I think it'll take me a while to process my experience in Budapest. I'm not sure that I loved it but there is a lot of beauty and depth in the city. There is no doubt in my mind that I love cities like Paris and Barcelona because they are striking and possess excitement and flair. Budapest is very much an Eastern European. The fact that it suffered for so long still shadows the city somehow. It is rebuilding still and will continue to do so for a long while. In fact, I wonder if I were to come back in ten years from now how much would I even recognize? Its like the 10 year difference I noticed in Berlin. Massive change.
Anyway, for those of you who have never been to Budapest it is basically two separate cities on either side of the river. Buda on one side, mountainous and lush, Pest on the other side spanning out on great territory beginning the flat lands of this country.
I'll summarize by days since I did a lot during my stay here:
Day 1- I arrived to Budapest Keleti train station which was a shit show. People everywhere! I found my way to the underground train and got to my hostel fairly easily. I got situated and headed out to explore the city! I started on the Buda side by crossing the river on foot over the Chain Bridge. I took some kind of steep train type thing to save myself the trip of hiking up the mountain and followed a Rick Steves walking tour. The castle hill area was fascinating. In the middle were excavations of all kinds of Roman ruins. The cathedral at the top is absolutely beautiful as well. I went into one "museum" called Hospital in the Rock. It was a hospital that was built into the underground caves of the mountain and was used during WWII and post WWII era. Really cool.
Day 2- This was Pest sightseeing day. I toured both Leopold Town as well as Central Pest and saw some great things and some really depressing and ugly areas. At one point I got to a big town square and there was a Hare Krishna festival going on. They were EVERYWHERE. It was so bizarre. There was a float and music. Two days later I went back to the same square and there was nothing of that sorts going on. I have no idea what it was in honor of.
Day 3- I took a day trip to the Danube Bend with a tour company. I saw the towns of Esztergom, Visegrad, and Szentandre. We took a boat trip back down the Danube. It was awesome. My favorite part was meeting this adorable Australian couple who are definitely older than my parents. I spent the whole day with them and they were so fun! I even saw them the next day on the street and it was like bumping into old friends! This night I went out with two girls I met from the hostel which was fun as well. One Canadian and one Australian. I really haven't seen any Americans on this trip... at least not backpackers.
Day 4- This was the best day! I started the day in the Jewish Quarter. While I had gone to see all the sites on Day 2 in my walking tour it was Shabbat so all the Jewish sites were closed. I did the most expensive of all the tours and got a tour of the Jewish quarter with tons of info and got to go into all three synagogues. The tour guide was kind of annoying. He was Israeli and was talking in Hebrew to these two Israeli couples that were in the group and telling them all these really dumb and offensive jokes, no one else in the group spoke Hebrew so I thought that was really weird and kinda rude. None of that really mattered though once I stepped into the Dohany Street synagogue. It is so incredibly breathtaking. I've never seen anything quite like it, absolutely magnificent. You may wonder how it survived WWI? Which is definitely what I was wondering because it still stands as it did. Well, the answer is that the Nazis (Adolf Eichmann specifically) had their headquarters inside of it once they took over Hungary which is how it is still standing. Crazy. And bittersweet. Anyway, after the Jewish quarter I found my way to a neighborhood where ChefParade was located, the place where I was taking my cooking class. It was AMAZING. I signed up for a vegetarian menu, so mine included:
-Sour Cherry Soup (cold)
-Mushroom Paprika with dumplings
-Sour Cherry pie
YUM! I walked back with such a full belly.
Day 5- I slept in and headed to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. I spent about three hours there and then headed back to the hostel to shower. It was an interesting experience of moving around in different temperature thermal baths, saunas, and steam rooms. There were outdoor pools too which had a jet in the middle part so you would get swept into this quick running stream that went in a circle. It was fun. In the evening I took a free boat ride on the river. I got a free coupon when I did the Danube Bend day trip so I figured why not use it?
Anyway, I've met some people who just came from Croatia and everyone is RAVING about it! The new Greece. So I'm excited to head there soon. I'm going to Pecs tomorrow morning for 2 days and then heading to Croatia on Friday. Time is flying by! It'll be nice to see another part of Hungary before I leave. It seems like most travelers only come to Budapest... interesting.
Love to all!
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