you've got a Ruin Pub.
Being there during the day was a completely different experience to being there later that night.
The best seats in the house.
By that evening we picked up a fellow hostel acquaintance and went out for kebab (what else...) before wandering around for a few drinks here and there. Eventually we did head back to Szimpla, where we discovered a packed house. After the quietness of the daytime, boy was it strange thinking it was the same place we'd been earlier!
We eventually made it home (using my exceptional map skills, while the boys serenaded me with "Julia" by The Beatles as thanks) and went to bed.
The following morning the three of us decided to go to the baths, which is another thing you have to do while visiting Budapest. Evidently the water is considered to be healing, and why not give it a shot since we were after all feeling a bit rough after the night before?
I didn't take any photos, but let me tell you the baths were an experience. At least 20 or more different pools (three outdoors), saunas, steam rooms, the works. I loved the different pools, and, unsurprisingly, hated the steam room, because I will never understand the appeal of standing in a claustrophobic little room heated to an unbearable level with an exceptionally pungent odor and feeling like I might pass out at any moment. Nope, 30 seconds was enough for me, thanks.
And whether it has simply to do with the power of suggestion or the healing properties of the baths themselves, I have had zero issues with my bum knee since I went. No more knee brace, hallelujah!
My final night we went out as a group from the hostel - trying to keep track of 14 people while out drinking is like herding cats, if you ask me, but we still had a great time.
I returned to Budapest quite recently after a stopover in Slovakia, having come to the conclusion I wanted to see more.
Unfortunately the Loft was fully booked, so I would up at Big Fish Hostel instead, which turned out to be a great time in the end. Like the Loft it was a small place, which I prefer, as you get to know everyone a lot more easily. My first night back we went out, because what else do you do in a party town like Budapest? Back to Szimpla we go, where I lost a sweater and got to the level of intoxication where I lost any semblance of shyness, as evidenced by me walking up to a complete stranger and giving him a hard time for wearing a Superman baseball cap (my argument; "it should be Batman"). I am a sassy drunk, people. The end of the night found me wandering home with Mark from Canada, stopping for burritos on the way.
The next day I wasn't feeling my finest, so I had a quiet wander, and then spent the afternoon at the hostel with Max, my newest French Canadian friend. We had an early night, in preparation for what was to come I suppose.
I also found this giant stuffed alligator at the hostel which made me stupidly happy.
During the day we went out wandering in an attempt to visit the market, which of course is closed on Sundays.
Also it was raining. So we spent a lot of time at the wine bar.
That night after a dinner of kebab Max and I joined the free pub crawl, which is based on tips rather than paying up front. A few shots and bars later we wound up at a club, where I was thoroughly enjoying damming with zero regard for how silly I looked with an infectiously drunk fellow American from the hostel when...
THE SCOTTISH RETURN.
Now, I know I haven't covered Kraków yet, but remember the group of Scottish lads I mentioned from Berlin? Well, as fate would have it, we ran into each other in Poland, and then again at the bar in Budapest. A traveler reunion! By this time two of them had bleached (orange) hair from subsequent lost bets, which of course I gave them an endless amount of shit for, and we had a great time laughing at the ridiculousness of the universe in which we found ourselves running into each other in three separate cities completely unplanned. By the end of the night I was suitably drunk but luckily had kept track of one fellow from the hostel, and we made our way back at God knows what time (all I know is that is was light out, which is usually a bad sign...).
The next morning I woke up for checkout, and my first thought was, "wow, I'm not hungover." My second thought was, "goddamnit, I'm still drunk..." Long story short the metro to the train station was interesting, and a kebab later I was on the train to Slovenia, where I mercifully managed to pass out for the majority of the 8+ hour ride.
Not my best day.
But, Slovenia will wait for a subsequent post, that's all for now.
And sorry mom and dad, I swear I'm being safe, even if I'm not behaving exactly like the most responsible of adults.
~Swan
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