Budapest, Part 2: Hungary For More

I was thinking to myself just now, wouldn’t it be terribly clever of me if I punned all my post titles after the country?? Prague, CHECK (CZECH. BOOM. DOUBLE POINTS). Budapest, CHECK. But then I realized that my next stop is Slovenia, so that idea just kind of died in the water.

Anyhow, BUDAPEST. STILL HERE.  STILL LOVING IT.  I’ve gotten the chance to wander the streets a bit more, and for some reason, one of my most favorite things is seeing amongst the impressive, pretty, re-done buildings, small glimpses of war/Soviet-era buildings peeking through. I love the dichotomy. I’m such an artist/wordsmith.

Look how prettttttttty! Old + new

Cafe culture abounds

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• I had grand intentions of getting to the Hungarian Parliament building this morning (I’ve heard the interior architecture is nothing short of elaborately amazing), but they only let you in with a tour, of which there are only 3 English ones a day. Our tour guide yesterday recommended I go at 8am this morning to ensure a spot, so of course I tried my darnedest and got there a little past 11am, which, last I checked, kind of rounds to 8.  So yes, the English tours were fully booked for the day, but it was still great getting to see the building up close. They went all out in constructing it in honor of Hungary’s 1,000th year anniversary in 1896. 

Hungarian Parliament!

• It turned out great anyhow, because 1.) As I was walking around Parliament, they were having a guard ceremony out back, which was awesome to watch; and 2.) I got to walk along the banks of the Danube and look out at Buda, which was SO pretty.

It's a guard sword ceremony!

I don’t usually take these kinds of photos, but the man 
commanded us to all come take photos with him 
after the ceremony, and I’m nothing if not obedient

Walking along the Danube River, choco croissant in hand

Walking along the Danube River, choco croissant in stomach

• Bill then came and met me at the House of Terror, a museum that stands at the old headquarters of the Gestapo-like Nazi Party of Hungary, followed by the secret Communist police (the Soviet KGB of Hungary) - double evils.  Both groups did a lot of terrorizing, executing, interrogating, etc. in the building. Honestly, I found it especially interesting because most of it is stuff we never learn in history class. For example, I think we all kind of assume (or I did, anyway), that after the Nazis lost power, things must have improved in the war-torn regions because the “evil” was gone. But the museum kind of showed that wasn’t the case - when the Allies won and the Soviets took over Hungary, there were things happening that were just as terrible and oppressive as when the Nazis were in power; i.e. eliminating all those who could potentially be a threat to Communism - and in terrible, terrible ways.

Underground interrogation rooms/prison cells in the House of Terror

• To get on my mini-soapbox for a hot second, can I just say that in school, we don’t learn nearly enough about history in other parts of the world?  Half the things I’ve seen and heard and learned about the past couple weeks, I’ve literally never even heard about, ever. Which makes me feel like an idiot American. Ok, stepping of my soapbox. Just a small step though, bc it was a small soapbox. 
• Went to the Szechenyi Baths, the most famous thermal baths in Budapest; my moment of the day.
• Later that night, Bill and I joined some of my new hostel roommates for drinks at the largest ruin bar in the city, called Instant. They should make that place a maze, for real. It kind of reminded me of being in Sleep No More. 

Irish roomies

Moment of the Day:

Budapest is well-known for its thermal baths, which is funneled in from the city’s hot springs - it’s both a cultural experience, as well as a relaxing one. There are definitely naked baths, but the well-known ones are swimsuit-friendly now.

SO MUCH CULTURE

We visited the Szechenyi Baths, which were amazing - they’re a big tourist attraction now, but tons of locals still come to relax or use the natural “healing” minerals in the waters. Our tour guide was saying that sometimes doctors will write prescriptions for patients to go to the thermal baths, and the patient can show the prescription and get in for free. 

There were large outdoor pools of varying temperatures, as well as indoor saunas and pools, all with different mineral levels, some with jets or fountains. It was incredibly relaxing, and the building itself is so gorgeous and historic and uniquely Hungarian.  Truly an experience.  

Of course across the street from the baths, it's a castle

Fun Facts of the Day:

• There is a kiwi in my bag right now that I stole from my hotel in the Czech Republic and have been hauling around ever since. It’s visited 3+ countries already.

I will haul you around the world, kiwi, until you start ripening! I'll show you

• Ok, it's not just Czech train station escalators that move at lightning speeds. It's all Eastern European train station escalators (you should have seen the Hungarian one!).  And it must just be train stations, because I was in a shopping center staring at the escalator, and it was disappointingly slow.
• There is a spa party (...SPARTY??) at the baths every weekend - like full-on, deejays and club music and dancing in the heated pools and such - which I was dying to go to. And then I met someone who went, and she said it was the most hedonistic, dude-filled (hmm I can see this somehow), gross/dirrrrty experience of her life. Ok, that doesn't sound fun. Dream-killer.
• Everything is SO CHEAP in Budapest!  A beer is like, $1, and vodka/sodas are like, $2.  I definitely took out way too many Hungarian Forints for this endeavor. The 275 Forint to $1 exchange rate definitely didn't help my math skills either. For the first day, I would stare at menus with prices at 1,500 Forint and have zero idea how much it was 

MVP(s) of the Day:

My four Irish roommates - seriously, the most hilarious, energetic, cutest girls ever -  for showing me that Snapchat is not in any danger of dying out anytime soon. And for hijacking my phone and leaving the following snaps on my story:

Amazing.

Budapest was the first city I was genuinely sad to leave - the next morning, I was having my last morning coffee on one of the prettiest patios ever, and savoring every last second.

Last Budapest breakfast. I love Euro bread

Dear Budapest - you are so, so cute and I will make sure to come back someday.  Viszlát!

Budapest, Part 1: #ObsessedwithBudapest

It is official: I am totally, completely in love with this city.

View of Budapest from Fisherman's Bastion (what is a bastion, do we know?)

A Lot of Gushing About Budapest:

Budapest is, hands down, my favorite city I've hit on this trip so far. I can't totally explain it, but something about this city just speaks to me. Imagine a city that has all the gorgeous historic charm of an Eastern European city - the riverfront is so, so pretty, with incredibly detailed architecture and take-your-breath-away buildings, complete with hilltop views of the city, castles, churches; you know, all the usual. Then you combine that with the funky, incredible, cooler-than-hipster vibe of the city itself. For example, in the area I'm staying, there's literally hundreds of cafes and bars and eateries - like adorable, local, awesome Brooklyn-esque cafes, only 10 million times better.

My first night here, I was looking for a place to eat and happened upon a small cafe near the hostel. It looked cute enough, so I walked into what I thought was just a small room. However, I saw a back door and headed out that way - and instantly, was in this huge, gorgeous courtyard - complete with fairy lights, awesome outdoor seating, a live piano player, rose-covered vines growing up the sides of the walls, small clusters of people - the works.  It just took my breath away. And every single place here is like that; it's insane. Any of Budapest's restaurants/cafe/bars, if you took just one and dropped it into New York, it would instantly become the hippest, no-reservations, never-can-get-a-table, place-to-be-seen spot of the year.

<end gush>

What It's All About:

Budapest is one of the coolest cities I’ve ever been in. It’s equal parts gritty, hip, unique, gorgeous, historic, and funky.  It’s actually two cities in one (Buda and Pest) , that are separated by the Danube River. 

A little bit of Soviet era grittiness peeking through

A brief history lesson: Budapest used to be a huge deal - along with Vienna, they were dual capitals of the powerful Austro-Hungarian empire.  Which means both these cities were totally and utterly devastated by WWI, resulting in both cities being occupied by the Nazis in WWII, and then the Soviets shortly thereafter (hence the “Iron Curtain”/Communism business).  It’s crazy because these once-grand empires fell so, so far after the war- and then were under oppression from the Nazis, then Communists, for so long - and now, Budapest is trying to sort itself out and figure out what kind of city it wants to be post-Communism. Communism didn’t even leave Budapest till 1989! CRAZY.  

Cliffnotes of the Day:

•  A walking tour of the city (obvs):

View of Pest and the Danube River from Buda

Matthias Church

• On the tour, I met my new Aussie friend Bill, who is almost at the end of his 9-month solo backpacking trip (or was it 11 months? I get everyone’s stories mixed up). We ended up going for lunch at the Central Market Hall, a huge market filled with food and shopping stands

Me, Bill, and Bill's porn 'stache

Central Market Hall

Lunch at the Central Market Hall. I initially wanted
just the kebab - and promptly got upsold down the river

• I had these grand plans of sightseeing all afternoon, but instead, Bill and I ended up at this public park/square with a giant pool/fountain, where all of Budapest was lounging in the sun, talking, drinking a beer (you can drink outside here too!), etc. We ended up just spending the afternoon like a local: sitting in the park under the sun, with our feet in the pool, and going for a late-afternoon coffee outdoors.  It was getting to truly enjoy the city on a local level - not just hustling to the tourist sights and checking them off the list. I genuinely loved every second of it. 

Our perfect afternoon view at the pool

A perfect afternoon coffee

• Budapest has these bars called ruin pubs - they got their name because back in the day, students and young people were looking for cheap places to drink - and there were a plethora of huge, empty, post-war buildings. So they started bars in these buildings, taking anything they could to decorate the spaces. The best way to describe these bars are that they look like grandma’s attic threw up in every corner of the room. Mismatched chairs, a fox ornament mantlepiece draped from the old-school chandelier, Christmas lights, vintage tin signs….you get the point.  The most famous one is called Szimpla Kert, which happens to be right next to my hostel - it was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. Just these huge, rambling rooms - you can wander from one to another, some rooms are outdoors, some rooms are tucked away, some are up a rickety iron spiral staircase - it was like a maze where every room was wildly different and crammed with knick-knacks. I couldn’t figure out where to look.

Room 1/40

Room 2/40

Room 3/40 - the second level looking down

Room 4/40; and then I gave up taking photos. And maybe there were only like 10 rooms

Moment of the Day:

Randomly wandering through the streets after the bar around midnight, we noticed that a museum across the street from my hostel was open and selling wristbands. Bill recalled that he’d heard somewhere that tonight was a special night where all the museums were open til 2am, and you could drink inside, etc. Like a museum party night.  So of course, we bought a wristband and went in.

The museum just happened to be the Electrotechnical Museum.  It's not in the guidebooks, basically because everything is in Hungarian - it’s def a museum for the locals. I think I would have had a hard time telling you what the museum was about if I hadn’t known the name of it was “Electrotechnical Museum.”  

I reckon this is the most interesting photo I took of the electrotechnical museum

So we had zero idea what was happening in any of the exhibits - just a lot of electric-looking stuff and gadgets and doodads. They were having lectures and interactive exhibits and all these cool things we couldn’t understand, so we just made a ridiculous time out of it -pushing all the buttons we could find and trying to guess what each gadget-y looking thing was, and making up our own explanations. We were definitely the only English-speaking tourists in that entire museum.  It was incredibly ridic, and so, so much fun.

Next, we found out the wristbands were good for any museum in Budapest, so we hunted down the next closest museum to the hostel - which happened to be the National Museum. This museum was a little larger and more legit (but still probably not high up on the tourist list of must-see museums given the English accessibility wasn't quite there), and detailed Hungary’s history through the years, from back in the day when it was composed of 7 ethnic tribes through modern times.  It was so cool - they lit up the building and had movies playing out front, food, etc.  We actually spent a lot of time inside the museum and looking through the exhibits, which was super weird considering it was like, 1 in the morning.  I don’t think I got home until past 2AM. That Connie Wang, so wild. 

The National Museum, all lit up

Cool lighting on the inside

Ceiling of the museum

AND THEN THEY GAVE US TORCHES TO WALK THE 
GROUNDS OUTSIDE IN THE DARK BY OURSELVES. 
I LOVE MUSEUM PARTY NIGHT.

I think the part I loved the most about the night was how random it all was; we happened to notice some Hungarian women at a plastic picnic table with wristbands, and it ended up with an completely unexpected, wild night of museum-ing. These are the moments I think I love the most about traveling.

Coming up, Part 2 of Budapest-gushing; who here is dying in anticipation?