Budapest!

My trek to Budapest began on an overnight train from Prague. I am cheap, as most of you well know, and decided not to pay the 40 euro to upgrade to the sleeper car...this led me to an individual I now dub bloody hand man. The story is just not as satisfying or creepy unless it is told in person, so I will just leave that little teaser for you all. Also bloody hand man was followed by the one day Hungarian train strike...it was an interesting ride. But seriously, don't be a cheap ass. Get a sleeper car! One more bit of travel advice before my trip details, if you are going to Budapest stay at Tiger Tim's hostel (reviews on hostelworld). It was a great location, fun atmosphere, and just a real family feel. I got my own pot of vegetarian Goulash!

ah hem, and now for my Hungarian escapades...

When I arrived at my hostel all I wanted was a shower and it was oh so lovely when it happened. The next item on my list was sleep, but sadly that was delayed gratification. I arrived around 830 am and my bed was not going to be ready until mid-day. What to do now you ask? EXPLORE!

I set out to see what this city had to offer and it lived up to its reputation. Like Prague Budapest's building were all striking and filled with detail. I decided to walk along the river and enjoy the sites. The river that runs through the city is the Danube. This pesky river flows through or makes up the borders of TEN countries! The banks of the river hold a lot of history and reveal the many eras the city has seen. There is castle hill on the Buda side of the city, the seven bridges joining the two sides, most recognizable the chain/castle bridge (more info and a fun anecdote on the way). The Parliament building is right on the banks as well. This is the second largest Parliament building in all of Europe and modeled after the largest one, which is in London.

The buildings along the Danube reflect its history, but to me a very simple memorial was the most striking feature. You stumble upon it really, there is a lovely walking path along the river and then, all of a sudden, there is this line of shoes. This memorial is aptly called the shoes on the Danube and is dedicated to the victims of the Third Reich. The memorial itself relates more directly to the Jewish-Hungarian citizens who were shot and killed at the edge of the river so their bodies could just fall in rather than be dealt with.

One of the many shoes on the Danube with the castle and castle bridge in the background.

After my stroll I went back to the hostel where I ate my special goulash and made friends with some of the other travelers. There was one in particular I got along with and we stuck together for the rest of my time in Budapest. Our first escapade however was a trip to the grocery store where I learned that Bison grass vodka is not a joke, but actually high quality stuff! I made fun of it in the store and was promptly corrected, rightly so! The hostel I stayed at took you to local spots each night and this first night was a fun introduction to the town.

The next day, after a bit of a late start, we headed out to find more sights. Our first stop was lunch though and on our way I found this!!

Beckett's for those who don't know is an Irish pub in Berkeley, one I happened to frequent weekly for their pub quiz!

After that exciting moment it was on to a place called Hero's square, which is full of amazing statues. Then we wandered under a bridge and had some quality time with some Hungarian Mallards and found our way to a castle area. The details were amazing. The architecture was awe-inspiring as always, but the statues in the section of town were particularly striking to me, I have included three of them below.

After we left the castle grounds we went walking through a park and stumbled upon a familiar statue...

yes, yes my friends that is George Washington.

The next stop was Budapest's Terror Museum. This Museum is extremely well done. It depicts the rise and fall of both the Third Reich and the Soviet occupation. I felt sick after I walked out because of how much evil and cruelty there can be, but I was educated on the history of this city and country. I believe it's important to learn about the places you go, same idea as a person...you learn about a person's past and experiences in order to understand who they are. Budapest, and Eastern Europe in general, has so much history, most of it violence and poverty ridden, that helps you understand and appreciate where these cities are today. There was an image of all seven bridges being blown out, but when you stroll along the Danube you would never know that kind of violence occurred. Knowledge is important in every situation.

After that we decided a light hearted evening was in order. We strolled over to the river and on our way found an art gallery with flutists and a crazy store front window...how crazy you ask? check it out

yes, yes that's a ram and a tiger with really long eyelashes.

Once at the river we crossed the chain bridge and on into Buda. Apparently the bridge designer said if you find anything wrong with my bridge I will kill myself, and then one day a little kid walked up to it and said, wait the lions have no tongues! The designer said, not my problem, the sculpture screwed up not me and lived for however long after that. Once in Buda, the older part of the city, we were going to climb up to castle hill, but decided a beer first would be a good call. We found this awesome bar, which I stalked and found on google maps, definitely go to this bar. I had some of the best beer I ever tasted there and it was a good vibe, plus I had good company. After the bar we decided walking up the big hill was a bad idea and we went on to go find food. We found decent Mexican food actually, went to another bar and then headed home as I had to catch an early flight to the Paris the next morning.

I woke up got out to the airport only to find Orly was striking and my flight was not leaving until 4 pm, it was 7am when I found this out. I hopped back on a train to Budapest as quickly as possible, because you see this new plan put me in a bit of a dilemma...I was supposed to meet Sarah at a bus station at 430pm, when her bus arrived from Amsterdam. Sarah had lost her phone so we had to have a set meeting place before hand. I raced back to the hostel and sent an email as soon as I could, but it was too late, she had already left for the bus station...more on our complicated reunion later though!

I decided I was going to sleep a little longer, but then set out to an art museum with my trusty travel buddy. On our way back a saw a girl jogging and swore it was a familiar face. I turned around to check again and it was! It was Cate, Molly's roommate from Berkeley. It is truly a small, small world!

After that encounter it was time for me to head back to the airport and sadly said goodbye to my travel buddy and the city, but Paris and reuniting with Sarah were to come. I really had no right to complain.

This is my favorite picture from Budapest and maybe the whole trip...the chain bridge at night!

I will make it back here one day, that's a guarantee.